阿西莫夫：天才科幻作家

江丽

艾萨克·阿西莫夫（Isaac Asimov），西方科幻小说黄金时代的代表人物之一，其一生著述近500本，题材涉及自然科学、社会科学和文学艺术等多个领域。其作品以“基地系列”“银河帝国三部曲”“机器人系列”三大系列最为著名，曾获代表科幻界最高荣誉的雨果奖和星云终身成就大师奖。

Isaac Asimov was a biochemist （生物化学家） and a highly successful American writer of science fiction. He was born in Russia and was brought to the United States at age three. He grew up in Brooklyn， New York， and graduated from Columbia University in 1939. In the same year， Asimov began contributing stories to science fiction magazines. Nightfall （1941）， about a planet in a multiple?star system that only experiences darkness for one night every 2，049 years， brought him to the front rank of science fiction writers.

It was when I was attending high school that I first read Asimov's stories. At the time， a few science fiction magazines began to introduce this author， and to translate a few pieces from his “Robot Series”. Of Asimov's works， the one that left the deepest impression on me was Pebble in the Sky. This novel directly influenced my early science fiction writing. Asimov was one of the leading writers of Western science fiction's Golden Age， so although his writing may not have a direct influence on writers of today， his underlying （潜在的） influence on many levels is undeniable—the famous Three Laws of Robotics， and many classic writing techniques， for example. Asimov's novels are marked by a fully integrated （完整的） logical system， and his stories are a pleasure to read. This is the reason why his novels still attract readers today. However， few people these days can follow Asimov's creative methods.

Compared with the “Robot Series”， Asimov's “Foundation Series” is a little less well?known. In fact， the “Foundation Series” creates an entire world， even grander than that of the “Robot Series”. This science fiction had a direct influence on later Western science fiction. The most famous example was Star Wars.

Reading Check

1. Which one of Asimov's works impressed the author most？

A. The “Robot Series”. B. Pebble in the Sky.

C. Nightfall. D. Star Wars.

2. What does the author think of Asimov's “Foundation Series”？

A. It is more popular than the “Robot Series”.

B. It is more expensive than the “Robot Series”.

C. It is less logically organized than the “Robot Series”.

D. It was written better than the “Robot Series” in some ways.

3. What's the author's purpose of writing this text？

A. To compare Asimov with other writers.

B. To advise people to buy Asimov's works.

C. To explain Asimov's writing background.

D. To introduce Asimov and his influence.

Language Study

Sentence for writing

It was when I was attending high school that I first read Asimov's stories. 我是在上高中的時候第一次读到了阿西莫夫（写）的故事。

【信息提取】该句含有一个强调句式：It is/was + 被强调部分（通常是主语、宾语或状语）+ that/who+其他部分。在该句中被强调部分为时间状语when I was attending high school。

【句式仿写】就是在昨天，我在火车站遇见了杰克。