A：王先生，很高兴您能做客我们的节目。今天我们要聊的是科幻文学。人类有关想象的历史非常悠久，由此涌现出一大批优秀的科幻作品。对全世界的读者而言，他们也许更熟悉欧美作家的作品。那么王先生，您本人就是一名科幻作家，是否能给我们简单介绍一下中国的科幻作品，以及它

A: Mr. Wang, glad to have you here for our program. Today we’re talking about science fiction literature. Human beings have a long history of imagination, which leads to a great number of excellent science fiction. For readers worldwide, they’re probably more familiar with works written by European and American authors. So Mr. Wang, as a sci-fi author yourself, can you briefly introduce Chinese science fiction and how it’s received in China?
B：在中国，科幻文学起步比较晚，读者也并不多。这和科幻文学的特点有关。它涉及科学知识，有一定的专业性。一般的读者，除非对这一类别特别感兴趣，否则不会去主动关注它。但最近几年，越来越多的高质量汉语科幻小说和电影相继出现，再加上媒体的宣传，国内也开始关注科幻作品了。
A: That’s good news for authors. I’m also curious about one thing. Who’s your favorite sci-fi author, and how did they influence your career path?
B：我喜欢的科幻作家有很多，不同的人有不同的风格。不过对我影响最大的还是阿西莫夫。我小时候读过他的《基地》三部曲，印象非常深刻。就我所知，他在这部系列作品中提出的“机器人三定律”，对很多科幻小说和电影有很大影响。
A: Sorry to interrupt, but I’d like to explain the Three Laws of Robotics in a very simple way to those who are not very familiar with science fiction. They are: first, a robot should not injure a human being or allow a human being to be injured and do nothing about it; second, a robot must obey human beings’ orders unless the orders conflict with the First Law; third, a robot must protect itself as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law. So back to our topic. Mr. Wang, in your view, how can sci-fi literature promote the development of human society?
B：科幻文学能够通过对未来的想象和对科技进步的预言，激发人们的创造力，引起人们对科技的兴趣。实际上，有很多科学家表示，阅读科幻文学是他们走上科研之路的第一步。科幻文学描绘的世界通常和现实有很大差距。这些来自未来的技术现在好像对我们没有什么帮助，但从长远来看，往往有着极大的意义。