my friend, albert einstein

　　he was one of the greatest scientists the world has ever known, yet if i had to convey the essence of albert einstein in a single word, i would choose simplicity. perhaps an anecdote will help. once, caught in a downpour, he took off his hat and held it under his coat. asked why, he explained, with admirable logic , that the rain would damage the hat, but his hair would be none the worse for its wetting. this knack for going instinctively to the heart of a matter was the secret of his major scientific discoveries — this and his extraordinary feeling for beauty.

　　i first met albert einstein in 1935 , at the famous institute for advanced study in princeton, n. j. he had been among the first to be invited to the institute, and was offered carte blanche as to salary. to the director’s dismay, einstein asked for an impossible sum: it was far too small. the director had to plead with him to accept a larger salary.

　　i was in awe of einstein, and hesitated before approaching him about some ideas i had been working on. when i finally knocked on his door, a gentle voice said, “come ”—with a rising inflection that made the single word both a welcome and a question. i entered his office and found him seated at a table, calculating and smoking his pipe. dressed in ill-fitting clothes, his hair characteristically awry , he smiled a warm welcome . his utter naturalness at once set me at ease.

　　as i began to explain my ideas, he asked me to write the equations on the blackboard so he could see how they developed. then came the staggering — and altogether endearing — request:“ please go slowly. i do not understand things quickly. ”this from einstein! he said it gently, and i laughed. from then on, all vestiges of fear were gone .

　　阅读自测

　　Ⅰ. fill in the blanks with proper words of the passage:

　　1. if i have to describe albert einstein in a single word, i would choose_______ ( 单 纯) .

　　2. caught in a_______ ( 倾盆大雨) , i have got a bad cough.

　　3. in the hometown of emperor zhu yuanzhang, there are many _______ ( 轶事) about him.

　　4. to my _______ ( 沮丧) , my father doesn’t buy me the walkman i like best. 5. helen keller is so strong-minded a person that i am _______ ( 敬畏) her.

　　Ⅱ. questions :

　　after reading this passage , do you have a new understanding of this famous person, albert einstein? if yes, then what is it?

　　参考答案

　　Ⅰ.

　　1. simplicity 2. downpour 3. anecdotes 4. dismay 5 . in awe of

　　Ⅱ.

　　yes, i have a new understanding of him. i find he is not only a great scientist but also a simple man. he is polite and kind to the young people. also he is a little humorous.

　参考译文

　　爱因斯坦轶事

　　阿 尔伯特· 爱因斯坦是世界上最伟大的科学家之一, 然而如果要用一个词来形容他的 话, 那就是单纯。还是看一段他的轶事吧。一次, 爱因斯坦遇上了倾盆大雨, 他便摘下帽子 把它夹在上衣里。问他为什么这样做, 他的解释真是妙极了: 大雨会淋坏帽子, 而头发淋一 下却无伤大雅。他具有一把抓住事物核心的天赋, 而且对美有着独特的感受, 这是他探索 重大科学发现的诀窍所在。

　　我第一次见阿尔伯特· 爱因斯坦是1935 年, 在新泽西州普林斯顿镇著名的高等研究 院。他是首批被邀请到研究院工作的, 院方给予的待遇是一张签好字的空白支票。令院长 沮丧的是, 爱因斯坦的要求让你难以接受: 他索要甚少。院长不得不恳求他多索要一些薪 水。

　　我敬畏爱因斯坦, 在就我所做的研究向他请教之前, 我都感到忐忑不安。最终, 我敲响 了他办公室的门,“ 进来”, 一个温柔的声音说道——— 那种升调使得这个简单的词语既表示欢 迎又含有疑问。我走进办公室, 看到他坐在桌子旁边, 一边正计算着什么, 一边还抽着烟 斗。爱因斯坦不修边幅, 头发蓬乱, 颇有特色, 他微笑着向我表示热烈欢迎。那种轻松自如 的神态, 立刻让我觉得很放松。

　　我正要向他解释我的想法, 他让我把等式写在黑板上, 以便他能看清楚等式的演算过 程。然后他提了一个令人吃惊的——— 又让人喜爱的——— 请求:“ 请慢点写, 我反应慢。”这 话竟出自爱因斯坦! 他说话如此斯文, 我笑了。自那一刻起, 我对爱因斯坦一点都不觉得 害怕了。

　　阅读导评

　　人们说, 一滴水中见天光, 一粒沙中看世界。爱因斯坦曾经说过:“ 照亮我的道路, 并且 不断地给我新的勇气, 去愉快地正视生活的理想的东西是真、善和美。”今天, 通过生活中的 这些点滴小事, 我们看到了他至真、至善、至美的一面。从而, 这也让我们看到了这位伟大 的科学家的人格魅力之所在。

　　阅读导释

　　1. 阿尔伯特·爱因斯坦( 1879—1955) , 20 世纪最伟大的科学家之一。他出生在德国乌尔 姆, 直到3 岁才开始讲话, 他从小就对自然界充满强烈的好奇心并对数学概念有较强的 理解能力。1905 年, 爱因斯坦发表了著名的《狭义相对论》( special theory of relativity) , 解释了时间、空间和运动等基本自然现象之间的关系。1916 年, 他发表《广义相对论》 ( general theory of relativity) , 用公式表示能量和质量之间关系, 解释了太阳取之不尽的能 量的本质, 为原子能的发现奠定了基础。1921 年, 爱因斯坦因发现光电效应定律而获诺贝尔物理奖。他还曾参加过反战、反法西斯战争, 并反对使用核武器。

　　2. 在这里是“ 本质, 实质”的意思, 和词组in essence 意思相同。essence 可作“ 精髓, 精华” 解, of the essence 引申为“极其重要的, 必不可少的”。

　　3.“ 轶事, 趣闻”的意思, 指历史或名人生平中不曾发表过的秘闻。

　　4. 这个词组作“并不更差, 依然如此”解, 如: i like a man none the worse for being outspoken. ( 我并不因为一个人直言不讳而讨厌他。)

　　5. n. j. 是new jersey ( 新泽西州) 的缩写。princeton ( 普林斯顿) 是新泽西州中部一个自治 镇, 就是这个小镇竟被人们称为“ 学术圣地”, 原因是这里有两个高等学府: 普林斯顿大 学( university of princeton) 和普林斯顿高等研究院( princeton institute for advanced study) 。这篇文章中提到的是普林斯顿高等研究院。该研究院为了保持活力, 开学术交 流之风气, 常邀请世界各地教授到这里访问研究。他们聘请教授长则一年, 短则数月, 但 很少有终身教授。 6. 这是个法语词, 指“ 签好字的空白支票”, 引申为“全权, 自由处理权”。这里的意思是“ 爱 因斯坦想要多少工资就可以自己填上多少”。

　　7. 这个词组作“敬畏”解, 常用于句型stand / be in awe of somebody 中, 如: the soldier stood in awe of the general. ( 士兵敬畏将军。)

　　8.“曲的, 斜的”的意思, 一般用作表语, 既可作形容词也可作副词使用, 如: glance awry ( 斜 视) , 这里是形容词。这个词还可作“ 离开了预期或正确方向的, 错的”解, 如: 短语go / run awry 指“人背离正道, 走上邪路”, 比喻事情出岔子, 失败。