He was one of the greatest scientists the world hasever known, yet if I had to convey the essence 2 ofAlbert Einstein in a single word, I would choosesimplicity. Perhaps an anecdote 3 will help. Once,caught in a downpour, he took off his hat and held itunder his coat. Asked why, he explained, withadmirable logic , that the rain would damage thehat, but his hair would be none the worse4 for its wetting. This knack for going instinctively tothe heart of a matter was the secret of his major scientific discoveries — this and hisextraordinary feeling for beauty.

　　I first met Albert Einstein in 1935 , at the famous Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, N.J. 5 He had been among the first to be invited to the Institute, and was offered carte blanche6as to salary. To the director’s dismay, Einstein asked for an impossible sum: it was far toosmall. The director had to plead with him to accept a larger salary.

　　I was in awe of7 Einstein, and hesitated before approaching him about some ideas I had beenworking on. When I finally knocked on his door, a gentle voice said, “Come ”—with a risinginflection that made the single word both a welcome and a question. I entered his office andfound him seated at a table, calculating and smoking his pipe. Dressed in ill-fitting clothes, hishair characteristically awry8 , he smiled a warm welcome . His utter naturalness at once set meat ease.

　　As I began to explain my ideas, he asked me to write the equations on the blackboard so hecould 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 itgently, and I laughed. From then on, all vestiges of fear were gone.

　　閱讀自測(cè)

　　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_______ ( 單 純) .

　　2. Caught in a_______ ( 傾盆大雨) , I have got a bad cough.

　　3. In the hometown of Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang, there are many _______ ( 軼事) about him.

　　4. To my _______ ( 沮喪) , my father doesn’t buy me the Walkman I like best. 5. Helen Keller isso 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, AlbertEinstein? If yes, then what is it?

　　參考答案

　　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.

　　參考譯文

　　愛(ài)因斯坦軼事

　　阿 爾伯特· 愛(ài)因斯坦是世界上最偉大的科學(xué)家之一, 然而如果要用一個(gè)詞來(lái)形容他的 話, 那就是單純。還是看一段他的軼事吧。一次, 愛(ài)因斯坦遇上了傾盆大雨, 他便摘下帽子 把它夾在上衣里。問(wèn)他為什么這樣做, 他的解釋真是妙極了: 大雨會(huì)淋壞帽子, 而頭發(fā)淋一 下卻無(wú)傷大雅。他具有一把抓住事物核心的天賦, 而且對(duì)美有著獨(dú)特的感受, 這是他探索重大科學(xué)發(fā)現(xiàn)的訣竅所在。

　　我第一次見(jiàn)阿爾伯特· 愛(ài)因斯坦是1935 年, 在新澤西州普林斯頓鎮(zhèn)著名的高等研究 院。他是首批被邀請(qǐng)到研究院工作的, 院方給予的待遇是一張簽好字的空白支票。令院長(zhǎng) 沮喪的是, 愛(ài)因斯坦的要求讓你難以接受: 他索要甚少。院長(zhǎng)不得不懇求他多索要一些薪 水。

　　我敬畏愛(ài)因斯坦, 在就我所做的研究向他請(qǐng)教之前, 我都感到忐忑不安。最終, 我敲響 了他辦公室的門,“ 進(jìn)來(lái)”, 一個(gè)溫柔的聲音說(shuō)道——— 那種升調(diào)使得這個(gè)簡(jiǎn)單的詞語(yǔ)既表示歡 迎又含有疑問(wèn)。我走進(jìn)辦公室, 看到他坐在桌子旁邊, 一邊正計(jì)算著什么, 一邊還抽著煙 斗。愛(ài)因斯坦不修邊幅, 頭發(fā)蓬亂, 頗有特色, 他微笑著向我表示熱烈歡迎。那種輕松自如 的神態(tài), 立刻讓我覺(jué)得很放松。

　　我正要向他解釋我的想法, 他讓我把等式寫在黑板上, 以便他能看清楚等式的演算過(guò) 程。然后他提了一個(gè)令人吃驚的——— 又讓人喜愛(ài)的——— 請(qǐng)求:“ 請(qǐng)慢點(diǎn)寫, 我反應(yīng)慢。”這 話竟出自愛(ài)因斯坦! 他說(shuō)話如此斯文, 我笑了。自那一刻起, 我對(duì)愛(ài)因斯坦一點(diǎn)都不覺(jué)得 害怕了。

　　閱讀導(dǎo)評(píng)

　　人們說(shuō), 一滴水中見(jiàn)天光, 一粒沙中看世界。愛(ài)因斯坦曾經(jīng)說(shuō)過(guò):“ 照亮我的道路, 并且 不斷地給我新的勇氣, 去愉快地正視生活的理想的東西是真、善和美。”今天, 通過(guò)生活中的 這些點(diǎn)滴小事, 我們看到了他至真、至善、至美的一面。從而, 這也讓我們看到了這位偉大 的科學(xué)家的人格魅力之所在。

　　閱讀導(dǎo)釋

　　1. 阿爾伯特·愛(ài)因斯坦( 1879—1955) , 20 世紀(jì)最偉大的科學(xué)家之一。他出生在德國(guó)烏爾 姆, 直到3 歲才開(kāi)始講話, 他從小就對(duì)自然界充滿強(qiáng)烈的好奇心并對(duì)數(shù)學(xué)概念有較強(qiáng)的 理解能力。1905 年, 愛(ài)因斯坦發(fā)表了著名的《狹義相對(duì)論》( Special Theory of Relativity) , 解釋了時(shí)間、空間和運(yùn)動(dòng)等基本自然現(xiàn)象之間的關(guān)系。1916 年, 他發(fā)表《廣義相對(duì)論》 ( General Theory of Relativity) , 用公式表示能量和質(zhì)量之間關(guān)系, 解釋了太陽(yáng)取之不盡的能 量的本質(zhì), 為原子能的發(fā)現(xiàn)奠定了基礎(chǔ)。1921 年, 愛(ài)因斯坦因發(fā)現(xiàn)光電效應(yīng)定律而獲諾貝爾物理獎(jiǎng)。他還曾參加過(guò)反戰(zhàn)、反法西斯戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng), 并反對(duì)使用核武器。

　　2. 在這里是“ 本質(zhì), 實(shí)質(zhì)”的意思, 和詞組in essence 意思相同。essence 可作“ 精髓, 精華” 解, of the essence 引申為“極其重要的, 必不可少的”。

　　3.“ 軼事, 趣聞”的意思, 指歷史或名人生平中不曾發(fā)表過(guò)的秘聞。

　　4. 這個(gè)詞組作“并不更差, 依然如此”解, 如: I like a man none the worse for being outspoken. ( 我并不因?yàn)橐粋€(gè)人直言不諱而討厭他。)

　　5. N. J. 是New Jersey ( 新澤西州) 的縮寫。Princeton ( 普林斯頓) 是新澤西州中部一個(gè)自治 鎮(zhèn), 就是這個(gè)小鎮(zhèn)竟被人們稱為“ 學(xué)術(shù)圣地”, 原因是這里有兩個(gè)高等學(xué)府: 普林斯頓大 學(xué)( University of Princeton) 和普林斯頓高等研究院( Princeton Institute for Advanced Study) 。這篇文章中提到的是普林斯頓高等研究院。該研究院為了保持活力, 開(kāi)學(xué)術(shù)交 流之風(fēng)氣, 常邀請(qǐng)世界各地教授到這里訪問(wèn)研究。他們聘請(qǐng)教授長(zhǎng)則一年, 短則數(shù)月, 但 很少有終身教授。 6. 這是個(gè)法語(yǔ)詞, 指“ 簽好字的空白支票”, 引申為“全權(quán), 自由處理權(quán)”。這里的意思是“ 愛(ài) 因斯坦想要多少工資就可以自己填上多少”。

　　7. 這個(gè)詞組作“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。)

　　8.“曲的, 斜的”的意思, 一般用作表語(yǔ), 既可作形容詞也可作副詞使用, 如: glance awry ( 斜 視) , 這里是形容詞。這個(gè)詞還可作“ 離開(kāi)了預(yù)期或正確方向的, 錯(cuò)的”解, 如: 短語(yǔ)go / run awry 指“人背離正道, 走上邪路”, 比喻事情出岔子, 失敗。