六級閱讀：愛因斯坦軼事 精講

　　六級閱讀：愛因斯坦軼事 精講My Friend, Albert Einstein1

　　He was one of the greatest scientists the world has ever known, yet if I had to convey the essence 2 of Albert Einstein in a single word, I would choose simplicity. Perhaps an anecdote 3 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 worse4 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. 5 He had been among the first to be invited to the Institute, and was offered carte blanche6 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 of7 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 awry8 , 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.

　　閱讀自測

　?、? 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 is so strong-minded a person that I am _______ ( 敬畏) her.

　?、? Questions :

　　After reading this passage , do you have a new understanding of this famous person, Albert Einstein? 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

　　愛因斯坦軼事

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

　　我第一次見阿爾伯特· 愛因斯坦是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 沮喪的是, 愛因斯坦的要求讓你難以接受: 他索要甚少。院長不得不懇求他多索要一些薪 水。

　　我敬畏愛因斯坦, 在就我所做的研究向他請教之前, 我都感到忐忑不安。最終, 我敲響 了他辦公室的門,“ 進來”, 一個溫柔的聲音說道——— 那種升調(diào)使得這個簡單的詞語既表示歡 迎又含有疑問。我走進辦公室, 看到他坐在桌子旁邊, 一邊正計算著什么, 一邊還抽著煙 斗。愛因斯坦不修邊幅, 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 程。然后他提了一個令人吃驚的——— 又讓人喜愛的——— 請求:“ 請慢點寫, 我反應慢。”這 話竟出自愛因斯坦! 他說話如此斯文, 我笑了。自那一刻起, 我對愛因斯坦一點都不覺得 害怕了。

　　閱讀導評

　　人們說, 一滴水中見天光, 一粒沙中看世界。愛因斯坦曾經(jīng)說過:“ 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, 通過生活中的 這些點滴小事, 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 的科學家的人格魅力之所在。

　　閱讀導釋

　　1. 阿爾伯特·愛因斯坦( 1879—1955) , 20 世紀最偉大的科學家之一。他出生在德國烏爾 姆, 直到3 歲才開始講話, 他從小就對自然界充滿強烈的好奇心并對數(shù)學概念有較強的 理解能力。1905 年, 愛因斯坦發(fā)表了著名的《狹義相對論》( Special Theory of Relativity) , 解釋了時間、空間和運動等基本自然現(xiàn)象之間的關(guān)系。1916 年, 他發(fā)表《廣義相對論》 ( 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。1921 年, 愛因斯坦因發(fā)現(xiàn)光電效應定律而獲諾貝爾物理獎。他還曾參加過反戰(zhàn)、反法西斯戰(zhàn)爭, 并反對使用核武器。

　　2. 在這里是“ 本質(zhì), 實質(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)表過的秘聞。

　　4. 這個詞組作“并不更差, 依然如此”解, 如: I like a man none the worse for being outspoken. ( 我并不因為一個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自治 鎮(zhèn), 就是這個小鎮(zhèn)竟被人們稱為“ 學術(shù)圣地”, 原因是這里有兩個高等學府: 普林斯頓大 學( 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, 開學術(shù)交 流之風氣, 常邀請世界各地教授到這里訪問研究。他們聘請教授長則一年, 短則數(shù)月, 但 很少有終身教授。 6. 這是個法語詞, 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 因斯坦想要多少工資就可以自己填上多少”。

　　7. 這個詞組作“敬畏”解, 常用于句型stand / be in awe of somebody 中, 如: The soldier stood in awe of the general. ( 士兵敬畏將軍。)

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