My Friend, Albert Einstein 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 ?、? 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 ?、? 1. simplicity 2. downpour 3. anecdotes 4.dismay 5 . in awe of Ⅱ. Yes, I have a newunderstanding of him. I find he is not only a greatscientist but also a simple man. He is polite and kindto 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(xué)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(xué)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)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(jìn)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(jìn)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(yīng)慢?！边@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。