大学英语第二册第5课 课文及课后答案.docx

1、大学英语第二册第5课 课文及课后答案UNIT 5TEXT在一个年轻朋友的眼中，爱因斯坦是一位朴素、谦虚的普通人。 教授和溜溜球 托马斯. 李. 巴基 及约瑟夫.布兰克 我父亲与阿尔伯特. 爱因斯坦是密友。青年时上爱因斯坦家去拜访，我很害羞，爱因斯坦就说：“我给你看一样东西。”他的话使我感到释然。他走向他的书桌，转过身时拿着一个溜溜球。他试着给我演示它如何运动，却不能让它沿绳子卷上去。该轮到我时，我仅略施小技，并且向他指出他将绳子卷错了，玩具就失去了平衡。爱因斯坦点着头，对我的技巧和知识留下了很深的印象。后来，我买了一个新的溜溜球，寄给教授作为圣诞礼物，并收到了他的一首充满感谢的诗。 由少年而至

2、成年，我从未失去对爱因斯坦独具人格的好奇心。他是我所知的唯一的一个对自己对周围很淡泊的人。他知道自己需要什么，仅需要：在作为人的能力范围内去了解宇宙的特性，它的逻辑及功能的易行性。他知道有他智力所不能及的答案。但这并不令他泄气。他对自己所能做到的感到满足。 在我们长达23年的友情里，我从未见他表示过妒忌、虚荣心、痛苦、愤怒、憎恨或个人野心。他不弄玄虚。尽管他与世界上许多头面人物有过书信交往，他的信笺上却只有一个水印-W-代表伍尔沃斯连锁店。 他工作只需一支铅笔和一本便签薄。物质财富对他来说并不意味着什么，我知道他身上从不带钱，因为他不需要它。他恪守俭朴，节俭之甚，仅用安全剃刀和水来刮胡须。当我

3、向他建议用刮须膏时，他说：“刀和水能管用。”他耸耸肩。最后，我送他一管刮须膏。第二天早晨他下楼吃早餐时，脸上洋溢着伟大新发现的喜悦。“你知道刮须膏真管用，”他宣称，“感觉真好。”尔后，他每天使用刮须膏，直到那一管用完为止。然后他重又使用清水。 爱因斯坦是一个地地道道的理论家。他对自己的思想和理念在实际上的应用毫无兴趣。他的E=mc2可能是历史上最有名的方程式-然而爱因斯坦不愿到外面去看核反应堆产生原子能。他的光电理论，他认为不甚重要的一系列方程式，为他赢得了诺贝尔奖，但他对他的理论如何用来生产电视机毫不关心。 我的兄弟有一次送给教授一个玩具，那是一只鸟平衡于一只盛满水的碗的边缘上，不断地将它的

4、头啄入水中。爱因斯坦兴趣盎然地观看它，试图推理出其操作原理。但他失败了。 第二天早上他宣布：“昨天上床前我思考了很久，那只鸟一定是这样工作”他开始了一个长长的解释。然后他停止了，发现自己的推理里有一个错误。“不，我猜不是这样的。”他说。好几天他都在探讨着不同的理论，直至我建议打开下玩具看个究竟。他的飞快的不屑一顾的神情告诉我，他对这种应用态度不以为然。他一直未能弄清其中奥妙。 爱因斯坦所不能理解的另一个迷是他的名气。他所发展的理论非常深奥，仅在相对少数的科学家里才能引起反响。尽管如此，他的错别字在文明世界里却家喻户晓。“我有好的思想，其他的人也一样，”他有一次说，“只是因为运气好，我的思想才被

5、人们接受。”他为自己的名声所惑：人们渴望与他见面，陌生人站在街头望着他，科学家们，政界要人们，学子们以及家庭主妇们给他写信。他从来不明白为何自己倍受关注，为何他被作为特殊人物挑选出来。Seen through the eyes of a young friend Einstein was a simple, modest and ordinary man.The Professor and the Yo-yo Thomas Lee Bucky with Joseph P. BlanmMy father was a close friend of Albert Einstein As a shy

6、 young visitor to Einsteins home, I was made to feel at ease when Einstein said, I have something to show you. He went to his desk and returned with a Yo-Yo. He tried to show me how it worked but he couldnt make it roll back up the string. When my turn came, I displayed my few tricks and pointed out

7、 to him that the incorrectly looped string had thrown the toy off balance. Einstein nodded, properly impressed by my skill and knowledge. Later, I bought a new Yo-Yo and mailed it to the Professor as a Christmas present, and received a poem of thanks.As a boy and then as an adult, I never lost my wo

8、nder at the personality that was Einstein. He was the only person I knew who had come to terms with himself and the world around him. He knew what he wanted and he wanted only this: to understand within his limits as a human being the nature of the universe and the logic and simplicity in its functi

9、oning. He knew there were answers beyond his intellectual reach. But this did not frustrate him. He was content to go as far as he could.In the 23 years of our friendship, I never saw him show jealousy, vanity, bitterness, anger, resentment, or personal ambition. He seemed immune to these emotions.

10、He was beyond any pretension. Although he corresponded with many of the worlds most important people, his stationery carried only a watermark -W-for Woolworths.To do his work he needed only a pencil and a pad of paper. Material things meant nothing to him. I never knew him to carry money because he

11、never had any use for it. He believed in simplicity, so much so that he used only a safety razor and water to shave. When I suggested that he try shaving cream, he said, The razor and water do the job.But Professor, why dont you try the cream just once? I argued. It makes shaving smoother and less p

12、ainful.He shrugged. Finally, I presented him with a tube of shaving cream. The next morning when he came down to breakfast, he was beaming with the pleasure of a new, great discovery. You know, that cream really works, he used the shaving cream every morning until the tube was empty. Then he reverte

13、d to using plain water.Einstein was purely and exclusively a theorist. He didnt have the slightest interest in the practical application of his ideas and theories. His E=mc2 is probably the most famous equation in history - yet Einstein wouldnt walk down the street to see a reactor create atomic ene

14、rgy. He won the Nobel Prize for his Photoelectric Theory, a series of equations that he considered relatively minor in importance, but he didnt have any curiosity in observing how his theory made TV possible.My brother once gave the Professor a toy, a bird that balanced on the edge of a bowl of wate

15、r and repeatedly dunked its head in the water. Einstein watched it in delight, trying to deduce the operating principle. But he couldnt.The next morning he announced, I had thought about that bird for a long time before I went to bed and it must work this way . He began a long explanation. Then he s

16、topped, realizing a flaw in his reasoning. No, I guess thats not it, he said. He pursued various theories for several days until I suggested we take the toy apart to see how it did work. His quick expression of disapproval told me he did not agree with this practical approach. He never did work out the solution.Another puzzle that Einstein could n