unit 4the professor and theYoyo.docx

1、unit 4 the professor and the YoyoUnit 4: Seen through the eyes of a young friend Einstein was a simple, modest谦虚的 and ordinary man. The professor and the Yo-yoMy father was a close friend of Albert Einstein. As a shy young visitor to Einsteins home, I was made to feel at ease【感到自在】 when Einstein sai

2、d, 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【绳子】. When my turn came【轮到我的时候】, I displayed my few tricks【技巧】 and pointed out【指出】 to him that the incorrectly【错误地】 looped string had thrown

3、 the toy off balance. Einstein nodded【点头】, properly【非常】 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【诗】 of thanks. As boy and then as an adult, I never lost my wonder【钦佩】 at the personality【人格】 that was Ei

4、nstein. 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【宇宙】 and the logic【逻辑】 and simplicity【简单】 in its functioning【功能】. He knew ther

5、e were answers beyond his intellectual reach【所能到达的范围】. But this did not frustrate使沮丧 him. He was content【满足的】 to go as far as he could. In the 23 years of our friendship, I never saw him show jealousy【嫉妒】, vanity【虚荣】, bitterness【痛苦】, anger, resentment【愤恨】, or personal ambition【野心】. He seemed immune【

6、免疫的】 to these emotions【情感，情绪】. He was beyond any pretension【假装】. Although he corresponded【联系】 with many of the worlds most important people, his stationery【文具】 carried only a watermark【水印】 - W - for Woolworths. To do his work he needed only a pencil only a pencil and a pad of【一叠】 paper. Material thi

7、ngs meant nothing to him. I never knew him to carry money because he never had any use for it. He believed in【相信，信仰】 simplicity, so much so that he used only a safety razor【刮胡刀】 and water to shave. When I suggested that he try shaving cream【刮胡子涂的】, he said, The razor and water do the job. But Profes

8、sor, why dont you try the cream just once I argued. It makes shaving smoother【更平滑】 and less painful. He shrugged【耸肩】. Finally, I presented him with a tube of shaving cream. The next morning when he came down to breakfast, he was beaming笑容满面 with the pleasure of a new, great discovery. You know, that

9、 cream really works, he announced. It doesnt pull the beard. It feels wonderful. Thereafter【此后】, he used the shaving cream every morning until the tube was empty. Then he reverted【恢复到】 to using plain【普通的】 water. Einstein was purely and exclusively【高级的】 a theorist【学说创立人】. He didnt have the slightest

10、interest in the practical application of his ideas and theories. His E=mc2 is probably the most famous equation【等式】 in history - yet Einstein wouldnt walk down the street to see a reactor create atomic【原子能的】 energy. He won the Nobel Prize for his Photoelectric Theory, a series of equations that he c

11、onsidered relatively【相对地】 minor【较小】 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【在的边缘】 of a bowl of water and repeatedly【不断地】 dunked its head in the water. Einstein watched it in

12、 delight【愉快地】, trying to deduce【推断】 the operating principle【原理】. But be 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 stopped, realizing a flaw漏洞 in his reasoning. No, I guess

13、thats not it, he said. He pursued【继续】 various【各种各样的】 theories【理论】 for several days until I suggested we take the toy apart to see how it did work. His quick expression【表情】 of disapproval【不肯定，不支持】 told me he did not agree with this practical approach【方法】. He never did work out the solution. Another p

14、uzzle【疑惑】 that Einstein could never understand was his own fame【名望】. He had developed theories that were profound 【内涵深刻的】and capable of exciting relatively few scientists. Yet his name was a household word across the civilized【文明的】 world. Ive had good ideas, and so have other men, he once said. But

15、its been my good fortune【运气】 that my ideas have been accepted. He was bewildered【为难，手足无措】 by his fame: people wanted to meet him; strangers stared at him on the street; scientists, statesmen, students, and housewives wrote him letters. He never could understand why he received this attention, why he

16、 was singled out as something special. Unit4 The Professor and the Yo-Yo在一个年轻朋友的心目中，爱因斯坦是个纯朴、谦虚的普通人。教授与溜溜球托马斯李巴基 和 约瑟夫P.布兰克我父亲是阿尔伯特爱因斯坦的密友。小时候有一次我去爱因斯坦家拜访时很腼腆，他说，“我有样东西拿给你看，”于是我便感到无拘无束了。他走到书桌旁，拿回来一只溜溜球。他试图做给我看这种玩具怎么个玩法，但他没法使它顺着线再转上去。轮到我时，我露了几手并向他指出，绕错的线圈使玩具失去了平衡。爱因斯坦点点头，我的技能和知识给他留下了颇深的印象。后来，我买了一只溜溜球

17、，把它作为圣诞礼物送给了教授，并收到他一首表示感谢的诗。作为一个孩子，以后又作为一个成人，我一直对爱因斯坦的个性惊叹不已。他是我所认识的人中唯一能跟自己及周围世界达成妥协的人。他知道自己想要什么，而他想要的只是：在他作为一个人的能力范围之内理解宇宙的性质以及宇宙运行的逻辑和单纯。他知道有许多问题的答案超出了他智力所及的范围。但这并不使他感到灰心丧气。只要在能力许可的范围内取得最大的成功他就心满意足了。在我们二十三年的友谊中，我从未见他表现出妒忌、虚荣、痛苦、愤怒、怨恨或个人野心。他好像对这些感情具有免疫能力似的。他毫无矫饰之心，虚荣之意。虽然他与世界上的许多要人通信，他用的却是有W水印字母的信

18、笺，水印字母W五分钱商店伍尔沃思的缩写。为了做他的工作他只需要一支笔和一本拍纸簿。物质的东西对他毫无意义。我知道他身上从不带钱，因为他从来不需要用钱。他信奉简朴，甚至于只用一把安全剃刀和清水刮胡子。当我建议他用一下刮胡膏时，他说：“剃刀和水就够了。”“但是，教授，为什么你就不能仅仅试用一次刮胡膏呢”我争辩说。“它可以让你刮起胡子来又平滑又不痛。”他耸了耸肩。最后，我终于送给他一管刮胡膏。第二天早上，当他下楼来用早餐时，他因为有了一大新发现而高兴得满脸含笑。“你知道，那种刮胡膏还真有效，”他说。“它不扯胡子，感觉好极了。”打那以后，他每天早晨都用那管刮胡膏，直到那一管用完为止。然后他又回复到只用

19、清水刮胡子了。爱因斯坦完完全全是个理论家。他对自己的思想和理论的实际应用丝毫不感兴趣。他提出的E=mc2也许是有史以来最著名的公式然而爱因斯坦却不愿费举足之劳去看反应堆产生原子能。他因其光电理论他认为这是比较次要的一系列公式而获得诺贝尔奖金，但对于观察他的理论怎样使得电视得以产生却没有一点好奇心。我兄弟曾送给教授一个玩具，那是一只立在盛水的碗边保持平衡并反复把头浸入水中的鸟。爱因斯坦高兴地注视着它，试图推断出它的运动原理，但他没能推断出。第二天早晨他宣布说：“关于那只鸟我睡觉前思索了很长时间，它一定是这样运转的”他开始做起了长篇解释。后来他意识到自己推理中的一个漏洞便停了下来。“不，我想不是那

20、么回事。”他连续几天试着用各种理论来加以解释，后来我建议他把玩具拆开来看看它是怎样运转的。他迅速显出的不赞成的表情告诉我，他并不同意这种切实可行的作法。他一直没有研究出这个答案。爱因斯坦一直没能理解的另一个谜是他自己的名望。他提出的理论都是些非常深奥、只能使比较少的科学家感兴趣的理论。然而他的名字在整个文明世界却家喻户晓，尽人皆知。有一次他说：“我有一些很好的思想，别人也有一些很好的思想。只是由于我运气好，我的思想才被人接受了。”他的名望使他感到迷惑不解：人们都想见他；陌生人在街上盯着他看；科学家、政治家、学生和家庭主妇都给他写信。他一直不能理解，为什么他会受到这种注意，为什么单单把他挑出来当

21、作特殊人物对待。Words. 【例】Ease n. 轻松，舒适；容易；安逸；不拘束，自在 vt. 解除痛苦；减轻；延缓；松弛 vi. 缓解，减少；轻松前进At ease 安逸，自由自在；自然；心净. She lived a life of ease. 她过着安逸的生活。modest adj. 谦虚的，谦逊的；适度的，适中的；端庄的；羞怯的. You can make progress 进步only if you are modest. 惟虚心乃能进步。roll vt. 辗；使（眼球等）左右转动；（使）原地转圈；滚动 vi. 左右摇晃；翻滚；开始移动，启动 n. 名册；滚翻. When I wa

22、s a little kid I rolled down a hill【山】 and broke my leg. 我小时候从一座山坡上滚了下来，把腿摔断了。nod 英 nd 美 nd vi. 点头；打瞌睡；上下摆动；变得粗心大意 vt. 点头示意；使弯曲，使屈服；点头答应 n. 点头；点头同意；打瞌睡，打盹；粗心大意. David said nothing, but simply nodded, as if understanding perfectly. 戴维什么都没说，只是点点头，好像完全理解了。properly 英 prpl 美 prprli adv. 适当地；恰当地；正确地；完全，非常

23、. They will be concerned to do the right thing to dress properly, for instance【比如，for example】. 他们需要注意行为是否恰当比如说，穿着得体。impressed adj. 印象深刻的 v. 使感动，使印象深刻( impress的过去式和过去分词impress vt. 印；给以深刻印象；使铭记 n. 印象；印记. What impressed him most was their speed. 最令他佩服的是他们的速度。mail n. 邮件，邮政；邮政（制度）；邮务员，邮递员；古袋，旅行包 vt. 邮寄；

24、给穿盔甲 vi. 投邮. He mailed me the contract. 他把合同邮寄给了我。wonder adj. 奇妙的；钦佩的；远超过预期的 n. 惊奇；奇观；奇人；奇迹 vt. 对感到好奇；惊奇；感到诧异；想弄明白 vi. 怀疑，想知道；惊讶. I wondered what that noise was. 我纳闷儿那是什么声音。. Rushton has done wonders for the industry. 拉什顿创造了行业奇迹。come to terms with a) reach agreement with与达到和谐的状态，达成一致 . We have come

25、to terms with them that the meeting will be delayed until next month. 我们在将会议推迟到下个月这件事情上达成了一致意见。b) make oneself accepted 被某人接受 . Later she had to come to terms with the difficult situation.不久之后，她终于脱离了窘境。On good/bad terms with 与相处得好/不好. The sisters are in good terms with each other.姐妹俩相处得很好。Universe n

26、. 宇宙，万有，天地万物，森罗万象，全世界，全人类；全领域，逻整体，统全域；天银河系，恒星与星辰系. Behind his eyes was a whole universe of pain. 他眼神中隐藏着无尽的痛楚。. Early astronomers thought that our planet was the centre of the universe. 早期的天文学家认为我们的星球是宇宙的中心。Logic n. 逻辑，逻辑学；（做某事的）道理；推理方法；威力，压力，强制（力） adj. 逻辑的. I dont follow the logic of your argument.

27、 我不明白你的论点逻辑性何在。Simplicity 英 simplisiti 美 smplsti n. 简单，朴素；质朴，天真；卑贱；无知He believes everything with childlike simplicity. 他像孩子一样单纯，对一切都信以为真。Intellectual adj. 智力的；有才智的；需用智力的；智力发达的 n. 知识分子；脑力劳动者；有极高智力的人；凭理智（而非感情）办事的人. Games like chess are rather intellectual pursuits【追求】. 棋类比赛是相当费脑力的娱乐。Frustrate vt. 挫败；阻

28、挠；使受挫折 adj. 无益的，无效的These questions frustrated me. 这些问题让我沮丧。Frustrating 令人沮丧的 frustrated 沮丧的. I am very frustrated when hear that we lost the basketball game . It s a frustrating news that we lost the basketball game.Content n. 内容；（书等的）目录；满足；容量 kntent adj. 满足的，满意的；愿意的；心甘情愿的 vt. 使满足，使满意. There is no i

29、nitial list of contents. 没有章首目录。. You will have to content yourself with what you have. 你应该满足于你所拥有的一切。Jealous 英 dels 美 dls adj. 妒忌的，妒羡的；猜疑的，留意堤防的；爱惜的，戒备的；精心守护的 was jealous of his wealth. 她忌妒他的富有。Vanity n. 虚荣，浮华；自负；空虚，无聊的事物；无价值的东西. Vanity and virtue do not go together. 虚荣与美德不是共生物。Bitterness 英 btns 美

30、btns n. 苦味；痛苦；悲痛；酷烈 美 btns n. 痛苦；悲痛；酷烈adj. bitter 痛苦的，苦涩的Resentment n. 愤恨，不满. She expressed resentment at being interviewed by a social worker. 她表达了对被一位社工采访的愤恨。v. resent 憎恨ambition n. 抱负；渴望得到的东西；追求的目标；夙愿 vt. 追求；有野心. His ambition is to sail round the world. 他的梦想是环球航行。Immune 英 imju:n 美 mjoon adj. 免疫的；

31、有免疫力的；不受影响的；免除的 n. 免疫者，免除者. Most adults are immune to Rubella. 大多数成人对风疹具有免疫力。Pretension n. 假装，做作；要求，主张；自负；借口 vt. 建预张，预拉. We like him for his honesty, his lack of pretension. 我们喜欢他的诚实、不浮夸。 Pretend vt. 假装，伪装；假称；装扮 vi. 扮演；自称；假装，矫作 adj. 仿制的 had no option but to pretend ignorance. 我别无他法，只能假装不知道。Correspond英 krispnd 美 krspnd, kr- vi. 符合，一致；相应；通信. We corresponded regularly. 我们定期通信。Believe in 信赖，信仰 Smooth 英 smu: 美 smu adj. 光滑的；流畅的；柔软的；温和的，安详的 vt. 使平滑；排除，消除；安抚，平息；使优雅 vi. 变平和，变缓和 n. 平地，平面. Bardo smoothed his moustache. 巴多抚了抚胡子。. .a smooth surface such as glass. 如