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Thinking About the Text
Q1.
Here are some headings for paragraphs in the text. Write the number(s)
of the paragraph(s) for each title against the heading. The first one is
done for you.
(i) Einstein’s equation
(ii) Einstein meets his future wife
(iii) The making of a violinist
(iv) Mileva and Einstein’s mother
(v) A letter that launched the arms race
(vi) A desk drawer full of ideas
(vii) Marriage and divorce
Ans:
(i) Einstein’s equation – 9
(ii) Einstein meets his future wife – 7
(iii) The making of a violinist – 3
(iv) Mileva and Einstein’s mother – 10
(v) A letter that launched the arms race – 15
(vi) A desk drawer full of ideas – 8
(vii) Marriage and divorce – 11
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Q2. Who had these opinions about Einstein?
(i) He was boring.
(ii) He was stupid and would never succeed in life.
(iii) He was a freak.
Ans:
(i) Einstein’s playmates thought that he was bored.
(ii) Einstein’s headmaster thought that he was stupid and would never succeed at anything in life.
(iii) Einstein’s mother thought that he was a freak.
Q3. Explain the reasons for the following:
(i) Einstein leaving the school in Munich for good.
(ii) Einstein wanting to study in Switzerland rather than in Munich.
(iii) Einstein seeing in Mileva an ally.
(iv) What do these tell you about Einstein?
Ans:
(i) Einstein left the school in Munich for good because he hated the school’s regimentation and often had arguments with his school teachers.
(ii) Einstein wanted to study in Switzerland rather than in Munich because it was a more liberal city.
(iii) Einstein found in Mileva an ally because she, like him, disapproved of the “philistines” or the people who did not like art, literature or music.
(iv) The above things tell us that Einstein was a very liberal person who liked freedom. He was a person who had his own view about life.
Q4. What did Einstein call his desk drawer at the patent office? Why?
Ans: Einstein
called his desk drawer at the patent office the “bureau of theoretical
physics”. This was because the drawer was where he used to store his
secretly developed ideas.
Q5. Why did Einstein write a letter to Franklin Roosevelt?
Ans: Einstein
wrote a letter to Franklin Roosevelt to warn America that Germany had
the ability to build and use an atomic bomb, which if exploded in a
port, would destroy the entire port as well as some of the surrounding
territory.
Q6. How did Einstein react to the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki?
Ans: Einstein
was deeply shaken by the extent of destruction caused in Hiroshima and
Nagasaki. He wrote a public missive to the United Nations. He proposed
the formation of a world government to stop the use of nuclear weapons.
Q7. Why does the world remember Einstein as a “world citizen”?
Ans: Einstein
is remembered as a “world citizen” as much as a genius scientist
because of his efforts towards world peace and democracy, and for his
crusade against the use of arms.
Q8. Here are some facts from Einstein’s life. Arrange them in chronological order.
- Einstein published his special theory of relativity.
- He is awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics.
- Einstein writes a letter to U.S. President, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and warns against Germany’s building of an atomic bomb.
- Einstein attends a high school in Munich.
- Einstein’s family moved to Milan.
- Einstein was born in the German city of Ulm.
- Einstein joins a university in Zurich, where he meets Mileva.
- Einstein dies.
- He provides a new interpretation of gravity.
- Tired of the school’s regimentation, Einstein withdraws from school.
- He works in a patent office as a technical expert.
- When Hitler comes to power, Einstein left Germany for the United States.
Ans:
(i) Einstein is born in the German city of Ulm.
(ii) Einstein attends a high school in Munich.
(iii) Einstein’s family moves to Milan.
(iv) Tired of the school’s regimentation, Einstein withdraws from school.
(v) Einstein joins a university in Zurich, where he meets Mileva.
(vi) He works in a patent office as a technical expert.
(vii) Einstein publishes his special theory of relativity.
(viii) He provides a new interpretation of gravity.
(ix) He is awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics.
(x) When Hitler comes to power, Einstein left Germany for the United States.
(xi) Einstein writes a letter to U.S. President, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and warns against Germany’s building of an atomic bomb.
(xii) Einstein dies.
Thinking About Language
I.
Here are some sentences from the story. Choose the word from the
brackets which can be substituted for the italicised words in the
sentences.
1. A few years later, the marriage faltered. (failed, broke, became weak)
2. Einstein was constantly at odds with people at the university. (on bad terms, in disagreement, unhappy)
3. The newspapers proclaimed his work as “a scientific revolution.” (declared, praised, showed)
4. Einstein got ever more involved in politics, agitating for an end to the arms buildup. (campaigning, fighting, supporting)
5. At the age of 15, Einstein felt so stifled that he left the school for good, (permanently, for his benefit, for a short time)
6. Five years later, the discovery of nuclear fission in Berlin had American physicists in an uproar. (in a state of commotion, full of criticism, in a desperate state)
7. Science wasn’t the only thing that appealed to the dashing young man with the walrus moustache. (interested, challenged, worried)
Ans:
1. A few years later, the marriage became weak. (failed, broke, became weak).
2. Einstein was constantly in disagreement with people at the university. (on bad terms, in disagreement, unhappy)
3. The newspapers declared his work as “a scientific revolution.” (declared, praised, showed)
4. Einstein got ever more involved in politics, campaigning for an end to the arms build-up. (campaigning, fighting, supporting)
5. At the age of 15, Einstein felt so stifled that he left the school permanently. (permanently, for his benefit, for a short time)
6.
Five years later, the discovery of nuclear fission in Berlin had
American physicists in a state of commotion. (in a state of commotion,
full of criticism, in a desperate state)
7. Science
wasn’t the only thing that interested to the dashing young man with the
walrus moustache. (interested, challenged, worried)
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II. Complete the sentences below by filling in the blanks with suitable participial clauses. The information that has to be used in the phrases is provided as a sentence in brackets.
1. __________, the firefighters finally put out the fire. (They worked round the clock)
2. She watched the sunset above the mountain, __________ (She noticed the colours blending softly into one another)
3. The excited horse pawed the ground rapidly, __________ (While it neighed continually)
4. __________, I found myself in Bangalore, instead of Benaras. (I had taken the wrong train)
5. __________, I was desperate to get to the bathroom. (I had not bathed for two days)
6. The stone steps, __________ needed to be replaced. (They were worn down)
7. The actor received hundreds of letters from his fans, __________ (They asked him to send them his photograph)
Ans:
1. Working round the clock, the firefighters finally put out the fire.
2. She watched the sunset above the mountain, noticing the colours blending softly into one another.
3. The excited horse pawed the ground rapidly, neighing continually.
4. Having taken the wrong train, I found myself in Bangalore, instead of Benaras.
5. Having not bathed for two days, I was desperate to get to the bathroom.
6. The stone steps, being worn down, needed to be replaced.
7. The actor received hundreds of letters from his fans, asking him to send them his photograph.
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Writing Newspaper Reports
Here are some notes which you could use to write a report.
21
August 2005 — original handwritten manuscript of Albert Einstein
unearthed — by student Rowdy Boeynik in the University of the
Netherlands — Boeynik researching papers — papers belonging to an old
friend of Einstein — fingerprints of Einstein on these papers — 16-page
document dated 1924 — Einstein’s work on this last theory — behaviour of
atoms at low temperature — now known as the Bose-Einstein condensation —
the manuscript to be kept at Leyden University where Einstein got the
Nobel Prize.
Write a report which has four paragraphs, one each on:
- What was unearthed.
- Who unearthed it and when.
- What the document contained.
- Where it will be kept.
Your report could begin like this:
Student Unearths Einstein Manuscript
21 AUGUST 2005. An original handwritten Albert Einstein manuscript has been unearthed at a university in the Netherlands…
Ans:
Student Unearths Einstein Manuscript
21 AUGUST 2005. An original handwritten Albert Einstein manuscript has been unearthed at a university in the Netherlands.
It was unearthed by a student Rowdy Boeynik while researching papers when he came across some papers belonging to an old friend of Einstein.
The 16-page document dated 1924 contained fingerprints of Albert Einstein. It has Einstein’s work on this last theory i.e. the behaviour of atoms at low temperature which is now known as the Bose-Einstein condensation.
The manuscript will be kept at Leyden University where Einstein got the Nobel Prize.
