A Truly Beautiful Mind - Q&A
Thinking about the Text1. 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
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
2. Who had these opinions about Einstein?
(i) He was boring.
Answer: His playmates.
(Explanation: Paragraph 2 states that his playmates called him "Brother Boring" because he did not know what to do with other children.)
(ii) He was stupid and would never succeed in life.
Answer: A headmaster.
(Explanation: Paragraph 3 mentions a headmaster told his father that he would "never make a success at anything.")
(iii) He was a freak.
Answer: His mother.
(Explanation: Paragraph 1 mentions that his mother thought Albert was a freak because his head seemed much too large.)
3. Explain what the reasons for the following are.
(i) Einstein leaving the school in Munich for good.
Answer: Einstein hated the school's regimentation (strict discipline) and often clashed with his teachers. He felt so stifled that he couldn't breathe there, so he left.
(ii) Einstein wanting to study in Switzerland rather than in Munich.
Answer: Switzerland (specifically Zurich) was more liberal than Munich. He felt he could continue his education there in an environment that was more open to new ideas and less strict.
(iii) Einstein seeing in Mileva an ally.
Answer: He saw her as a "clever creature" who was also against the "philistines"—the people in his family and at the university who did not appreciate art, literature, or music. They shared a common intellectual interest.
(iv) What do these tell you about Einstein?
Answer: These instances tell us that Einstein was a freedom-loving individual who disliked authority and strict rules. He valued intellectual companionship and was a rebel who followed his own path rather than societal norms.
4. What did Einstein call his desk drawer at the patent office? Why?
Answer: He called his desk drawer the "bureau of theoretical physics."
Why: He called it this because while he was supposed to be assessing other people's inventions, he was secretly using that drawer to store and develop his own ideas and scientific theories.
5. Why did Einstein write a letter to Franklin Roosevelt?
Answer: Einstein wrote the letter to warn President Roosevelt that Germany might build an atomic bomb. He explained that a single bomb of this type could destroy a whole port and the surrounding territory, aiming to alert the US government to the danger.
6. How did Einstein react to the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki?
Answer: Einstein was deeply shaken by the extent of the destruction. He wrote a public missive (official letter) to the United Nations proposing the formation of a world government to prevent such tragedies in the future.
7. Why does the world remember Einstein as a "world citizen"?
Answer: The world remembers him as a world citizen because, in the later part of his life, he campaigned for peace and democracy. He agitated for an end to the arms buildup and used his scientific fame to promote global unity, rather than just focusing on science or one country.
8. Here are some facts from Einstein's life. Arrange them in chronological order.
Answer:
[1] Einstein is born in the German city of Ulm.
[2] Einstein attends a high school in Munich.
[3] Einstein's family moves to Milan.
[4] Tired of the school's regimentation, Einstein withdraws from school.
[5] Einstein joins a university in Zurich, where he meets Mileva.
[6] He works in a patent office as a technical expert.
[7] Einstein publishes his special theory of relativity.
[8] He provides a new interpretation of gravity.
[9] He is awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics.
[10] When Hitler comes to power, Einstein leaves Germany for the United States.
[11] Einstein writes a letter to U.S. President, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and warns against Germany's building of an atomic bomb.
[12] 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).
A few years later, the marriage became weak.
2. Einstein was constantly at odds with people at the university. (on bad terms, in disagreement, unhappy)
Einstein was constantly in disagreement with people at the university.
3. The newspapers proclaimed his work as "a scientific revolution." (declared, praised, showed)
The newspapers declared his work as "a scientific revolution."
4. Einstein got ever more involved in politics, agitating for an end to the arms buildup. (campaigning, fighting, supporting)
Einstein got ever more involved in politics, campaigning for an end to the arms buildup.
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)
At the age of 15, Einstein felt so stifled that he left the school permanently.
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)
Five years later, the discovery of nuclear fission in Berlin had American physicists in a state of commotion.
7. Science wasn't the only thing that appealed to the dashing young man with the walrus moustache. (interested, challenged, worried)
Science wasn't the only thing that interested the dashing young man with the walrus moustache.
II. Study the following sentences... Complete the sentences below by filling in the blanks with suitable participial clauses.
1. ___________________, the firefighters finally put out the fire. (They worked round the clock.)
Working round the clock, the firefighters finally put out the fire.
2. She watched the sunset above the mountain, ___________________. (She noticed the colours blending softly into one another.)
She watched the sunset above the mountain, noticing the colours blending softly into one another.
3. The excited horse pawed the ground rapidly, ___________________. (While it neighed continually.)
The excited horse pawed the ground rapidly, neighing continually.
4. ___________________, I found myself in Bangalore, instead of Benaras. (I had taken the wrong train.)
Having taken the wrong train, I found myself in Bangalore, instead of Benaras.
5. ___________________, I was desperate to get to the bathroom. (I had not bathed for two days)
Having not bathed for two days, I was desperate to get to the bathroom.
6. The stone steps, ___________________, needed to be replaced. (They were worn down).
The stone steps, being worn down, needed to be replaced. (Or simply: worn down).
7. The actor received hundreds of letters from his fans, ___________________. (They asked him to send them his photograph.)
The actor received hundreds of letters from his fans, asking him to send them his photograph.
Writing Newspaper Reports
Write a report which has four paragraphs... 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...
Answer (Sample Report):
Student Unearths Einstein Manuscript
21 AUGUST 2005. An original handwritten Albert Einstein manuscript has been unearthed at a university in the Netherlands. The document was discovered by a student named Rowdy Boeynik. It was found amongst papers belonging to an old friend of Einstein.
Rowdy Boeynik was researching papers at the University of the Netherlands when he stumbled upon this historic find. The discovery was made recently, shedding new light on Einstein's work. The authenticity of the papers was confirmed by the presence of Einstein's fingerprints on them.
The document is a 16-page manuscript dated 1924. It contains Einstein's work on his last theory regarding the behavior of atoms at low temperatures. This phenomenon is now known as the Bose-Einstein condensation. The manuscript captures a crucial phase in Einstein's scientific journey.
The manuscript will be kept at Leyden University. This location is significant because it is where Einstein often visited and where he got the Nobel Prize. It will now be preserved as a valuable piece of scientific history.