My Friend, Albert Einstein 我的挚友，阿尔伯特·爱因斯坦

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[00:02.13]My Friend, Albert Einstein 我的挚友，阿尔伯特·爱因斯坦

[00:04.96]He was one of the greatest scientists the world has ever known,

[00:09.99]yet if I had to convey the essence of Albert Einstein in a single word,

[00:14.25]I would choose simplicity¹. Perhaps an anecdote² will help.

[00:18.74]Once, caught in a downpour, he took off his hat and held it under his coat.

[00:23.24]Asked why, he explained, with admirable logic³,

[00:26.30]that the rain would damage the hat,

[00:28.27]but his hair would be none the worse for its wetting.

[00:31.00]This knack⁴ for going instinctively⁵ to the heart of a matter

[00:34.18]was the secret of his major scientific discoveries

[00:37.13]—this and his extraordinary feeling for beauty.

[00:40.18]There was something elusively⁶ whimsical about Einstein.

[00:43.47]It is illustrated⁷ by my favorite anecdote about him.

[00:46.75]In his first year in Princeton,

[00:48.72]on Christmas Eve, so the story goes, some children sang carols outside his house.

[00:53.86]Having finished,

[00:55.16]they knocked on his door and explained they were collecting money to buy Christmas presents.

[00:59.33]Einstein listened, then said, “Wait a moment.”

[01:02.94]He put on his scarf and overcoat, and took his violin from its case.

[01:07.42]Then, joining the children as they went from door to door,

[01:10.80]he accompanied their singing of “Silent Night” on his violin.

[01:14.21]How shall I sum up what it meant to have known Einstein and his works?

[01:18.25]Like the Nobel Prize winner who pointed⁸ helplessly at his watch,

[01:22.07]I can find no adequate words.

[01:24.38]It was akin⁹ to the revelation of great art that lets one see what was formerly¹⁰ hidden.

[01:30.26]And when, for example, I walk on the sand of a lonely beach,

[01:34.22]I am reminded of his ceaseless search for cosmic simplicity

[01:37.82]—and the scene takes on a deeper, sadder beauty.

1 simplicity   

n.简单，简易；朴素；直率，单纯

参考例句：

• She dressed with elegant simplicity.她穿着朴素高雅。
• The beauty of this plan is its simplicity.简明扼要是这个计划的一大特点。

2 anecdote   

n.轶事，趣闻，短故事

参考例句：

• He departed from the text to tell an anecdote.他偏离课文讲起了一则轶事。
• It had never been more than a family anecdote.那不过是个家庭趣谈罢了。

3 logic   

n.逻辑(学)；逻辑性

参考例句：

• What sort of logic is that?这是什么逻辑？
• I don't follow the logic of your argument.我不明白你的论点逻辑性何在。

4 knack   

n.诀窍，做事情的灵巧的，便利的方法

参考例句：

• He has a knack of teaching arithmetic.他教算术有诀窍。
• Making omelettes isn't difficult,but there's a knack to it.做煎蛋饼并不难，但有窍门。

5 instinctively   

adv.本能地

参考例句：

• As he leaned towards her she instinctively recoiled. 他向她靠近，她本能地往后缩。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He knew instinctively where he would find her. 他本能地知道在哪儿能找到她。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 elusively   

adv.巧妙逃避地，易忘记地

参考例句：

7 illustrated   

adj. 有插图的，列举的 动词illustrate的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• His lecture was illustrated with slides taken during the expedition. 他在讲演中使用了探险时拍摄到的幻灯片。
• The manufacturing Methods: Will be illustrated in the next chapter. 制作方法将在下一章说明。

8 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

9 akin   

adj.同族的，类似的

参考例句：

• She painted flowers and birds pictures akin to those of earlier feminine painters.她画一些同早期女画家类似的花鸟画。
• Listening to his life story is akin to reading a good adventure novel.听他的人生故事犹如阅读一本精彩的冒险小说。

10 formerly   

adv.从前，以前

参考例句：

• We now enjoy these comforts of which formerly we had only heard.我们现在享受到了过去只是听说过的那些舒适条件。
• This boat was formerly used on the rivers of China.这船从前航行在中国内河里。