上外版大学英语写作精选第二册(5)

    UNIT 5    TEXT

    Seen through the eyes of a young friend Einstein was a simple， modest and ordinary man.

    The professor and the Yo-yo

    My father was a close friend of Albert Einstein. As a shy young visitor to Einstein's 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 couldn't make it roll back up the string. When my turn came， I displayed my few tricks and pointed out 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 boy and then as an adult， I never lost my wonder 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

    PHRASES & EXPRESSIONS

    at ease

    free from worry or nervousness； comfortable

    off balance

    not in balance； unsteady 失去平衡的

    come to terms with

    accept （sth. one does not want to accept） and deal with it in the best way one can 与……达成协议；与……妥协

    as far as

    to the degree that  到……程度

    mean nothing to

    be of no importance to

    believe in

    have confidence in the value of

    so much so that

    to such an extent that

    a series of

    a number of （thing or events） of the same kind that follow each other  一系列，一连串

    take apart

    separate （a small machine， clock， etc.） into pieces 拆开

    work out

    solve， find the answer to 解决；算出；想出

    capable of

    having the ability， power or inclination （to do）

    single out

    choose from a group for special treatment 选出，挑出