大学英语精读17大英语精读17.doc

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 Einsteins 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 couldnt 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 functioning. He knew there were answers beyond his intellectual reach. But this did not frustrate him. He was content to go as far as he could. In the 23 years of our friendship, I never saw him show jealousy, vanity, bitterness, anger, resentment, or personal ambition. He seemed immune to these emotions. He was beyond any pretension. Although he corresponded with many of the worlds most important people, his stationery carried only a watermark - W - for Woolworths. To do his work he needed only a pencil only a pencil and a pad of paper. Material things meant nothing to him. I never knew him to carry money because he never had any use for it. He believed in simplicity, so much so that he used only a safety razor and water to shave. When I suggested that he try shaving cream, he said, The razor and water do the job.But Professor, why dont you try the cream just once? I argued. It makes shaving smoother an