Thinking
about the Text
Page
no 50
1. 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) 9
(ii) 7
(iii) 3
(iv) 10
(v) 15
(vi) 8
(viii)
11
2. 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. The following people had these opinions
regarding Einstein:
(i)
His playmates
regarded him to be boring
(ii)
A headmaster
considered him to be stupid and would never succeed in life.
(iii)
His mother regarded
him to be a freak.
3. Explain
what the reasons for the following are.
(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
because he hated the school’s regimentation and often clashed with the
teachers.
(ii) Einstein wanted to study in Switzerland
rather than in Munich because education was more liberal over there than Munich.
(iii)Einstein saw in Mileva
an ally against the “Philistines”. They were those people in his family and
university with whom he was constantly at odds.
(iv)These prove that he had his own views and
opinions about different matter and it was his priority.
4. What
did Einstein call his desk drawer at the patent office? Why?
Ans. Einstein called
his desk drawer as “bureau of theoretical physics” at the patent office.
Actually, he was doing a lot of research on various topics and kept all his documents
over there.
5. Why
did Einstein write a letter to Franklin Roosevelt?
Ans. Einstein wrote a
letter to the President of America as the Nazis could prepare an atom bomb and
had the capability to destroy the whole world. So, in order to warn the
President and make him aware, Einstein wrote the letter.
6. How
did Einstein react to the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki?
Ans. Einstein was
deeply shaken by the destruction caused due to the bombing of Hiroshima and
Nagasaki. Moreover, he wrote a public missive to the United Nations.
7. Why
does the world remember Einstein as a “world citizen”?
Ans. The world
remembers Einstein to be a “world citizen”. This is because he was in favour of
peace and democracy. He thought about Japan and was deeply shaken by the
destruction caused due to the Hiroshima and Nagasaki incident.
8. Here
are some facts from Einstein’s life. Arrange them in chronological order.
[] Einstein publishes his special theory
of relativity.
[] He is awarded the Noble Prize in
Physics.
[] Einstein writes a letter to U.S
President, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Einstein warns against Germany’s building
of an atom bomb.
[] Einstein attends a high school in
Munich.
[] Einstein’s family moves to Milan.
[] Einstein is 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
leaves Germany for the United States.
Ans. [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 Noble 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 Einstein warns against Germany’s building
of an atom bomb.
[12] Einstein dies.
Thinking
about Language
1. Here
are some sentences from the story. Choose the words 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 men with the walrus
moustache. (interested, challenged, worried)
Ans. The words that can be substituted are as
follows:
1. Failed
2.
In disagreement
3.
Declared
4.
Campaigning
5.
Permanently
6.
In a state of
commotion
7.
Interested
II. Study the following sentences.
·
Einstein became a gifted amateur
violinist, maintaining this skill throughout his life.
·
Letters survive in which they put their
affection into words, mixing science with tenderness.
The parts in italics in the above sentences begin with –ing
verbs, and are called participial phrases.
Participial phrases say about something more about the person or thing
talked about or the idea expressed by the sentence or as a whole. For example:
–
Einstein became a gifted amateur
violinist. He maintained this skill throughout his life.
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 continuously.)
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 photographs.)
Ans.
1.
Working round the
clock the firefighters finally put out the fire.
2.
Noticing the colours
blending softly into one another she watched the sunset above the mountain.
3.
Neighing continually
the excited horse pawed the ground rapidly.
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.