Einstein Named "Person of the Century"
Albert Einstein, whose theories on space time and matter helped unravel the secrets of the atom and of the universe, was chosen as "Person of the Century" by Time magazine on Sunday.
A man whose very name is synonymous with scientific genius，Einstein has come to represent more than any other person the flowering of the 20th century scientific thought that set the stage for the age of technology.
"The world has changed far more in the past 100 years than in any other century in history. The reason is not political or economic，but technological 一 technologies that flowed directly from advances in basic science. "wrote theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking in a Time essay explaining Einstein's significance. (1)
Time chose as runner-up President Franklin Roosevelt1 to represent the triumph of freedom and democracy over fascism, and Mahatma Gandhi2 as an icon for a century when civil and human rights became crucial factors in global politics. 、
"What we saw was Franklin Roosevelt embodying the great theme of freedom's fight against totalitarianism, Gandhi personifying the great theme of individuals struggling for their rights, and Einstein being both a great genius and a great symbol of a scientific revolution that brought with it amazing technological advances that helped expand the growth of freedom. "said Time Magazine Editor Walter Isaacson.
Einstein was born in Ulm, Germany in 1879. (2) He was slow to learn to speak and did not do well in elementary school. He could not stomach organized learning and loathed taking exams3 ?
In 1905, however, he was to publish a theory which stands as one of the most intricate examples of human imagination in history. (3) Everything else — mass，weight, space, even time itself — is a variable. And he offered the world his now-famous equation ： energy equals mass times the speed of light squared — E = mc2.
(4) "There was less faith in absolutes, not only of time and space but also of truth and morality."
Einstein's famous equation was also the seed that led to the development of atomic energy and weapons. In 1939, six years after he fled European fascism and settled at Princeton University, Einstein，an avowed pacifist4，signed a letter to President Roosevelt urging the United States to develop an atomic bomb before Nazi Germany did. (5) Einstein did not work on the project.
Einstein died in Princeton, New Jersey in 1955.
詞匯：
unravel 解開(kāi) personify 象征，體現(xiàn)
synonymous 同義的 intricate 復(fù)雜的
runner-up 亞軍，第二名 constant 常量
icon 象征;圖符 variable 變量
totalitarianism 極權(quán) equation 等式
注釋?zhuān)?/P>
1.President Franklin Roosevelt:美國(guó)第 32 任總統(tǒng)羅斯福(1882—1945)
2.Mahatma Gandhi:印度政治和精神領(lǐng)袖、改革家甘地(1869—1948)
3.He could not stomach organized learning and loathed taking exams.他無(wú)法忍受一切都安排得 死死的教學(xué)，討厭考試。
4.avowed pacifist:公開(kāi)承認(rèn)的和平主義者
練習(xí)：
A "Indirectly, relativity paved the way for a new relativism in morality, art and politics. "Isaacson wrote in an essay explaining Time's choices.
B How he thought of the relativity theory influenced the general public's view about Albert Einstein.
C "Clearly, no scientist better represents those advances than Albert Einstein."
D Roosevelt heeded the advice and formed the "Manhattan Project" that secretly developed the first atomic weapon.
E In his early years, Einstein did not show the promise of what he was to become.
F In his "Special Theory of Relativity"，Einstein described how the only constant in the universe is the speed of light.
答案與題解：
1.C本文主要講愛(ài)因斯坦為20世紀(jì)人類(lèi)科學(xué)作出的重大貢獻(xiàn)。本段是理論物理學(xué)家史蒂 芬?霍金在《時(shí)代》雜志上發(fā)表的一篇評(píng)價(jià)愛(ài)因斯坦所作貢獻(xiàn)的文章中的幾句話(huà)，他說(shuō)世界 在近100年里發(fā)生的改變比歷史上任何一個(gè)世紀(jì)的改變都大得多。原因不是政治的或經(jīng)濟(jì) 的,而是基礎(chǔ)科學(xué)的發(fā)展直接引發(fā)的科技。這兩句話(huà)并未提及愛(ài)因斯坦，因此此處選C最合 適：“很顯然，沒(méi)有哪個(gè)科學(xué)家比艾爾伯特?愛(ài)因斯坦更能代表這些進(jìn)步�！眛hose在此發(fā)揮了 銜接作用。
2.E本段簡(jiǎn)要介紹愛(ài)因斯坦早年生平。E說(shuō)：“愛(ài)因斯坦在小時(shí)候并未顯示日后會(huì)成為大科 學(xué)家的任何天賦。”后一句話(huà)實(shí)際上是對(duì)E的詳細(xì)解釋。
3.F本段主要介紹愛(ài)因斯坦提出的相對(duì)論。第一句話(huà)告訴我們1905年的時(shí)候愛(ài)因斯坦發(fā)表 一個(gè)人類(lèi)歷史上展現(xiàn)出最具奇巧想象力的理論，第三、第四句話(huà)是具體解釋相對(duì)論，F(xiàn)說(shuō): “在他的‘特殊相對(duì)論’中，愛(ài)因斯坦描述了為什么宇宙中唯一不多的是光速�！庇纱丝磥�(lái)F 放在此處最合適，其中constant和variable意思相反，構(gòu)成詞匯銜接(>\化01 cohesion)。
4.A本段是伊薩克森在《時(shí)代》雜志上的一篇文章中對(duì)相對(duì)論的深遠(yuǎn)意義所做的評(píng)述,他說(shuō): “相對(duì)論間接地為道德、藝術(shù)和政治領(lǐng)域中新的相對(duì)主義的出現(xiàn)鋪平了道挺�！焙笠痪涫菍�(duì)此 的進(jìn)一步解釋。 、
5.D本段主要講愛(ài)因斯坦與原子能和原子武器發(fā)展的關(guān)系。前一句告訴我們愛(ài)因斯坦1939 年在一封給羅斯�？偨y(tǒng)的敦促美國(guó)搶在納粹德國(guó)之前研制原子彈的信上簽了名。D說(shuō)：“羅 斯福對(duì)這項(xiàng)建議十分關(guān)注，遂制訂了秘密制造第一顆原子彈的‘曼哈頓計(jì)劃’。”后一句說(shuō)愛(ài) 因斯坦未參與這個(gè)項(xiàng)目，其中the project指的就是the “Manhattan Project"。
譯文：愛(ài)因斯坦被稱(chēng)作“世紀(jì)之人”
艾爾伯特?愛(ài)因斯坦的有關(guān)空間時(shí)間和物質(zhì)的理論幫助揭開(kāi)T原子和宇宙的秘密，星期天他 被《時(shí)代》雜志選為“世紀(jì)之人”。
愛(ài)因斯坦的名字成了科學(xué)天才的同義詞，他比任何其他人都更能代表為科技時(shí)代奠定基礎(chǔ)的 繁榮的20世紀(jì)科學(xué)思想。
理論物理學(xué)家史蒂芬?霍金在《時(shí)代》上的一篇文章中寫(xiě)道：“世界在近100年里發(fā)生的 改變比歷史上任何一個(gè)世紀(jì)的改變都要大得多。原因不是政治的或經(jīng)濟(jì)的，而是科技的——基 礎(chǔ)科學(xué)的發(fā)展直接引發(fā)的科技。很顯然，沒(méi)有哪個(gè)科學(xué)家比艾爾伯特?愛(ài)因斯坦更能代表這些 進(jìn)步�！�
與此同時(shí)，富蘭克林?羅斯�？偨y(tǒng)代表了自由民主戰(zhàn)勝了法西斯，穆哈默德?甘地在民族主 權(quán)和****成為全球政治的關(guān)鍵因素時(shí)成為世紀(jì)偶像。
《時(shí)代》雜志編輯華特?伊薩克森說(shuō)：“我們看到的是代表自由反抗獨(dú)裁的巨大勝利的富蘭克 林?羅斯福，個(gè)人為人民權(quán)利斗爭(zhēng)的巨大勝利的化身——甘地，偉大的天才和科學(xué)革命的標(biāo) 志——愛(ài)因斯坦，這次科學(xué)革命帶來(lái)了驚人的有助于擴(kuò)大自由的科技發(fā)展�！�
愛(ài)因斯坦于1879年出生在德國(guó)的烏爾姆。愛(ài)因斯坦在小時(shí)候并未顯示日后會(huì)成為大科學(xué)家的 任何天賦。他學(xué)說(shuō)話(huà)學(xué)得很晚，在小學(xué)里也并不出色。他無(wú)法忍受一切都安排得死死的教學(xué)，討 厭考試o
然而1905年他發(fā)表了歷史上人類(lèi)所能想象的最復(fù)雜的理論之一。在他的“特殊相對(duì)論”中， 愛(ài)因斯坦描述了為什么宇宙中唯一不變的是光速。任何其他事物——質(zhì)量、重量、空間甚至?xí)r間 本身——都是可變量。他當(dāng)時(shí)向世界提出了現(xiàn)在已經(jīng)非常著名的方程：能量等于質(zhì)量乘以光速的 平方——E = mc2。
伊薩克森在《時(shí)代》上的一篇文章中寫(xiě)道：“相對(duì)論間接地為道德、藝術(shù)和政治領(lǐng)域中新 的相對(duì)主義的出現(xiàn)鋪平了道路。人們?cè)絹?lái)越不相信絕對(duì)，不僅對(duì)時(shí)間而言，也包括真理和道 德o，’
愛(ài)因斯坦的等式也是原子能和核武器發(fā)展的基礎(chǔ)。1939年，在逃離歐洲法西斯的迫害并定居 在普林斯頓大學(xué)后的第六年，公開(kāi)承認(rèn)的和平主義者——愛(ài)因斯坦——在一封給羅斯�？偨y(tǒng)的敦 促美國(guó)搶在納粹德國(guó)之前開(kāi)發(fā)原子彈的信上簽了名。羅斯福對(duì)這項(xiàng)建議十分關(guān)注，遂制訂了秘密 制造第一顆原子彈的“曼哈頓計(jì)劃”。愛(ài)因斯坦沒(méi)有參與這個(gè)項(xiàng)目。
愛(ài)因斯坦于1955年死于新澤西的普林斯頓。
