Unit 2 Passage A Exercise
Content Awareness
exercise2|exercise3|exercise4|exercise5
exercise6|exercise7|exercise8|exercise9|exercise10
Read and think
1. Work in a group of four to do an interview.
1. Interviewer: a journalist from the magazine Children Education
Interviewees: Einstein, his mother Pauline and sister Maja
Time: two weeks after Einstein was granted the Nobel Prize
Task: Talk about some unusual things that happened in Einstein’s childhood, with the help of the three pictures below.
答案：Clues of the interview:
1. Pauline’s surprise to Einstein with his new baby sister, and Einstein’s response.
2. Einstein’s recall of the compass.
3. Maja’s recall of the card house built by her brother, and Einstein’s interpretation of his patience and determination to keep at things longer.
Read and think
2. Make questions that Einstein might have asked out of his passionate curiosity about the following.
1. the compass
Why would the compass always find its way back to pointing in the direction of north? (Para. 2) (Para. 9)
答案：1. the compass
Why would the compass always find its way back to pointing in the direction of north? (Para. 2)
What invisible force controlled the compass needle? (Para. 9)
2. a book on Euclidean plane geometry
(Para. 6)
(Para. 6)
答案：2. a book on Euclidean plane geometry
How could people use Euclidean plane geometry to prove theorems of angles and lines that were in no way obvious? (Para. 6)
Could I adopt mathematics as a tool to prove the behavior of the universe? (Para. 6)
3. beauty of simplicity
(Para. 7)
(Para. 7)
答案：3. beauty of simplicity
How could I find the beauty of simplicity in the apparently complex nature? (Para. 7)
How could I make the essence of my ideas understandable to everyone? (Para. 7)
4. his ultimate quest
(Para. 11)
(Para. 11)
答案：4. his ultimate quest
How did God create this world? (Para. 11)
What were His thoughts? (Para. 11)
3. Fill each of the blanks with an appropriate word.
It seems the young Albert Einstein was never exactly an ordinary child. When he was given a c （您未填写此题）at the age of five, it ignited his i （您未填写此题）. Not only was the young Albert passionately c （您未填写此题）, he was also remarkably p （您未填写此题）and would not easily give up on a problem. Albert’s development was also s （您未填写此题）by the company of intelligent adults such as an uncle of his who was an engineer and a medical student who was a friend of the family. Einstein was i （您未填写此题）to take up mathematics by Euclidean geometry. His true g （您未填写此题）lay in his ability to express c （您未填写此题） ideas in simple language. By the age of t
wenty-six Einstein had already produced his most famous work, although he never stopped looking for answers.
Answer: 1. compass 2. inspiration 3. curious 4. persistent 5. stimulated 6. inspired 7. genius 8. complex
4. One word is wrongly used in each of the following sentences. Underline the wrong word and write out the correct one.
Model: Einstein’s theories of relatively contributed much to the development of science. (relativity)
1. The spokesman was merely given a condense version of the document, so he didn’t know much about the details.
2. Stout’s curious in science was sparked by the fascinating stories about Nobel Prize winners.
3. When there is too much smoke in the room, the devise would automatically turn on the alarming system.
4. Anyone without patience and persistent is unlikely to make a good researcher.
5. There is convinced evidence that stress is partly responsible for his failing health.
Answer:
1. The spokesman was merely given a condense version of the document, so he didn’t know much about the details. (condensed)
2. Stout’s curious in science was sparked by the fascinating stories about Nobel Prize winners. (curiosity)
3. When there is too much smoke in the room, the devise would automatically turn on the alarming system. (device)
4. Anyone without patience and persistent is unlikely to make a good researcher. (persistence)
5. There is convinced evidence that stress is partly responsible for his failing health. (convincing)
Read and complete
5. Fill the blanks with the words given below. Change the form where necessary.
pparent convince curiosity detail fundamental
patience respond spark stir ultimate
1. The theories of relativity have made （您未填写此题） changes in our views of the universe.
2. That is our （您未填写此题） proposal, and no other changes will be considered.
3. he forest ire was found to have been （您未填写此题） by a cigarette end.
4. The speaker had （您未填写此题） noticed that his topic wasn’t popular with the audience, so he quickly ended his speech.
5. I’ve no （您未填写此题） with people who are always complaining of their misfortune.
6. I have never imagined that I would be the object of such （您未填写此题） .
7. The doctors tried to （您未填写此题） her that she didn’t need to feel depressed about her health.
8. The police asked him to describe the accident in every （您未填写此题） .
9. The quality guarantee and good after-sale services will certainly meet with positive （您未填写此题） from the consumers.
10. The story of Harry Potter （您未填写此题） the imagination of children throughout the world.
Answer:
1. fundamental 2. ultimate 3. sparked 4. appa
rently 5. patience 6. curiosity 7. convince 8. detail 9. responses 10. (has) stirred
6. Complete the following sentences with phrases or expressions from the passage. Change the form where necessary.
1. The scoundrel has （您未填写此题） a lot of people （您未填写此题） believing he’s a rich man.
2. Isn’t this straw hat beautiful? My wife （您未填写此题） it on her business trip to China last year.
3. A group of bystanders was invited to （您未填写此题） the game.
4. Scientists will have to （您未填写此题） new technologies to improve the world’s food and fuel supplies.
5. The news of the President’s warlike speech yesterday pushed the stock market to a sharp rise of （您未填写此题） 120 points.
Answer: 1. fooled ... into 2. came upon 3. join in 4. come up with 5. up to
7.Translate the following sentences into English.
1. 记者敦促发言人就此次军事打击作出解释。(press for)
Answer: Reporters pressed the spokesman for an explanation of the military attack.
2. 他的竞选演讲未能使选民相信他就是参议员的合适人选。(convince)
Answer: His election speech failed to convince the voters that he was the right person for the Senate seat.
3. 尽管我承认有问题存在，但我并不认为这些问题不能解决。(while)
Answer: While I admit that there are problems, I don’t agree that they cannot be solved.
4. 他在电视上的第一次辩论给观众留下了深刻的印象。(impression)
Answer: His first debate on TV made a deep impression on his audience.
5. 一切事物都是互相联系又互相作用的。(interact with)
Answer: All things are interrelated and interact with each other.
8. Read and compare the English sentences, paying attention to the italicized parts and translate the Chinese sentences by simulating the structure of the English sentences.
1. Choice Sentence
1) They might have thought him slow, but there was something else evident.
Simulated Reproduction
You might have thought plastic bags convenient, but they can result in serious pollution.
Simulated Translation
她本以为历史就是一堆乏味的名字和日期而已，但易教授的讲座彻底改变了她的看法。
Answer: She might have thought that history was just boring names and dates, but Professor Yi’s lectures completely changed her view.
2. Choice Sentence
All he could do was stare with questioning eyes.
Simulated Reproduction
All the doctors could do is ease his pain, without an effective cure for his disease.
Simulated Translation
飞机失事后，幸存者们唯一能做的就只有待在荒岛上等待救援了。
Answer: After the plane crash, all the survivors could do was wait for rescue on this desert island.
3. Choice Sentence
Hermann Einstein brought Albert a device that
did stir his intellect.
Simulated Reproduction
The Nobel prize winner made a speech that did stir our students’ interest in science.
Simulated Translation
这个小男孩偶然读到了一些关于百慕大三角（Bermuda Triangle）的故事。正是这些故事激发了他对自然界奥秘的好奇心。
Answer: JThe little boy happened to read some stories about Bermuda Triangle that did stir his curiosity in the mysteries of nature.
4. Choice Sentence
The invisible force was evidence to Albert that there was more to our world that meets the eye.
Simulated Reproduction
The strange radio signals from space were evidence to scientists that life might exist in outer space.
Simulated Translation
DNA检测结果向警方证明凶手另有他人。
Answer: The DNA test result was evidence to the police that the murderer was someone else.
5. Choice Sentence
He was convinced that beauty lies in the simplistic.
Simulated Reproduction
The judge was convinced that she had nothing to do with the murder.
Simulated Translation
达尔文坚信进化论（The Theory of Evolution）的基础是天竞物择。
Answer: Darwin was convinced that The Theory of Evolution is based on natural selection.
Talk About It
exercise1|exercise2|exercise3|exercise4
exercise5|exercise6|exercise7|exercise8|exercise10
9. Work in pairs and complete the following tasks.
A: You are a college journal reporter in physics and are appointed to interview Dr. Genius, an alumnus of your university who has won the Nobel Prize for the year and is invited to your university for a lecture. Prepare your questions and try to ask as many questions as you can about what has made him a successful scientist and his advice for the young college students who are eager to succeed.
B: As the Nobel Prize winner in physics of the year, you are invited to come back to your university for a lecture on the topic of “The Way to Success”. Before the lecture, you are interviewed by a reporter of a college journal. Try to explain to the reporter what you believe are the essential qualities for a scientist and what preparations one should make for future success.
You may use the following words and expressions:
special gift intelligent genius curious patience
simplistic determination accessible persistence hard working
Welcome back to ... I believe ...
It’s an honor to ... It is of vital importance for ... to ...
What’s your opinion about ... qualify sb for / as sth
What do you think is ... lead to
Thank you for ... take ... for example
Reporter: Welcome back to the university. It’s an honor for us to have this opportunity to interview you. We’re all proud to have you as our guest.
Dr. Genius: I also feel honored to be back to this university where I spent the most enjoyable period of my time 20 years ago.
Reporter: Dr. Genius, what are you going to tell us in
your lecture?
Dr. Genius: Mostly my experiences in the course of my exploration. They consist of both successes and failures.
Reporter: What do you think of the development of science today?
Dr. Genius: The more we learn of science, the more we know how little we know about it.
Reporter: What do you think is the most important thing for students to learn at college?
Dr. Genius: I believe they come here for knowledge, but it is of vital importance for them to develop their characters. Of course, to qualify themselves for their future careers, they should also have a good command of basic knowledge and skills.
Reporter: Does one have to be very intelligent, or to have some special gifts in order to be a successful scientist?
Dr. Genius: I don’t think so. But curiosity, determination and persistence are important factors for success. Take Einstein for example, he never thought he had a smarter mind than others.
Reporter: Thank you very much for accepting my interview.
Dr. Genius: The pleasure is also mine.
Write About It
exercise1|exercise2|exercise3|exercise4
exercise5|exercise6|exercise7|exercise8|exercise9
10. Read the sample below and write a short passage (100 — 120 words) to introduce a Nobel Prize winner and his / her “secrets” to success.
Sample
Maria Curie
Maria Curie was a truly remarkable figure in the history of science. She was the first woman scientist to win a Nobel Prize for Physics, and the first person to receive two Nobel Prizes. Maria Curie performed pioneering studies with radium and polonium (钋) and contributed profoundly to the understanding of radioactivity. Her early researches, together with her husband Pierre Curie were often performed under difficult conditions, and they both had to do a lot of teaching to earn a livelihood. It was her love for science that led to her success. She once said: “A scientist in his laboratory is not a mere technician, he is also a child confronting natural phenomena that impress him as though they were fairy tales.
Write a brief introduction to either of the Nobel Prize winners below. You can use the information given or information from any resources within your reach.
■brought up in the peaceful and academically inclined atmosphere of the campus of Tsinghua University
■received his MS from Tsinghua University
■made profound contributions to physics both in their depths and widths.
■one of the first scientists of Chinese birth to win a Nobel Prize
■American civil rights leader
■leader of American blacks
■changed the way America viewed and treated its black citizens, who were faced with racist, discriminating laws as part of their daily life
■shot dead at the age of 39
Write your passage below:
Chen Ning Yang
Son of a professor of
mathematics of Tsinghua University, Dr. Yang was brought up in the peaceful and academically inclined atmosphere of the campus. He is a quiet, modest, and pleasant physicist, and also a hard-working person who allows himself very little leisure time. Among his many significant contributions to the field of physics, Yang proposed a theoretical framework that later became the basis of the present theory of the structure of matter at the smallest scales and highest energies. He worked together with Tsung Dao Lee, and the two made a fundamental theoretical breakthrough in predicting that the law of conservation of parity would break down in the so-called weak interactions, for which they were awarded the Nobel Prize for physics in 1957.