Thinking about the Text (Page 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.
| Heading | Ans (Paragraph Number) |
|---|---|
| (i) Einstein’s equation | 9 |
| (ii) Einstein meets his future wife | 7 |
| (iii) The making of a violinist | 3 |
| (iv) Mileva and Einstein’s mother | 10 |
| (v) A letter that launched the arms race | 15 |
| (vi) A desk drawer full of ideas | 8 |
| (vii) Marriage and divorce | 11 |
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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.(i) His playmates called him "Brother Boring."
(ii) A headmaster told his father this.
(iii) His mother thought he was 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?(i) Einstein hated the school's strict regimentation and often clashed with his teachers, feeling extremely stifled.
(ii) Switzerland was much more liberal than Munich.
(iii) He saw Mileva as an ally against the "philistines"—people in his family and at the university who did not like art, literature, or music.
(iv) These tell us that Einstein loved freedom, was highly intellectual, had his own independent thoughts, and disliked strict, unreasoning discipline. -
4. What did Einstein call his desk drawer at the patent office? Why?
He jokingly called his desk drawer the "bureau of theoretical physics." This was because while he was supposed to be assessing other people's inventions, he was actually developing his own scientific ideas in secret.
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5. Why did Einstein write a letter to Franklin Roosevelt?
Einstein wrote the letter to warn the American President that the Nazis in Germany had discovered nuclear fission and could potentially build and use an extremely destructive atomic bomb.
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6. How did Einstein react to the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki?
Einstein was deeply shaken by the extent of the destruction. He wrote a public missive to the United Nations proposing the formation of a world government to stop the arms buildup.
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7. Why does the world remember Einstein as a "world citizen"?
The world remembers him as a world citizen because he campaigned extensively for peace and democracy, using his immense popularity to advocate for an end to the global arms buildup.
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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 Nobel Prize in Physics.
[ ] Einstein writes a letter to U.S. President, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and warns against Germany’s building of an atomic 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.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 Nobel 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 warns against Germany’s building of an atomic bomb.
12. Einstein dies.
Thinking about Language (Page 51 - 52)
I. Here are some sentences from the story. Choose the word from the brackets which can be substituted for the italicised words in the sentences.
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1. A few years later, the marriage faltered. (failed, broke, became weak)
became weak
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2. Einstein was constantly at odds with people at the university. (on bad terms, in disagreement, unhappy)
in disagreement
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3. The newspapers proclaimed his work as "a scientific revolution." (declared, praised, showed)
declared
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4. Einstein got ever more involved in politics, agitating for an end to the arms buildup. (campaigning, fighting, supporting)
campaigning
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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)
permanently
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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)
in a state of commotion
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7. Science wasn’t the only thing that appealed to the dashing young man with the walrus moustache. (interested, challenged, worried)
interested
II. 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. Working round the clock, the firefighters finally put out the fire. (They worked round the clock.)
- 2. She watched the sunset above the mountain, noticing the colours blending softly into one another. (She noticed the colours blending softly into one another.)
- 3. The excited horse pawed the ground rapidly, neighing continually. (While it neighed continually.)
- 4. Having taken the wrong train, I found myself in Bangalore, instead of Benaras. (I had taken the wrong train.)
- 5. Having not bathed for two days, I was desperate to get to the bathroom. (I had not bathed for two days.)
- 6. The stone steps, being worn down, needed to be replaced. (They were worn down.)
- 7. The actor received hundreds of letters from his fans, asking him to send them his photograph. (They asked him to send them his photograph.)
Writing Newspaper Reports (Page 53)
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Write a report which has four paragraphs, one each on:
• What was unearthed.
• Who unearthed it and when.
• What the document contained.
• Where it will be kept.Student Unearths Einstein Manuscript
21 AUGUST 2005. An original handwritten Albert Einstein manuscript has been unearthed at a university in the Netherlands. The historic 16-page document is dated 1924.
The manuscript was discovered by a student named Rowdy Boeynik while researching papers at the University of the Netherlands. These papers belonged to an old friend of Einstein.
The document contained Einstein's work on the behaviour of atoms at low temperatures. It also clearly displayed the fingerprints of Einstein on these pages. This work is now known as the Bose-Einstein condensation.
This valuable manuscript is to be kept safely at Leyden University, the very place where Einstein had previously received the Nobel Prize.
Thinking about the Poem (Page 54 - 55)
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I. 1. What kind of place is Innisfree? Think about:
(i) the three things the poet wants to do when he goes back there (stanza I);
(ii) what he hears and sees there and its effect on him (stanza II);
(iii) what he hears in his "heart’s core" even when he is far away from Innisfree (stanza III).Innisfree is a peaceful and beautiful place in nature.
(i) The poet wants to build a small cabin of clay and wattles, plant nine bean-rows, and have a hive for the honeybee.
(ii) He sees the cloudy mornings, the glimmer of midnight, the purple glow of noon, and the linnet birds flying. He hears the cricket singing. These sights and sounds bring him deep peace.
(iii) Even when far away, standing on dull grey pavements or roadways, he hears the low sounds of the lake water lapping against the shore deep in his heart's core. -
2. By now you may have concluded that Innisfree is a simple, natural place, full of beauty and peace. How does the poet contrast it with where he now stands? (Read stanza III.)
The poet contrasts the natural beauty and peace of Innisfree with the dull, noisy, and lifeless city environment. He mentions standing on the "roadway" or on the "pavements grey," which represent the bleak and artificial urban setting, deeply contrasting with the colorful and musical nature of Innisfree.
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3. Do you think Innisfree is only a place, or a state of mind? Does the poet actually miss the place of his boyhood days?
Innisfree is a real place that the poet visited as a boy, but in the poem, it also represents a state of mind representing peace, tranquility, and escape from the modern world. Yes, the poet deeply misses the place of his boyhood days, which is why he hears the lake water lapping in his "heart's core."
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II. 1. Look at the words the poet uses to describe what he sees and hears at Innisfree
(i) bee-loud glade
(ii) evenings full of the linnet’s wings
(iii) lake water lapping with low sounds
What pictures do these words create in your mind?(i) "bee-loud glade" creates a picture of a sunny, open forest clearing buzzing with the active, natural sound of honeybees.
(ii) "evenings full of the linnet’s wings" brings to mind a peaceful evening sky filled with small birds fluttering about, returning to their nests.
(iii) "lake water lapping with low sounds" creates a soothing and calm image of gentle waves rhythmically washing up against the shore. -
2. Look at these words:
... peace comes dropping slow
Dropping from the veils of the morning to where the cricket sings
What do these words mean to you? What do you think "comes dropping slow...from the veils of the morning"? What does "to where the cricket sings" mean?These words mean that peace in Innisfree does not come suddenly; it settles in gradually. "Dropping from the veils of the morning" refers to the misty, foggy early morning clouds or dew that slowly clear up as the day begins, bringing a sense of calm. "To where the cricket sings" means that this peaceful feeling reaches all the way down to the grass and earth where the crickets hide and sing.
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