大学英语精度二期末复习.docx

大学英语精度二词汇naturalist、博物学家colonial、a殖民地的spacious、a广阔的，宽敞的veranda、游廊，走廊，阳台outgrow、vt长大得使.不再适用，成长的不再要era、时代；年代ounce、盎司contract、vi收缩motion、vi打手势；点头示意bait、诱饵impulse、冲动commotion、a威严的forfeit、vt失去image、雕像slam、vt砰地关上faint、a微弱的，不明显的emerge、vi出现，暴露，摆脱emergency、n紧急情况，突发事件，非常时刻 adj紧急的pace、节奏，步速noticeable、a显而易见的posses、vt拥有demonstrate、vt证实，表明investigation、n调查committee、委员会capitol、（美国）州议会大厦canoe、独木舟humble、a地位低下的nephew、外甥criticism、批评critic、批评者resent、对.愤恨，对.不满perpetual、a永恒的，连续不断的evil、n邪恶，罪恶 a邪恶的，坏的idealism、理想主义，唯心主义archaeology、考古学rotation、轮作，旋转volume、卷，册thrill、vi激动self-evident、a不言而喻的countryman、同胞legacy、遗产border、vi接近，近似worship、崇拜memorial、纪念碑ceremony、典礼，仪式manual、a用手的，体力的split、vt劈开rail、栏杆，围杆congress、国会territory、领土，区域preserve、vt维护infinite、a无限的hatred、仇恨procession、队伍parade、vt使受检阅，展示torch、火炬，火把circumstance、情况，境遇virtue、美德gravel、砾石evergreen、a常绿的shrub、灌木fume、烟，气，汽disapproval、不赞成，不满colonel、上校private、列兵，标兵bootlace、靴带undo、vt解开，松开grunt、vt咕哝着说出stale、a不新鲜的crumb、面包屑mumble、vt含糊不清的说Cricket、板球dismay、vt使灰心，使害怕incompetence、a无能力的，不胜任的competent、aprospect、期望中的事，展望，前景straw、稻草，麦秆ultimate、a最大的，终极的，最终的indignity、侮辱disgust、厌恶optical、a光的，视力的thunder、vi吼叫punch、vt使劲敲ease、悠闲，舒适，自在personality、个性logic、逻辑（学），推理（学）simplicity、简单，单纯frustrate、vt使沮丧，挫败vanity、虚荣心immune、a有免疫力的，不受影响的pretension、矫饰，做作，虚荣correspond、通信stationery、便笺，文具pad、便笺簿shrug、vt耸肩beam、vi面露喜色，高兴的微笑revert、vi回复，回返exclusively、adv唯一的，专门的，特定的theorist、理论家equation，方程式dunk、把.浸一浸deduce、vt演绎，推断principle、原理，原则flaw、缺点，瑕疵reasoning、推理pursue、vt从事，忙于，继续profound、深奥的，深刻的civilized、a文明的civilize、vtcivilization、nbewilder、把.弄糊涂，使迷惑statesman、政治家explosive、炸药weapon、武器financial、a金融的，财政的original、a有创造性的glory、光荣，荣誉villain、坏蛋dioxide、二氧化物poisonous、有毒的poison、毒物，毒药essential、必不可少的convert、（使）转变，（使）变成likelihood、可能性coastal、海岸的fraction、小部分，分数splash、vi溅落，拍打structure、机构，组织，结构collapse、vi倒塌，崩溃，彻底失败transparent、透明的infrared、a红外线的distinctly、ad清晰地，明白无误的villainy、罪恶creep、vi渐渐发展，悄然变化polar、a极地的factor、因素consume、vt消费perspective、视觉，观点interior、内部的cell、电池beam、定向发出vacuum、真空tank、油罐crust、地壳sphere、球surgeon、外科医生resident、住院医生surgical、外科的，手术的emergency、紧急情况encounter、遭到，意外的遇见dread、畏惧dwell、vi居住abdomen、腹部anticipate、vt预期，预见stab、n戳，刺punctual、vt刺穿compound、a复合的fracture、n骨折inevitable、不可避免的surgery、外科，外科手术sole、单独的；唯一的conceited、a自负的trying、a难受的，恼人的injection、注射stoop、门廊tough-looking、a粗野的，样子很凶的peer、凝视，费力地看，仔细的看vacant、空的，未占用的dealer、毒品贩子urinate、vi撒尿，小便illusion、幻想gunshot、枪声rage、激烈的进行，流行，盛行disperse、驱散drift、随意走动，漂，飘foster、a收养的custody、监护权confront、勇敢的面对，遭遇property、房地产，财产heartbeat、心跳fuss、大惊小怪，小题大做thug，暴徒，罪犯wage、开展，进行pusher、（毒品等的）非法推销者tragedy、惨事，不幸，悲剧prompt、促使，推动，激励explode、爆炸impact、影响，作用，冲击力，撞击力strap、皮带violently、ad猛力的grip、vt抓牢release、松开pop、突然出现towel、毛巾frown、vi皱眉devilish、a邪恶的poll、民意测验temptation、引诱，诱惑peek、偷看indication、迹象diploma、文凭corresponding、a相应的regent、董事requirement、要求，必要条件psychology、心理学Proctor、监考人dorm、宿舍ringer、冒名顶替者editorial、社论overcharge、对.索价太高myth、神话biography、传记作家ax、斧子reinforce、加强clue、线索check-out、结账处inn、小旅馆watch-dog、起监督作用的evidence、证明ebb、潮退，低落incident、事件tempt、引诱system、体质，制度systematic、adistrust、不信任，怀疑contagious、传染的instinctively、ad本能的scarce、稀少的conviction、坚定的信念ensure、vt确保giant、巨人precisely、ad精确地genuine、a真的，真诚的core、核心external、a外部的statue、地位engage、使从事于；吸引conscience、良心aptitude、能力，才能buck private 列兵complacent 、自满的，自鸣得意的bent、嗜好，倾向grant、授予，准予hasten、赶快，急忙vitals、主要部件，人体的重要器官divine、a神圣的oracle、圣言，神谕devise、想出，设计carpenter、木匠moron、蠢人verbal、词语的，口头的intricate、错综复杂的numerical、数字的，用数字表示的evaluation、估价，评价subsection，小组，分部foist、把.强加给别人arbiter、仲裁人，公断人hardware、五金hammer、锤子scissors，剪刀whereupon、于是，因此heartily、尽情的smugly、沾沾自喜的uneasy、局促的，不安的lower、vt放下confirm、证实lean、vi屈身formula、公式proportion、比例，比率measurement、测量，衡量sophisticated、a复杂的swing、vt使摆动conventional、a常规的profit、利润awry、歪的stain、玷污tray、托盘weary、厌倦的，厌烦的quit、停职reluctant、不情愿的，勉强的linguist、语言学家chary、谨慎小心的gracefully、ad大大方方的defensive、防御的pat、轻拍indirectly、间接地spiteful、恶意的convey、传达relay、vt传送flatter，过奖奉承glorious、辉煌的attendant、服务人员dreary、沉闷乏味的grind、苦差使scrub、擦洗wage、工资instinctively、本能的perceptive、感觉灵敏的criticize、批评squabble、vi争吵，口角quizzically、ad疑惑的constructive、建设性的favorably、赞成的margin、页边的空白consistently、ad始终如一的，一贯的dramatically、显著的investment、投资alert、警觉的glow、vi发光，容光焕发elaborate、精制的mood、心情harsh、a苛刻的crush、vt压碎oppose、vt反对大学英语精度二短语track down spring up at the sight of come toring outgo out ones way (to do sth.)特地leave . to 交托，委托act on按照.行事leave behind丢弃，留下，忘带in existence存在above all首先，尤其是owe . to归因于be short of缺少smell of有.的气味judging by依据.判断attach importance to重视consist ofat easeoff balance失去平衡的come to teams with与.达成协议，与.妥协a series of一系列take apart拆开capable ofsingle out选出，挑出do （sb.）harm对（某人）造成伤害serve as起.作用，被用作in all likelihood十有八九，极有可能 come out发生to make matters worse使情况更糟的是most of all最，尤其是object to反对，不喜欢draw to a close结束live with学会适应，容忍dwell on老是想着，详述，强调butterflies in the stomach忐忑不安open up 切开，给.开刀at one time or another在不同的时期，在不同的场合sit on拖延，搁置right off/down立即，当即move in 搬入新家shoot up注射毒品rise to奋起应付check（in）on看望take to逐渐习惯于做（某事），开始喜欢talk back回嘴take a stand表明立场set.on fire/set fire to放火烧，使燃烧step up增加，加快，加强run into偶然遇见get through to sb.使某人懂得，使某人明白（be）faced with面对be hard on对.过分严厉a case in point恰当的例子all but除了.都in the case of就.来说，至于come to达到（某种状态）lie in在于at ones best处于最佳状态go down下降，减少make a fuss of/over为.大惊小怪worthy of值得by ones estimate根据某人估计take sth. for granted认为某事理所当然pick out挑选try . on在.身上实验for sure确切的，肯定make out开出，填写only too极，非常not much of a不十分好的fish out掏出shrug off耸肩表示，对.不屑理睬pat on the back赞扬，鼓励pass on传递大学英语精读 第二册 课文全部翻译Unit1 The Dinner Party关于男人是否比女人更勇敢的一场激烈争论以一种颇为出人意料的方式解决了。晚宴 莫娜加德纳我最初听到这个故事是在印度，那儿的人们今天讲起它来仍好像确有其事似的尽管任何一位博物学家都知道这不可能是真的。后来有人告诉我，在第一次世界大战之前不久，一家杂志曾刊登过这个故事。但登在杂志上的那篇故事以及写那篇故事的人，我却一直未能找到。故事发生在印度。某殖民地官员和他的夫人正举行盛大的晚宴。筵席设在他们家宽敞的餐室里，室内大理石地板上没有铺地毯；屋顶明椽裸露；宽大的玻璃门外便是走廊。跟他们一起就坐的客人有军官和他们的夫人，另外还有一位来访的美国博物学家。席间，一位年轻的女士同一位少校展开了热烈的讨论。年轻的女士认为，妇女已经有所进步，不再像过去那样一见到老鼠就吓得跳到椅子上；少校则不以为然。他说：“一遇到危急情况，女人的反应便是尖叫。而男人虽然也可能想叫，但比起女人来，自制力却略胜一筹。这多出来的一点自制力正是真正起作用的东西。”那个美国人没有参加这场争论，他只是注视着在座的其他客人。在他这样观察时，他发现女主人的脸上显出一种奇异的表情。她两眼盯着正前方，脸部肌肉在微微抽搐。她向站在座椅后面的印度男仆做了个手势，对他耳语了几句。男仆两眼睁得大大的，迅速地离开了餐室。在座的客人中除了那位美国人以外谁也没注意到这一幕，也没有看到那个男仆把一碗牛奶放在紧靠门边的走廊上。那个美国人突然醒悟过来。在印度，碗中的牛奶只有一个意思引蛇的诱饵。他意识到餐室里一定有条眼镜蛇。他抬头看了看屋顶上的椽子那是最可能有蛇藏身的地方但那上面空荡荡的。室内的三个角落里也是空的，而在第四个角落里，仆人们正在等着上下一道菜。这样，剩下的就只有一个地方了餐桌下面。他首先想到的是往后一跳，并向其他人发出警告。但他知道这样会引起骚乱，致使眼镜蛇受惊咬人。于是他很快讲了一通话，其语气非常威严，竟使得所有的人都安静了下来。“我想了解一下在座的诸位到底有多大的克制能力，我数三百下也就是五分钟你们谁都不许动一动。动者将罚款五十卢比。准备好！”在他数数的过程中，那二十个人都像一尊尊石雕一样端坐在那儿。当他数到 “二百八十”时，突然从眼角处看到那条眼镜蛇钻了出来，向那碗牛奶爬去。在他跳起来把通往走廊的门全都砰砰地牢牢关上时，室内响起了一片尖叫声。“你刚才说得很对，少校！” 男主人大声说。“一个男子刚刚为我们显示了从容不迫、镇定自若的范例。”“且慢，” 那位美国人一边说着一边转向女主人。“温兹太太，你怎么知道那条眼镜蛇是在屋子里呢？”女主人脸上闪出一丝淡淡的微笑，回答说：“因为它当时正从我的脚背上爬过去。”2.lessons from jeffersonJefferson died long ago, but many of his ideas still of great interest to us.Lessons from JeffersonThomas Jefferson, the third President of the United States, may be less famous than George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, but most people remember at last one fact about him: he wrote the Declaration of Independence.Although Jefferson lived more than 200 years ago, there is much that we learn from him today. Many of his ideas are especially interesting to modern youth. Here are some of the things he said and wrote:Go and see. Jefferson believed that a free man obtains knowledge from many sources besides books and that personal investigation is important. When still a young man, he was appointed to a committee to find out whether the South Branch of the James River was deep enough to be used by large boats. While the other members of the committee sat in the state capitol and studied papers on the subject, Jefferson got into a canoe and made on-the-spot-observations.You can learn from everyone. By birth and by education Jefferson belonged to the highest social class. Yet, in a day when few noble persons ever spoke to those of humble origins except to give an order, Jefferson went out of his way to talk with gardeners, servants, and waiters. Jefferson once said to the French nobleman, Lafayette, You must go into the peoples homes as I have done, look into their cooking pots and eat their bread. If you will only do this, you may find out why people are dissatisfied and understand the revolution that is threatening France.Judge for yourself. Jefferson refused to accept other peoples opinions without careful thought. Neither believe nor reject anything, he wrote to his nephew, because any other person has rejected or believed it. Heaved has given you a mind for judging truth and error. Use it.Jefferson felt that the people may safely be trusted to hear everything true and false, and to form a correct judgment. Were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter.Do what you believe is right. In a free country there will always be conflicting ideas, and this is a source of strength. It is conflict and not unquestioning agreement that keeps freedom alive. Though Jefferson was for many years the object of strong criticism, he never answered his critics. He expressed his philosophy in letters to a friend, There are two sides to every question. If you take one side with decision and on it with effect, those who take the other side will of course resent your actions.Trust the future; trust the young. Jefferson felt that the present should never be chained to customs which have lost their usefulness. No society, he said, can make a perpetual constitution, or even a perpetual law. The earth belongs to the living generation. He did not fear new ideas, nor did he fear the future. How much pain, he remarked, has been caused by evils which have never happened! I expect the best, not the worst. I steer my ship with hope, leaving fear behind.Jeffersons courage and idealism were based on knowledge. He probably knew more than any other man of his age. He was an expert in agriculture, archeology, and medicine. He practiced crop rotation and soil conservation a century before these became standard practice, and he invented a plow superior to any other in existence. He influenced architecture throughout America, and he was constantly producing devices for making the tasks of ordinary life easier to perform.Of all Jeffersons many talents, one is central. He was above all a good and tireless writer. His complete works, now being published for the first time, will fill more than fifty volumes. His talent as an author was soon discovered, and when the time came to write the Declaration of Independence at Philadelphia in 1776, the task of writing it was his. Millions have thrilled to his words: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equalWhen Jefferson died on July 4, 1826, the 50th anniversary of American independence, he left his countrymen a rich legacy of ideas and examples. American education owes a great debt to Thomas Jefferson, Who believed that only a nation of educated people could remain free.Unit2 Lessons from Jefferson杰斐逊已谢世很久，但他的许多思想仍使我们很感兴趣。 杰斐逊的遗训 布鲁斯布利文美国第三任总统托马斯杰斐逊也许不像乔治华盛顿和亚伯拉罕林肯那样著名，但大多数人至少记得有关他的一件事实：是他写的独立宣言。虽然杰斐逊生活在二百多年以前，但我们今天仍可以从他身上学到很多东西。他的许多思想对当代青年来说特别有意义。下面就是他讲过和写过的一些观点：自己去看。杰斐逊认为，一个自由的人除了从书本中获取知识外，还可以从许多别的来源获得知识；他认为，亲自做调查是很重要的。在他还很年轻的时候，他就被任命为一个委员会的成员，去调查詹姆斯河南部支流的水深是否足以通行大型船只。委员会的其他成员都坐在州议会大厦内研究有关这一问题的文件，而杰斐逊却跳进一只独木舟去做现场观测。你可以向任何人学习。按出身及其所受的教育，杰斐逊均属于最高的社会阶层。然而，在那个贵人们除了发号施令以外很少跟出身卑贱的人说话的年代，杰斐逊却常破例跟园丁、仆人和侍者交谈。有一次杰斐逊曾这样对法国贵族拉斐特说过：“你必须像我那样到平民百姓的家里去，看看他们的锅里煮些什么，吃吃他们的面包。只要你肯这样做，你就会发现老百姓为什么会不满意，你就会理解正在威胁着法国的革命。”自己作判断。未经过认真的思考，杰斐逊绝不接受别人的意见。他在给侄子的信中写道：“不要因为别的人相信或拒绝了什么东西，你也就去相信它或拒绝它。上帝赐予你一个用来判断真理和谬误的头脑。那你就运用它吧。”杰斐逊觉得，人民“是完全可以信赖的，应该让他们听到一切真实和虚伪的东西，然后作出正确的判断。倘使让我来决定，我们是应该有一个政府而不要报纸呢还是应该有报纸而不要政府，我会毫不犹豫地选择后者。”做你认为是正确的事。在一个自由的国家里总会有各种相互冲突的思想，而这正是力量的源泉。使自由保持活力的是冲突而不是绝对的一致。虽然有好多年杰斐逊一直受到激烈的批评，但他从不回应那些批评他的人。他在写给一位朋友的信中表达了自己的观点：“每个问题都有两面。如果你坚决站在一面并根据它有效地采取行动，那么，站在另一面的那些人当然会对你的行动怨恨不满。”相信未来，相信青年。杰斐逊认为，绝不可以用那些已经无用的习俗来束缚住“现在”的手脚。他说：“没有哪个社会可以制订一部永远适用的宪法，甚至连一条永远适用的法律也制订不出来。地球是属于活着的一代的。”他不害怕新思想，也不惧怕未来。他评论说：“有多少痛苦是由一些从未发生过的灾难引起的啊！我期待的是最好的东西，而不是最坏的东西。我满怀希望地驾驶着自己的航船，而把恐惧抛在后面。”杰斐逊的勇气和理想主义是以知识为基础的。他懂得的东西也许比同时代的任何人都要多。在农业、考古学和医学方面他都是专家。在人们普遍采用农作物轮作和土壤保持的做法之前一个世纪，他就这样做了。他还发明了一种比当时任何一种都好的耕犁。他影响了整个美国的建筑业，他还不断地制造出各种机械装置，使日常生活中需要做的许多工作变得更加容易。在杰斐逊的众多才能中，有一种是最主要的：他首先是一位优秀的、不知疲倦的作家。目前正在第一次出版的他的全集将超过五十卷。他作为一个作家的才能很快便被发现了，所以，当1776年在费城要撰写独立宣言的时刻来到时，这一任务便落在了他肩上。数以百万计的人们读到他写的下列词句都激动不已：“我们认为这些真理是不言而喻的：一切人生来就是平等的”1826年7月4日，正值美国独立五十周年纪念日之际，杰斐逊与世长辞了。他给他的同胞留下了一份丰富的思想遗产和众多的榜样。托马斯杰斐逊对美国的教育事业作出了巨大的贡献，他认为，只有受过教育的人民组成的国家才能保持自由。3.my first jobTrying to make some money before entering university, the author applies for a teaching job. But the interview goes from bad to worse. My First JobWhile I was waiting to enter university, I saw advertised in a local newspaper a teaching post at a school in a suburb of London about ten miles from where I lived. Being very short money and wanting to do something useful, I applied, fearing as I did so, that without a degree and with no experience in teaching my chances of getting the job were slim.However, three days later a letter arrived, asking me to go to Croydon for an interview. It proved an awkward journey: a train to Croydon station; a ten-minute bus ride and then a walk of at least a quarter to feel nervous. The school was a red brick house with big windows, The front garden was a gravel square; four evergreen shrubs stood at each corner, where they struggled to survive the dust and fumes from a busy main from a busy main road.It was clearly the headmaster himself that opened the door. He was short and fat. He had a sandy-coloured moustache, a wrinkled forehead and hardly any hair.He looked at me with an air of surprised disapproval, as a colonel might look at a private whose bootlaces were undone. Ah yes, he grunted. Youd better come inside. The narrow, sunless hall smelled unpleasantly of stale cabbage; the walls were dirty with ink marks; it was all silent. His study, judging by the crumbs on the carpet, was also his dining-room. Youd better sit down, he said, and proceeded to ask me a number of questions: what subjects I had taken in my General School Certificate; how old I was; what games I played; then fixing me suddenly with his bloodshot eyes, he asked me whether I thought games were a vital part of a boys education. I mumbled something about not attaching too much importance to them. He grunted. I had said the wrong thing. The headmaster and I obviously had very little in common. The school, he said, consisted of one class of twenty-four boys, ranging in age from seven to thirteen. I should have to teach all subjects except art, which he taught himself. Football and cricket were played in the Park, a mile away on Wednesday and Saturday afternoons.The teaching set-up filled me with fear. I should have to divide the class into three groups and teach them in turn at three different levels; and I was dismayed at the thought of teaching algebra and geometry-two subjects at which I had been completely incompetent at school. Worse perhaps was the idea of Saturday afternoon cricket; most of my friends would be enjoying leisure at that time.I said shyly, What would my salary be? Twelve pounds a week plus lunch. Before I could protest, he got to his feet. Now, he said, youd better meet my wife. Shes the one who really runs this school.This was the last straw. I was very young: the prospect of working under a woman constituted the ultimate indignity.Unit3 My First Job为了想在进大学前赚些钱，作者申请了一份教职。但面试情况却越来越糟我的第一份工作 罗伯特贝斯特在我等着进大学期间，我在一份地方报纸上看到一则广告，说是在离我住处大约十英里的伦敦某郊区，有所学校要招聘一名教师。我因为手头很拮据，同时也想做点有用的事，于是便提出了申请，但在提出申请的同时我也担心，自己一无学位，二无教学经验，得到这份工作的可能性是微乎其微的。然而，三天之后，却来了一封信，叫我到克罗伊登去面试。这一路去那儿原来还真麻烦：先乘火车到克罗伊顿车站，再乘十分钟的公共汽车，然后还要至少步行四分之一英里。结果，我在六月一个炎热的上午到了那儿，因为心情非常沮丧，竟不感到紧张了。学校是一座装着大窗户的红砖房子。前庭园是个铺着沙砾的正方形：四个角上各有一丛冬青灌木，它们经受着从繁忙的大街上吹来的尘烟，挣扎着活下去。开门的显然是校长本人。他又矮又胖，留着沙色的小胡子，前额上布满皱纹，头发差不多已经秃光。他带着一种吃惊的、不以为然的神态看着我，就像一位上校看着一名没系好靴带的二等兵一样。“哦，”他咕哝着说，“你最好到里面来。”那狭窄的、不见阳光的走廊里散发出一股腐烂的卷心菜味，闻上去很不舒服；墙上墨迹斑斑，显得很脏；周围一片静寂。根据地毯上的面包屑来判断，他的书房也是他的餐室。“你最好坐下，”他说，接着便问了我许多问题：为了得到普通学校证书我学过哪些课程；我多大岁数了；我会玩些什么游戏；问到这里他突然用他那双充满血丝的眼睛盯住我，问我是否认为游戏是儿童教育的一个极为重要的组成部分。我含含糊糊地说了些不必太重视游戏之类的话。他咕哝了几句。我说了错话。我和校长显然没有多少共同语言。他说，学校只有一个班，二十四名男生，年龄从七岁到十三岁不等，除了美术课他亲自教以外，其余所有的课程都得由我来教。星期三和星期六的下午要到一英里以外的公园去踢足球，打板球。整个教学计划把我吓坏了。我得把全班学生分成三个组，按三种不同的程度轮流给他们上课；想到要教代数和几何这两门我在读书时学得极差的科目，我感到很害怕。更糟糕的也许是星期六下午打板球的安排，因为这时候我的朋友大都会在悠闲地自得其乐。我怯生生地问：“我的薪水是多少？”“每周十二磅外加中饭。”还没等我来得及提出异议，他已经站了起来。“好了，”他说，“你最好见见我的妻子。她才是这所学校真正的主管人。”我再也无法忍受了。我当时很年轻：在一个女人手下工作的前景构成了最大的侮辱。Unit4 The Professor and the Yo-Yo在一个年轻朋友的心目中，爱因斯坦是个纯朴、谦虚的普通人。 教授与溜溜球 托马斯李巴基 和 约瑟夫P.布兰克我父亲是阿尔伯特爱因斯坦的密友。小时候有一次我去爱因斯坦家拜访时很腼腆，他说，“我有样东西拿给你看，”于是我便感到无拘无束了。他走到书桌旁，拿回来一只溜溜球。他试图做给我看这种玩具怎么个玩法，但他没法使它顺着线再转上去。轮到我时，我露了几手并向他指出，绕错的线圈使玩具失去了平衡。爱因斯坦点点头，我的技能和知识给他留下了颇深的印象。后来，我买了一只溜溜球，把它作为圣诞礼物送给了教授，并收到他一首表示感谢的诗。作为一个孩子，以后又作为一个成人，我一直对爱因斯坦的个性惊叹不已。他是我所认识的人中唯一能跟自己及周围世界达成妥协的人。他知道自己想要什么，而他想要的只是：在他作为一个人的能力范围之内理解宇宙的性质以及宇宙运行的逻辑和单纯。他知道有许多问题的答案超出了他智力所及的范围。但这并不使他感到灰心丧气。只要在能力许可的范围内取得最大的成功他就心满意足了。在我们二十三年的友谊中，我从未见他表现出妒忌、虚荣、痛苦、愤怒、怨恨或个人野心。他好像对这些感情具有免疫能力似的。他毫无矫饰之心，虚荣之意。虽然他与世界上的许多要人通信，他用的却是有W水印字母的信笺，水印字母W五分钱商店伍尔沃思的缩写。 为了做他的工作他只需要