Thinking about the Text

1. Match the headings with the paragraph numbers

1. Einstein’s equation — Paragraph 9
2. Einstein meets his future wife — Paragraph 7
3. The making of a violinist — Paragraph 3
4. Mileva and Einstein’s mother — Paragraph 10
5. A letter that launched the arms race — Paragraph 15
6. A desk drawer full of ideas — Paragraph 8
7. Marriage and divorce — Paragraph 11

2. Who had these opinions about Einstein?

1. He was boring: His playmates.
2. He was stupid and would never succeed in life: His headmaster.
3. He was a freak: His mother.

3. Explain the reasons

(i)Why did Einstein leave the school in Munich for good?
Einstein hated the school’s strict regimentation and frequently clashed with his teachers. He felt so stifled there that he left the school permanently.

(ii) Why did Einstein want to study in Switzerland rather than in Munich?
Einstein wanted to study in Switzerland because it was more liberal than Munich. He hoped to receive an education in a freer and less rigid environment.

(iii) Why did Einstein see an ally in Mileva?
Mileva was intelligent and shared Einstein’s interest in science. Like Einstein, she opposed the narrow-minded people in his family and at the university. Therefore, he considered her an ally.

(iv) What do these facts tell us about Einstein?
They show that Einstein was independent-minded, intelligent and freedom-loving. He disliked unnecessary discipline and conventional thinking and preferred an open and liberal environment.

4. What did Einstein call his desk drawer at the patent office? Why?

Einstein jokingly called his desk drawer the “bureau of theoretical physics”. While working at the patent office, he secretly developed his own scientific ideas and kept his papers in that drawer.

5. Why did Einstein write a letter to Franklin D. Roosevelt?

Einstein wrote to President Franklin D. Roosevelt to warn him that Nazi Germany might develop an atomic bomb using nuclear fission. He explained that such a bomb could destroy an entire port and its surrounding areas.

6. How did Einstein react to the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki?

Einstein was deeply shaken by the terrible destruction. He wrote a public letter to the United Nations proposing the formation of a world government. He also campaigned for peace and an end to the arms buildup.

7. Why does the world remember Einstein as a “world citizen”?

Einstein is remembered as a world citizen because he worked not only for scientific progress but also for peace, democracy and the welfare of humanity. He opposed war and the arms race and supported the establishment of a world government.

Chronological order of events

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 to President Franklin D. Roosevelt and warns against Germany building an atomic bomb.
12. Einstein dies.