Exercise 31. Read the text to find answers to the given questions.

LITTLE-KNOWN FACTS ABOUT WELL-KNOWN PEOPLE

1. Was Einstein a capable or a backward (умственно отсталый) child?

Albeit Einstein is one of the greatest scientists of our age, yet in his
childhood he was slow, shy and backward. He found it extremely difficult to learn even to talk.

2. What kind of life did Einstein lead?

Later he became one of the most famous men in the world. The Theory of Relativity brought him fame on five continents. Yet, he led a very simple sort of life, went around in old clothes, and seldom wore a hat. He said that he did not care for fame or riches. The captain of a transatlantic ship once offered Einstein the most expensive rooms on the ship; Einstein refused and said he would rather travel on deck than accept any special favor.

3. What brought Einstein more joy than anything else?

Einstein impressed everybody as being a very happy man. He said he was happy because he didn't want anything from anybody. He didn't want money or titles or praise. He made his own happiness out of such simple things as his work, his violin and his boat. Einstein's violin brought him more joy than anything else in life. He said he often thought in music.

4. By what illustration did Einstein explain his Theory of Relativity?

Einstein's Theory of Relativity, which seemed a flight of imagination to many at first, is now the cornerstone of modem physics. Many physical phenomena could never be explained without the Theory of Relativity.

Einstein said that there were only twelve people living who understood his Theory of Relativity, although more than nine hundred books had been written trying to explain it.

He himself explained relativity by this very simple illustration: "When you sit with a nice girl for an hour, you think it is only a minute, but when you sit on a hot stove for a minute, you think it is an hour. Well, well – so that's relativity. It sounds all right to me; but if you don't believe me and would like to try it out, I'll be glad to sit with the girl if you'll sit on the stove."

5. What two rules of conduct did Einstein have?

Mrs. Einstein said that even she didn't understand the Theory of
Relativity, but she understood something that is more important for a wife; she understood her husband.

Mrs. Einstein said that her husband liked order in his thinking, but he didn't like it in his living. He did whatever he wanted to, whenever he wanted to; he had only two rules of conduct. The first was: don't have any rules whatever. And the second was: be independent of the opinions of others.