名人教英文：albert einstein — a curious boy 乐于探索的爱因斯坦
in the 17th century, the scientist sir isaac newton (牛顿) taught about space, matter, and time. he taught that space, matter, and time are separate from each other. albert einstein (爱因斯坦) came along over 200 years later. he disagreed. he said all three are closely related, or relative to each other. they are connected. and they are connected in ways that can be hard to understand.
einstein turned the world of science upside down with his theory of relativity. einstein knew his ideas could play a part in the making of atomic bombs (原子弹). he wanted them to be used as a force for peace. but he cried out in sorrow when atomic bombs took thousands of lives at the end of world war ii.
albert einstein was born on 14 march 1879 in ulm, germany. the einsteins were a middle class family. they had lived in southern germany for over 300 years. albert's father, hermann, was a warm and optimistic man. he was an engineer whose many business ventures (经营项目) had failed. but he never stopped trying. hermann einstein married pauline koch, a gentle and intelligent young woman, in 1876. the einsteins were jews, but they did not follow hebrew (希伯来人的) religious practices. for example, they did not go to the synagogue (犹太教堂) or follow dietary laws.
albert was the einstein's first child. pauline thought her baby son's head was in an unusual shape. she worried that he might have mental problems. her worry only intensified when albert was slow to learn to speak.