A Truly Beautiful Mind
(Explanation, Meaning of Difficult Words)
| Word | Meaning |
| German city | City of Germany |
| Destined | Meant, Ordained, Scheduled |
| On the contrary | To the opposite |
| Freak | Abnormal, Deformed |
Albert Einstein was born on 14th march, 1879. He was born in a city whose name was Ulm. It is a city in Germany. At his birth, no indication were available to show that one day he would become a great person of the world. Opposite to such thoughts, her mother was of the opinion that Albert Einstein was slighted deformed. She thought his head was slightly bigger than usual.
| Word | Meaning |
| At the age of two-and-a-half | When somebody becomes two and a half year old |
| Uttered | Spoke |
| Playmates | Those who play together |
| Youngster | Young boy, Small boy |
| Played by himself | Played alone |
| Much of the time | Usually |
| Especially loved | Liked more |
Albert Einstein did not start talking till he was two and a half year old. When he started talking he used to speak everything (every word or every line) twice. Einstein did not know how to behave with other children. His playmates used to get bored of him. So they called him “Brother Boring”. Therefore, during his childhood, Einstein usually played alone. He liked mechanical toys more than any other type of toys. Name of his sister was Maja. When Einstein saw her newly born sister for the first time, he had asked “where are her wheels?”
| Word | Meaning |
| Profession | Career, Job |
| Never make a success | Be unsuccessful |
| Gifted | Talented, Very good |
| Amateur | Not professional, Not as a career |
| Skill | Mastery, Ability, Prowess |
A principal of the school in which Einstein used to study, once talked to his father. The principal told Einstein’s father that Einstein would be unsuccessful in any career or job he selects. When Einstein was six years old, he started to learn to play violin. Einstein started it because his mother wanted him to learn to play violin. After some time he became a very good player of violin. But playing violin was not his career or his profession. He continued to play violin throughout his life for his own pleasure.
| Word | Meaning |
| Pupil | Student |
| Munich | Name of a city of Germany |
| Had moved | Had shifted |
| Regimentation | Rules, Controls |
| Clashed | Fought |
| Stifled | Restrained, Suffocated, Suppressed |
| For good | Forever, Permanently |
Einstein was not considered a weak student. His family had shifted to Munich when Einstein was 15 months old. Munich is a city in Germany. He went to high school in a school situated in Munich city. Einstein scored good marks in every subject. Einstein did not like the rules and the controls of school. Therefore many times his teachers used to scold him. When Einstein became 15 years old, he started feeling very suffocated in the school. So he left the school forever.
| Word | Meaning |
| Prolonged | Continuing for long time, Very lengthy |
| Liberal | Open-minded, Easy-going |
| Milan | A city in Italy |
A year ago, parents of Albert Einstein had shifted to Milan. During this period Albert used to live with his relatives. Albert wanted to study in Switzerland. German language was spoken there. Albert and his parent continued the discussion about his education for a long period of time. Finally his parent accepted the desire of Albert. Albert wanted to study in a city that was more easy-going than Munich and where people were open minded.
| Word | Meaning |
| Gifted | Talented, Proficient, Expert |
| Zurich | A city in Switzerland |
| Appealed | Attracted |
| Dashing | Dynamic, Attractive |
| Walrus moustache | A style of moustache |
Einstein was very expert in mathematics. He was interested to study physics. After completing his school, he decided to shift to Zurich for further study. Einstein had an attractive personality. He used to keep walrus style of moustache. In addition to science, he was attracted towards other things also.
| Word | Meaning |
| Fellow student | Student studying in same class |
| Creature | A living being |
| Serb | Native of Serbia country |
Einstein was especially attracted to a student of his class. Her name was Mileva Maric. He had describe her as a clever living being. This young lady had come to Switzerland from Serbia. In those days women could not study in every university of Europe. But women were allowed to study in University of Zurich.
| Word | Meaning |
| Ally | Supporter, Friend |
| Philistines | Native of Philistine country |
| Constantly | Regularly, Always |
| At odds | Fighting, Against each other |
Some of the family members were against Einstein. Some people in the University of Zurich were always against Einstein. Mileva Maric always supported Einstein. They started liking each other.
| Word | Meaning |
| Survive | Available even now |
| Tenderness | Softness, Emotions, |
Letters written by them to each other are available even now. They used to write words of science as well as their emotions in their letters. Einstein had once written to Mileva Maric that he would be very happy and proud if they both worked together to prove the theory of relativity. According to him, that would be a great victory for both of them.
| Word | Meaning |
| Secured a job | Got a job |
| Bern | A city in Switzerland |
Einstein completed his graduation in 1900. At that time his age was 21 years. He did not have a regular job. He worked as a teaching assistant. He starting taking private tuitions. Finally he got a job in 1902. He started working as a technical expert in the patent office. This office was situated in Bern.
| Word | Meaning |
| Assess | Evaluate, Judge |
| Bureau | Desk, Office |
In his office, Einstein was required to evaluate inventions done by others. By doing this work, he unknowingly started developing his own ideas. As matter of joke, he had named the drawer of his desk as the ‘desk or office of practical physics’.
| Word | Meaning |
| Paper | Research or article published |
| Absolute | Independent |
In the years 1905, one of the famous research was Einstein’s Special Theory of Relativity. In his research Einstein tried to prove that time and distance are not independent quantities. These change relative to other values. Therefore we perceive the change.
| Word | Meaning |
| Indeed | Actually, Certainly |
Let us assume that two clocks show same time at one particular instant. But one clock is running slightly faster than the other clock. Then after 24 hours both clocks will not show the same time. This is because one clock is moving faster relative to another.
| Word | Meaning |
| From this followed | Something was developed or came after |
From theory of relativity, the most famous formula of the world was developed. This formula describes relationship between energy and mass.
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| Word | Meaning |
| Unravelling | Developing |
Einstein was busy in finding solution to the most difficult problem of physics. During the same time some developments were taking place in his personal life also. Albert wanted to marry Mileva immediately after completing his studies. But his mother was against their marriage.
| Word | Meaning |
| Bothered | Worried |
| Put off | Postpone |
Mileva was three years older than Einstein. Mother of Einstein was therefore not in favour of this marriage. Mother was also worried by the intelligence of Mileva. Meaning that Mileva was more educated than Einstein’s mother. The mother was not able to accept this fact. The mother told Einstein that Mileva was also like a book. She considered Einstein also a book. Because they both were busy studying. Owing to resistance from his mother, Einstein postponed his marriage with Mileva.
| Word | Meaning |
| Faltered | Failed, Became unsuccessful |
| Intellectual ambition | The desire to study more |
In January 1903, Einstein and Mileva finally got married. They were blessed with two sons. But after some years troubles started in their marriage. Their marred life was not successful. They were not happy living together. In the meanwhile Mileva lost interest in her studies. They started fighting with each other. They finally divorced each other in 1919. In the year 1919 itself Einstein married with Elsa. She was cousin of Eistein.
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| Word | Meaning |
| Coincided | Happened at the same time |
| Interpretation | Explanation |
| Eclipse of the sun | Hiding of sun |
The new phase of personal life of Einstein started in the same year. Einstein become famous throughout the world. In 1915 he had written his General Theory of Relativity. This paper gave a new explanation to force of gravity. This theory was proved correct when an eclipse of sun occurred in 1919 as per his prediction.
| Word | Meaning |
| Extent to which | Upto the degree, level or magnitude |
| Deflect | To change direction |
| Proclaimed | Declared, Announced |
| Revolution | A new aspect |
Einstein had accurately predicted to what amount the light from a fixed star would change direction because of gravitation of the Sun. The newspapers announced this prediction as a new invention in the field of science.
| Word | Meaning |
| Showered with honours | Many honours were given |
| Lauded | Appreciated greatly |
Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to Einstein in 1921. Many more hounours were given to him. He was invited by many organisations of the world to honour him. His research was highly appreciated by the press.
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| Word | Meaning |
| Nazis | A political party of Germany |
| Emigrate | To shifted to another country |
| Nuclear fission | A reaction in which nucleus splits to create huge energy |
| Berlin | A city in Germany |
| Physicists | Scientists doing research in Physics |
| Uproar | Shouting, Protest, Objection |
In 1933, Nazis started ruling Germany. That year Einstein shifted to United States. After five years, nuclear fission was invented in Berlin. American scientists of Physics made lot of protests and objections to this invention.
| Word | Meaning |
| Fled | Ran away |
| Fascism | They principles of Nazis |
Many of these scientists had run away from Germany because they did not want to live in country that was ruled by Nazis. Einstein had also shifted to America because of this reason. Now they all were afraid that Nazis could make an atomic bomb. They also had doubts that Nazis could use the atomic bomb.
| Word | Meaning |
| Urge | Request strongly |
| Explode | Burst, Detonate |
| Port | Harbour, Place where ships come for loading or unloading |
| Might very well | Certainly |
| Surrounding | Nearby, All around a particular place |
| Territory | Area, Region |
Friends of Einstein strongly requested him to write a letter to American President. At that time president of USA was Franklin D. Roosevelt. Einstein wrote a letter to him on 2 August 1939. Einstein wrote that even if only one atomic bomb is dropped at any of the ports, it would certainly destroy the entire port. It will also destroy some of the areas around the port.
Letter of Einstein had an effect on the policy of USA. Secretly America developed their own atomic bomb. In August 1945, two such bombs were dropped on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
| Word | Meaning |
| Deeply shaken | Highly shocked |
| Missive | A long letter |
Einstein was highly shocked by the amount of damage caused by these two bombs. So he wrote a lengthy letter to the United Nations. He proposed that the world should have only one government. There should not be separate government for separate nations.
| Word | Meaning |
| Made no impact | Had no effect |
| Over the next decade | During next ten years |
| Agitating | Argue forcefully in public |
| Arms buildup | Accumulation of arms, Increasing stock of arms |
| Campaign | Movement, Efforts |
This letter of Einstein had no effect on any one. During the next 10 years, Einstein increased his involvement in politics. He started a movement to stop building and collection of arms. He used his popularity to make efforts for peace and democracy in the world.
| Word | Meaning |
| Celebrated | Greatly respected or admired, Regarded |
| Visionary | A person with original ideas about future |
Einstein died in 1955. At that time his age was 76 years. He was highly respected as a person who had original ideas about future. He was also regarded as a citizen of the whole world rather than a citizen of one country. Certainly he was a genius of science.
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The Lake Isle of Innisfree
(Explanation)
Poet – William Butler Yeats
| Word | Meaning |
| Isle | A small island, A land surrounded by water |
| Arise | Get up, Stand up |
| Cabin | Room, House |
| Wattles | Fencing – usually of wooden sticks |
| Bee loud | Noise or sound of bees |
| Glade | Open space |
| Poetic Devices | |
| I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree, | Repetition. |
| a hive for the honeybee | Alliteration |
Innisfree is name of a place that is surrounded by a lake. The poet says that now he will get up and go to Innisfree. He will build a small house there. He will build this house using clay. Around the house he will build a fencing using wooden sticks. He will cultivate nine rows of beans in the space between his house and the fencing. The Innisfree island is so peaceful that even the sound of bees is considered noise.
| Word | Meaning |
| Comes dropping slow | Comes gradually |
| Veil | Cloth used to cover face |
| Cricket | An insect similar to grasshopper |
| Glimmer | Just a little of light, Twinkling, Unsteady light |
| Glow | Shine |
| Linnet | A type of bird |
| Poetic Devices | |
| ..some peace there, for peace comes.. | Repetition |
| Dropping from the veils of the morning | Personification |
The poet is very hopeful that he will live peacefully there. The peace does not come suddenly, it comes gradually with passage of time. It comes through many things. The poet is describing various aspects of nature that can grant peace to a person.
The peace comes from looking at mornings. Sometimes adequate light is not there because of clouds. The poets describes this situation as if the morning is wearing a veil of clouds. The poet says that peace of mind can be achieved through listening to the sounds of cricket. At midnight, looking at the twinkling stars can give peace. In the afternoon the sunrays and light of sun may appear of purple colour. Once can derive peace by looking at that light. In the evening one can see many linnet birds flying and singing. Poet thinks that this too can provide peace.
In this stanza the poet has described the three different periods of a day. How poet derives peace during each part of the day is narrated.
| Word | Meaning |
| Lapping | Splash of water |
| Shore | Bank of a river or sea |
| Core | Innermost part, |
| Poetic Devices | |
| lake water lapping with low sounds | Alliteration |
| stand on the roadway, or on the pavements | Repetition |
The poet says that now he will get up and go to Innisfree. Throughout the day and night, he is thinking of the sound of splashes of water when waves reach the shore. These sound serves as a reminder to him to go to Innisfree lake. Sometimes the poet is standing on a road or on a pavement of grey colour. This means that he may travel to different places. It also means that the place where he is presently living is not so clean and natural. Wherever the poet goes, the sound of waves of Innisfree water is close to the innermost part of his heart. He is not able to forget these beautiful sounds
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