"But Professor, why don't you try the cream just once?" I argued. "It makes shaving smoother and less painful."

He shrugged. Finally, I presented him with a tube of shaving cream. The next morning when he came down to breakfast, he was beaming with the pleasure of a new, great discovery. "You know, that cream really works," he announced. "It doesn't pull the beard. It feels wonderful." Thereafter, he used the shaving cream every morning until the tube was empty. Then he reverted to (介词) using plain water.

Einstein was purely and exclusively a theorist. He didn't have the slightest interest in the practical application of his ideas and theories. His E=mc2 is probably the most famous equation in history - yet Einstein wouldn't walk down the street to see a reactor create atomic energy. He won the Nobel Prize for his Photoelectric Theory, a series of equations that he considered relatively minor次要的 in importance, but he didn't have any curiosity in observing how his theory made TV possible.

My brother once gave the Professor a toy, a bird that balanced on the edge of a bowl of water and repeatedly dunked its head in the water. Einstein watched it in delight, trying to deduce the operating principle. But be couldn't.

shave
vt. cut off (hair or beard) with a razor
cream
n. any thick, soft liquid 膏状物
argue
vt. give reasons for or against (sth.) 争辨
painful
a. causing pain
shrug
vi. lift (the shoulders) slightly (to show in difference, doubt, etc.) 耸肩
finally
ad. at last; lastly 最终;最后
present
vt. give; offer 赠送;提供
tube
n. 管;软管
beam
vi. look or smile happily and cheerfully 面露喜色;高兴地微笑
beard
n. hair of the lower part of the face (excluding the moustache) 胡须
thereafter
ad. after that; afterwards
revert
vi return (to a former state, condition, etc.) 回复,回返
exclusively 反义词inclusively
ad. only; completely
exclusive
a. person who forms theories 理论家
theorist
n. 方程式
equation
slight
n. small in degree, not considerable or serious 微小的,轻微的
application
n. using 应用
theory
n. (explanation of the) general principles of an art or science 理论
theoretical
a.
reactor
n. 反应堆
atomic
a. of or concerning an atom or atoms 原子的
atom
n.
photoelectric
a. 光电的
series
n. group of things of the same kind that come one after another 系列;套,组
relatively
ad. comparatively 相对地;比较地
relative
a.
relativity
n.
curiosity curious
n. the desire to know or learn 好奇心
observe
v. see and again
repeatedly
ad. again and again
dunk
vt. put under water for a limited time 把...浸一浸
deduce reduce减少 produce生产 induce引诱
vt. reach a conclusion by reasoning 演绎,推断
deduction
n.
principle
n. 原理;原则