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A Truly Beautiful Mind
Question
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What kind of place is Innisfree? Think about:
(i) the three things the poet wants to do when he goes back there (stanza I);
(ii) what he hears and sees there and its effect on him (stanza II);
(iii) what he hears in his “heart’s core” even when he is far away from Innisfree (stanza III).

Answer

1. (i) (a) The poet wants to build a small cabin of clay and wattles.
(b) He wants to plant nine rows of beans.
(c) He wants to keep honey bees hive.
(ii) (a) He hears the cricket’s song.
(b) He holds linnets flying in the sky.
(c) He sees glimmering midnight and glowing rooms.
(iii) When the poet is far away from Innisfree he hears the sound of the lake water washing the shore in his “heart's core”.

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Some More Questions From A Truly Beautiful Mind Chapter

 I. Here are some headings for paragraphs in the text. Write the number(s) of the paragraph(s) for each title against the heading. The first one is done for you.
(i)
Einstein’s equation
  
(ii)
Einstein meets his future wife
  
(iii)
The making of a violinist
  
(iv)
Mileva and Einstein’s mother
  
(v)
A letter that launched the arms race
  
(vi)
A desk drawer full of ideas
  
(vii)
Marriage and divorce
  
  

2. Who had these opinions about Einstein?
(i) He was boring.
(ii) He was stupid and would never succeed in life.
(iii) He was a freak.

3. Explain what the reasons for the following are.
(i) Einstein leaving the school in Munich for good.
(ii) Einstein wanting to study in Switzerland rather than in Munich.
(iii) Einstein seeing in Mileva an ally.
(iv) What do these tell you about Einstein?

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

Why did Einstein write a letter to Franklin Roosevelt?

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

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

Here are some facts from Einstein’s life. Arrange them in chronological order.
[ ] Einstein publishes his special theory of relativity.
[ ] He is awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics.
[ ] Einstein writes a letter to U.S. President, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and warns against Germany’s building of an atomic bomb. 
[ ] Einstein attends a high school in Munich.
[ ] Einstein’s family moves to Milan.
[ ] Einstein is born in the German city of Ulm.
[ ] Einstein joins a university in Zurich, where he meets Mileva.
[ ] Einstein dies.
[ ] He provides a new interpretation of gravity.
[ ] Tired of the school’s regimentation, Einstein withdraws from school.
[ ] He works in a patent office as a technical expert.
[ ] When Hitler comes to power, Einstein leaves Germany for the United States.

Here are some sentences from the story. Choose the word from the brackets which can be substituted for the italicised words in the sentences.
1. A few years later, the marriage faltered. (failed, broke, became weak)
2. Einstein was constantly at odds with people at the university. (on bad terms, in disagreement, unhappy)
3. The newspapers proclaimed his work as “a scientific revolution.” (declared, praised, showed)
4. Einstein got ever more involved in politics, agitating for an end to the arms buildup. (campaigning, fighting, supporting)
5. At the age of 15, Einstein felt so stifled that he left the school for good, (permanently, for his benefit, for a short time)
6. Five years later, the discovery of nuclear fission in Berlin had American physicists in an uproar. (in a state of commotion, full of criticism, in a desperate state)
7. Science wasn’t the only thing that appealed to the dashing young man with the walrus moustache. (interested, challenged, worried)

Complete the sentences below by filling in the blanks with suitable participial clauses. The information that has to be used in the phrases is provided as a sentence in brackets.
1. __________, the firefighters finally put out the fire. (They worked round the clock.)
2. She watched the sunset above the mountain, __________ (She noticed the colours blending softly into one another.)
3. The excited horse pawed the ground rapidly, __________ (While it neighed continually.)
4. __________, I found myself in Bangalore, instead of Benaras. (I had taken the wrong train.)
5. __________, I was desperate to get to the bathroom. (I had not bathed for two days)
6. The stone steps, __________ needed to be replaced. (They were worn down).
7. The actor received hundreds of letters from his fans, __________ (They asked him to send them his photograph.)