No one suspected that shy， young Albert Einstein would grow up to change the world. He was so slow in learning to speak that he was considered a bit dull-witted.
Albert Einstein was never happy in school. He did not like to memorize facts and rules. He answered slowly because he was very thoughtful①. And he asked difficult questions， which made his teachers think that he was trying to make trouble. The strict discipline② of a German school made him very unhappy.
However， young Einstein did learn what interested him. And he was interested in what lay below the surface of things. When he was young， for instance， his father gave him a compass with a magnetic③ needle. This made Albert curious about the unseen forces that could keep a compass needle always pointing north. In his teens he read deep in science. He had already started to wonder about the mysteries of the universe.
When he was 17， Einstein entered the Polytechnic Institute in Zurich， Switzerland， where he studied mathematics and physics. He stayed away from many lectures and did not impress his professors， but he was actually studying very hard all the time. When he graduated in 1900， he asked to be appointed④ as an assistant in the physics department but was refused.
He was purely and exclusively⑤ a theorist who 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 go 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 in importance， but he didn’t have any curiosity in observing how his theory made TV possible.
A young friend once gave Professor Einstein a toy， a bird that balanced on the edge of a bowl of water and repeatedly dunked⑥ its head in the water. Einstein watched it in delight， trying to deduce the operating principle. But he couldn’t.
The next morning he announced， “I had thought about that bird for a long time before I went to bed and it must work this way…” He began a long explanation. Then he stopped， realizing a flaw in his reasoning. “No， I guess that’s not it.” He pursued⑦ various theories for several days until someone suggested they take the toy apart to see how it did work. His quick expression of disapproval showed that he did not agree with this practical approach. However， he never did work out the solution.
① thoughtfuladj. 深思的，沉思的
② disciplinen. 纪律，风纪，教养
③ magneticadj. 磁铁的，磁性的，有磁性的
④ appointv. 任命，指派
⑤ exclusivelyadv. 专门地，专有地
⑥ dunkv. 泡，浸
⑦ pursuev. 进行，从事，继续
爱因斯坦的青年时代
没有一个人会想到既害羞而又年轻的艾尔伯特·爱因斯坦长大以后会改变这个世界。他学说话是如此缓慢，以至于人们认为他的智力有点迟钝。
艾尔伯特·爱因斯坦在学校过得很不快乐。他不喜欢记忆事实与规则。他回答问题的时侯很慢，因为他总是要经过认真思考。他会问很难的问题，这就使得老师们认为他是在故意找麻烦。德国学校的严格纪律使他非常不愉快。
但是年轻的爱因斯坦确实学到了令他感兴趣的东西。他感兴趣的是藏在事物表面之下的东西。例如，在他很小的时候，他的父亲给了他一个带有磁针的指南针。这使得艾尔伯特对那股使指南针的针永远指向北边的看不见的力量很好奇。在他十几岁的时候就读了非常深奥的科学书籍。他已经开始想了解宇宙的奥秘。
17岁的时候，爱因斯坦进入了瑞士苏黎士的专科学院，在那里他学习数学和物理学。有许多课他都不去听，以至于没有给教授们留下印象，然而他确实一直都在刻苦地学习着。当1900年毕业之时，他曾经要求在物理系留任作助教，但是却被拒绝了。
他纯粹完全是一个理论家，对自己思想和理论的实际应用丝毫不感兴趣。他提出的 “E＝Mc2“或许是有史以来最著名的公式，然而爱因斯坦却不愿意到街上去看反应堆产生原子能。他因其光电理论而获得了诺贝尔奖金，在他看来那是一系列比较次要的公式，对于观察他的理论是怎样使得电视得以产生的，他没有丝毫的好奇之心。
一个年轻的朋友曾经送给爱因斯坦教授一个玩具，那是一只立在盛水的碗边保持平衡并把脑袋反复浸入水中的鸟。爱因斯坦高兴地注视着它，一边试图推断出它的运动原理。但是他却失败了。
第二天早晨他宣布说：“关于那只鸟，我上床前想了很久，它一定是这样运转的……”他开始做起了长篇解释。后来他意识到自己推理中的一个漏洞便停了下来。“不，我想不是这样的。”他连续几天试着用各种理论来加以解释，后来有人建议把玩具拆开看看它到底是怎样运转的。他迅速现出的不赞成的表情表明，他并不同意这种切实可行的作法。但后来他一直都没有研究出这个答案。