Question

From the grave, Albert Einstein poured gasoline on the culture wars between science and religion this week. A letter the physicist wrote in 1954 to the philosopher Eric Gutkind, in which he scoffed at the idea that the Jews could be a “chosen people,” sold for $404,000 at an auction(拍卖) in London, which is only a little less than the $442,500 paid for the entire collection of 53 love letters between Einstein and his first wife, Mileva Maric in New York in 1996. At that same auction a paper by Einstein and his best friend, Michele Besso, a calculation that would later be a determining piece of his achievement, the General Theory of Relativity, went for $398,500.

Diana L. Kormos-Buchwald, head of the Einstein Papers project, said “It is an important expression of Einstein’s thoughts and views on religion, on his views about God and religious texts.” She said the letter, which was not written for publication, was more straightforward than the metaphors he usually turned to in public.

Einstein lost his religion at the age of 12, concluding that it was all a lie, and he never looked back. But he never lost his religious feeling about the order of the universe. Trying to distinguish between a personal God and a more cosmic force. The problem of God, he said, “is too vast for our limited minds.” In the letter, he wrote “the word God is for me nothing more than the expression and product of human weaknesses.” As for his fellow Jews, he said that Judaism, like all other religions, was “just the most childish superstitions(迷信).” He claimed a deep connection with the Jewish people, he said, but “as far as my experience goes they are also no better than other human groups, although they are protected from the worst cancers by a lack of power.”

1. What did the first sentence in the first paragraph may mean?

A. The grave of Albert Einstein was polluted by some gasoline.

B. Albert Einstein wrote a letter from the grave where he was.

C. Albert Einstein’s letter cause argument between science and religion.

D. There was a great discussion between science and religion near the grave.

2. The scoff in the first paragraph may mean?

A. laugh at　 B. agree with　　 C. satisfied with　　 D. think highly of

 

Answer 1

1. C。句子理解。该句是个比喻句子，根据后面文章提到的爱因斯坦的观点。可知他的一封书信有引起了争论。故该题的正确答案为C。

2. A。词义推测。 根据文章最后一段中提到的爱因斯坦对犹太教的看法“As for his fellow Jews, he said that Judaism, like all other religions, was “just the most childish superstitions”，可以得出他对idea that the Jews could be a “chosen people,”的那种想法是“嘲笑”的。故该题的正确答案为A。