单项选择题

He was one of the greatest scientists the world has ever known, yet if I had to convey the essence of Albert Einstein in a single word, I would choose simplicity. Perhaps an anecdote will help. Once. (26) In a downpour, he took off his hat and held it under his coat. Asked why, he explained, with admirable logic, that the rain would (27) the hat, but his hair would be (28) for its wetting. This knack of going (29) to the heart of a matter was the (30) of his major scientific discoveries-this and his extraordinary feeling (31) beauty.
I first met Albert Einstein in 1935, at the famous Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, N.J.. He had been among the first to be invited to the Institute, and was offered carte blanche as to salary. (32) the director’s dismay, Einstein asked for an impossible sum: it was (33) too small. The director had to plead (34) him to accept a larger salary.
I was in awe of Einstein, and (35) before approaching him about some ideas I had been working on. When I finally knocked on his door, a gentle voice said, "Come" — with a rising inflection that made the single word both a welcome and a question. I entered his office and found him (36) at a table, calculating and smoking his pipe. Dressed in (37) clothes, his hair characteristically awry, he smiled a warm welcome. His (38) naturalness at once set me at ease.
As I began to explain my ideas, he asked me to write the equations on the blackboard so he could see how they developed. Then came the staggering — and altogether endearing — (39) . "Please go slowly. I do not understand things quickly." This was from Einstein! He said it gently, and I laughed. From then on, all (40) of fear were gone.