Radiophysics. Халюшева Г.Р. - 5 стр.

        1 Unit 1
        1.1 Text 1
                                                Why do you want to be a physicist?
                                             (From Live with Lightning by M. Wilson)
                                                            (abridged)

        Professor Earle Fox’s office was on the twelfth floor in the south–west corner of the Physics Building.
      “Professor Fox, Mr.Eric Gorin is here to see you.” The door of the office opened
he saw a young man, about twenty–one, who entered behind his secretary. Fox rose to
shake hands, then asked the young man to sit down.
         “We are very glad to have you here, Mr.Gorin,” he said gently. “This year we’ve taken on only one new assistant.
You have come with excellent recommendations and I believe you’ll have every opportunity to live up to them. As you
know, you’ll be teaching freshman physics lab while you take you own courses towards your doctorate. Professor Beans is
the man to whom you’ll be responsible for your undergraduate teaching. He gives the freshman physics lectures. Professor
Cameron will be your adviser in your graduate work. By the way, he said suddenly, “what makes you want to be a
physicist?”
      Erik looked at him. He thought he had misunderstood the proper meaning of the
question.
         “I don’t know. It just never occurred to me to think of anything else.” At that moment he couldn’t understand why
Fox was asking him about this.
         Fox smiled. “Never mind. In the meantime, each year just before the semester starts, Mrs.Fox and I hold an open
house, for all the members of the staff so that the new men can meet everyone else. Naturally we are expecting you.” He
stood up and shook hands.
         On the day of Professor Fox’s party, Tommy Maxwell the senior assistant, came to Erik’s room and asked whether
he was Gorin. Erik nodded.
         “I’m Maxwell, the senior assistant. I’m getting ready for my finds. Fox told me that you were here and I thought
we could go over to Fox’s together.”
         On the way Erik told Maxwell that he wanted to take his Ph.D. and then do research.
         “Well, you see it isn’t up to you,” said Maxwell. “All the Ph.D. candidates wind up in one of the laboratories and
the professors pick up their research assistants from them. All kinds of work are going on except in nuclear physics, and
even there a fellow named Haviland will start up a lab next year when he comes back from England.”
         “Haviland? Haven’t heard anything about him.”
         “You’ll see him at Fox’s.”
         Nuclear physics,” said Eric reflectively. “May be that’s for me.”


                                                               ***

          In the Fox’s apartment, Maxwell approached Haviland. “Hello! How do you like working in England?”
          “Wonderful. When I come here in 32 there is going to be a lot of work to do. I am sorry you won’t be here to work
with me.”
          “If I won’t be here, Gorin will. This is Erik Gorin, Tony. Gorin, Dr.Haviland.”
          “Have you read anything about nuclear physics, Mr.Gorin?”, he asked politely.
          “Not very much”, said Erik. “But I’m dying to work in a laboratory. Don’t you think you might be able to use me
when you get back? I’ll have at least a year’s more experience than I have now. What would you especially want in an
assistant?”
          Haviland smiled. “All right, Gorin. Take the regular schedule of courses, classical physics first, then quantum
statistical mechanics. If you can lean some lab techniques, so much the better.”

                                                               ***

        A year passed. Haviland returned but he had forgotten about Erik.
        “I want to remind you of your promise,” said Erik when he met Haviland.