Engineering students are supposed to be examples of practicality and rationality (理性), but when it comes to my college education I am an idealist and a fool. In high school I wanted to be an electrical engineer and, of course, any reasonable student with my aims would have chosen a college with a large engineering department, many famous professors and lots of good labs and research equipment. But that’s not what I did.
I chose to study engineering at a small liberal-arts (文科) university that doesn’t even offer a major in electrical engineering. Obviously, this was not a practical choice; I came here for more noble reasons. I wanted a broad education that would provide me with flexibility and a value system to guide me in my job. I wanted to open my eyes and expand my vision by communicating with people who weren’t studying science or engineering. My parents, teachers and other adults praised me for such a wise choice. They told me I was wise and grown-up beyond my 18 years, and I believed them.
I headed off to the college and sure I was going to have an advantage over those students who went to big engineering "factories" where they didn’t care if you had values or were flexible. I was going to be a complete engineer: technical expert and excellent humanist all in one.
Now I’m not so sure. Somewhere along the way my noble ideas crashed into reality, as all noble ideas finally do. After three years of struggling to balance math, physics and engineering courses with liberal-arts courses, I have learned there are reasons why few engineering students try to reconcile engineering with liberal-arts courses in college.
The reality that has blocked my path to become the typical successful student is that engineering and the liberal arts simply don’t mix as easily as I supposed in high school. Individually they shape a person in very different ways. The struggle to reconcile the two fields of study is difficult. Why did the author choose to study engineering at a small liberal-arts university?
| A．He intended to become an engineer and humanist. |
| B．He intended to be a reasonable student with noble ideals. |
| C．He wanted to be an example of practicality and rationality. |
| D．He wanted to communicate with liberal-arts students. |
According to the author, by communicating with people who study liberal arts, engineering students can ___________.
| A．become noble idealists |
| B．broaden their knowledge |
| C．find a better job in the future |
| D．balance engineering and liberal arts |
Which word below can replace the underlined word “reconcile”?
| A．confuse | B．compare | C．combine | D．compete |
The underlined sentence in 1st paragraph means ___________.
| A．he has failed to achieve his ideal aims |
| B．he is not a practical and rational student |
| C．his choice of attending to a small liberal-arts university is reasonable |
| D．his idea of combining engineering with liberal - arts is noble and wise |
The author suggests in this passage that ___________.
| A．liberal-arts students are supported to take engineering courses |
| B．technical experts with a wide vision are expected in the society |
| C．successful engineering students are more welcomed in the society |
| D．engineering universities with liberal-arts courses are needed |
John James Audubon was born in 1785 and died in 1851, but his name is still talked about every day. Audubon was a scientist who loved nature. He wanted to show people the importance of nature in their lives. He was especially interested in birds, and painted many beautiful pictures of them.
In1950, the National Audubon Society was formed by people who were also interested in birds and wanted to continue Audubon’s nature studies. Even now, when people think of the Audubon’s Society, they usually think of birds. But the Society does other things besides watching birds.
The members of the Society try to improve the environment as much as they can. They let the public know about the laws that are needed. They have helped to pass many laws that protect birds and animals, and people, too. They teach young people how to protect their environment. They try to make their own communities (社区) cleaner, better places to live in.
John James Audubon knew that nature was important. He did not know how important his work would become.“ His name is still talked about every day.” means “_________”.
| A．People seldom speak of his name. |
| B．He is still remembered by people |
| C．His name is very important |
| D．Pay attention to his name, please. |
The National Audubon Society was founded by _________.
| A．Audubon’s supporters | B．Audubon himself |
| C．the scientists | D．the painters of birds |
People often think of birds when the Audubon Society is told about because ____________.
| A．some birds had joined the Society |
| B．the Society did a lot in protecting birds. |
| C．the Society had no interest in birds |
| D．all the members of the Society were painters of birds |
What do you think is the best title for the article?
| A．Audubon and the National Audubon Society |
| B．How to Protect Birds |
| C．How to Keep Our Environment Clean |
| D．The Greatest Society |
Discover
Newsmagazine of science, devot
ed to the wonders and stories of modern science, is written for the educated general reader. Published(出版) by Disney Magazine Publishing Co., Discover tells many of the same stories professionals(专业人员) read in Scientific American. A truly delightful family science magazine, each issue(每期) brings to light new and newsworthy topics to make dinnertime and water-cooler conversations interesting.
Cover Price: $59.88
Price: $19.95($1.66/issue)
You Save: $39.93(67%)
Issues: 12 issues/12 months
Self
Published by Conde Nast Publications Inc., Self is a handbook devoted to women’s overall physical and mental health. Every issue contains usable articles such as “Style Lab”, in which wearable clothes are mixed and matched on non-models and the “Eat-right Road Map”, with tips on how to eat properly.
Cover Price: $35.86
Price: $15．00($2.5/issue)
You Save: $20．86(58%)
Issues: 10 issues/12 months
Instyle
Instyle is a guide to the lives and lifestyles of the world’s famous people. The magazine covers the choices people make about their homes, their clothes and their free time activities. With photos and articles, it opens the door to these people’s homes, families, parties and weddings, offering ideas about beauty, fitness and in general, lifestyles. Publisher: The Time Inc．Magazine Company.
Cover Price: $47.88
Price: $23.88($2.38/issue)
You Save: $24.00(50%)
Issues: 10 issues/12 months
Wired
This magazine is designed for leaders in the field of information engineering, including top managers and professionals in the computer, business, design and education industries. Published by Conde Nast Publications Inc., Wired often carries articles on how technology changes people’s lives.
Cover Price: $59.40
Price: $10.00($1.00/issue)
You save: $49.40(83%)
Issues: 10 issues/12monthsWhich of the following magazines is published monthly?
| A．Discover | B．Self | C．Instyle | D．Wired |
Which two magazines are published by the same publisher?
| A．Wired and Instyle | B．Discover and Instyle |
| C．Self and Discove | D．Self and Wired |
Which magazine offers the biggest price cut?
| A．Instyle | B．Wired | C．Discover | D．Self |
Those who are interested in management and the use of high technology would probably choose _____.
| A．Instyle | B．Self | C．Wired | D．Discover |
Warm water freezes more quickly than cold water. Sir Francis Bacon said that almost four hundred years ago. But few people believed him. Later, a Canadian scientist George Kell proved the English scholar was right. Dr.Kell filled an open jar（罐子）with cold water. He filled another with warm water. He put them both in the same low temperature. And the warm water froze first.
What was the reason? Some of the warm water changed into vapour. It went into the air. This meant that less of the warm water was left to freeze. And so the warm water froze faster than the cold water. Sir Francis Bacon was__________________.
| A．an American chemist | B．an English scholar |
| C．a Canadian scientist | D．a French physicist |
Dr.Kell’s jars were both_____________________.
| A．put in a place of the same low temperature |
| B．filled with warm water |
| C．left empty |
| D．put on a long table |
The cold water froze more slowly because_____________.
| A．there was less of it left | B．there was more of it left |
| C．something else was added to it | D．its jar was much bigger |
Dr.Kell proved what Bacon said in _____________ way.
| A．a difficult | B．a hard | C．a wrong | D．a simple |
I arrived in London at last. The railway station was big, black and dark. I did not know the way to my hotel, so I asked a porter(搬运工). I not only spoke English very carefully, but very clearly as well.The porter, however, could not understand me. I repeated my question several times and at last he understood. He answered me, but he spoke neit
her slowly nor clearly. “I am a foreigner”, I said. Then he spoke slowly, but I could not understand him. My teacher never spoke English like that! The porter and I looked at each other and smiled. Then he said something and I understood it. “ You’ll soon learn English!” he said. It seems to me that in England each man speaks a different language. The Englishman understand each other, but I don’t understand them! Do they speak English? How did the write
r of the passage get to London?
A．By tra in |
B．On foot | C．By sea | D．By air |
What country did the writer of the passage come from?
| A．England | B．Ameica | C．France | D．We don’t know |
Why couldn’t the porter understand the writer when he spoke English?
| A．Because he was a foreigner. |
| B．Because the porter could only understand the London dialect (方言). |
| C．Because he spoke not British English but American English. |
| D．Because he couldn’t speak idiomtic (地道的) English. |
“In England, each man speaks a different language.” The writer thinks so because_________________.
| A．some people speak English, while others don’t. |
| B．he does not understand native(本国的) speakers of English |
| C．not every Englishman speaks English |
| D．each Englishman can speak several foreign languages |
Many years ago, in a small town, there lived a doctor. He was good and kind. At any time of the day and night, he was always ready to go to help a sick person. Everyone in the town liked him and people always went to him when there was anything wrong.
The years went past, and the doctor became old. He began to lose his memory.When people noticed this, they didn’t go to him any more.
“He may give us the wrong medicine,” they said, and they were afraid.
The good old doctor noticed that pe
ople didn’t come to him any more but didn’t understand why. So he asked, “Why does no one come to me now?”
No one wanted to tell him the real reason because they didn’t want to make the good old man unhappy, so they said, “You have helped all the sick people in the town. There is no one sick now.”
The doctor was pleased when he heard that.People always went to the doctor when they were____________.
| A．wrong | B．not right | C．not well | D．not happy |
“He began to lose his memory.”means __________.
| A．He couldn’t know his sick persons any longer. |
| B．He forgot everything in the past. |
| C．He couldn’t find anything. |
| D．He couldn’t remember things well. |
The sick people didn’t come to the doctor any more b
ecause____.
| A．there was no sick man in the town |
| B．he might give them the wrong medicine |
| C．they were afraid of him |
D．he was old and no longer a doctor |
The old doctor was _________ when he heard that there was no one sick in the town.
| A．sorry | B．angry | C．glad | D．surprised |