2001年1月大学英语四级考试试题(2)

　　Passage TwoQuestions 26 to 30 are based on thefollowingpassage.

　　Engineering students are supposed to be examples ofpracticalityand rationality, but when it comes to my collegeeducation I am anidealist and a fool. In highschool I wanted to bean electricalengineer and, of course, any sensible student with myaims wouldhave chosen a college with a large engineeringdepartment,famo

　　I chose to study engineering at a small liberalarts(文科)university that doesnt even offer a major inelectricalengineering. Obviously, this was not a practical choice;I camehere for more noble reasons. I wanted a broad education thatwouldprovide me with flexibility and a value system to guide me inmycareer. I wanted to open my eyes and expand my visionbyinteracting with people who werent studying scienceorengineering. My parents, teachers and other adults praised meforsuch a sensible choice. They told me I was wise and maturebeyondmy 18 years, and I believed them.

　　I headed off to college sure I was going to have an advantageoverthose students who went to big engineerng factories wheretheydidnt care if you had values or were flexible. I was going tobe acomplete engineer: technical genius and sensitivehumanist(人文学者) allin one.

　　Now Im not so sure. Somewhere along the way my nobleidealscrashed into reality, as all noble ideals eventually do.Afterthree years of struggling to balance math, physics andengineeringcourses with liberal arts courses, I have learned thereare reasonswhy few engineering students try to reconcile (协调)engineering withliberal arts courses in college.

　　The reality that has blocked my path to become thetypicalsuccessful student isthat engineering and the liberal artssimplydont mix as easily as I assumed in high school. Individuallytheyshape a person in very different ways; together they threatentoconfuse. The struggle to reconcile the two fields of studyisdifficult.26. The author chose to study engineering at asmallliberal-arts university because

　　he _______.

　　A) wanted to be an example of practicality and rationality

　　B) intended to be a combination of engineer and humanist

　　C) wanted to coordinate engineering with liberal-arts coursesincollege

　　D) intended to be a sensible student with nobleideals27.According to the author, by interacting with people whostudyliberal arts,

　　engineering students can _______.

　　A) balance engineering and the liberal arts

　　B) receive guidance in their careers

　　C) become noble idealists

　　D) broaden their horizons28. In the eyes of the author,asuccessful engineering student is expected _______.

　　A) to have an excellent academic record

　　B) to be wise and mature

　　C) to be imaginative with a value system to guide him

　　D) to be a technical genius with a wide vision29. Theauthorsexperience shows that he was _______.

　　A) creative B) ambitiousC) unrealistic D) irrational30. Thewordthey in ... together they threaten to confuse. (Line 3,.5)

　　refers to _______.

　　A) engineering and the liberal arts B) reality andnobleideals

　　C) flexibility and a value system D) practicalityandrationalityPassage ThreeQuestions 31 to 35 are based onthefollowing passage.

　　Priscilla Ouchidas energy efficient house turned out to beahorrible dream. When she and her engineer husband married afewyears ago, they built a $100,000, three -bedroom homeinCalifornia. Tightly sealed to prevent air leaks,the housewasequipped with small double paned(双层玻璃的) windows and severalotherenergy saving features. Problems began as soon as the couplemovedin, however. Priscillas eyes burned. Her throat wasconstantlydry. She suffered from headaches and could hardly sleep.It was asthough she had suddenly developed a strange illness.

　　Experts finally traced the cause of her illness. The leyel ofofformaldehyde(甲醛) gas in her kitchen was twice the maximumallowedby federal standards for chemical workers. The source of thegas?Her new kitchen cabinets and wall to wall carpeting.TheOuchidasare victims of indoor air pollution, which is not givensufficientattention partly because of the nations drive to saveenergy. Theproblem itself isnt new. The indoor environment wasdirty longbefore energy conservation came along, saysMoschandreas, apollution scientist at Geomet Technologies inMaryland. Energyconservation has tended to accentuate thesituation in somecases.

　　The problem appears to be more troublesome in newlyconstructedhomes rather than old ones. Back in the days when energywas cheap,home builders didnt worry much about unsealed cracks.Because ofsuch leaks, the air in an average home was replaced byfreshoutdoor air about once an hour. As a result, thepollutantsgenerated in most households seldom built up todangerouslevels.31. It can be learned from the passage that theOuchidashouse_______.

　　A) is well worth the money spent on its construction

　　B) is almost faultless from the point of energy conservation

　　C) failed to meet energy conservation standards

　　D) was designed and constructed in a scientific way32. Whatmadethe Ouchidas new house a horrible dream?

　　A) Lack of fresh air.

　　B) Poor quality of buildig materials.

　　C) Gas leakage in the kitchen.

　　D) The newly painted walls33. The word accentuate(Line 4, .3)most probably means ________.

　　A) relieve B) accelerate C) worsen D) improve34. Why werecracksin old houses not a big concern?

　　A) Because indoor cleanness was not emphasized.

　　B) Because energy used to be inexpensive.

　　C) Because environmental protection was given top priority.

　　D) Because they were technically unavoidable.35. This passageismost probably taken from an article entitled ________ .

　　A) Energy ConservationB) House Building Crisis

　　C) Air Pollution Indoors D) Traps in Building Consruction【1】【2】【3】 【4】