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SAMPLE22

[物理学类]

Manyobjectsindailyusehaveclearlybeeninfluencedbyscience,buttheirformandfunction,theirdimensionsandappearance,weredeterminedbytechnologists,artisans,designers,inventors,andengineers—usingnonscientificmodesofthought.Manyfeaturesandqualitiesoftheobjectsthatatechnologistthinksaboutcannotbereducedtounambiguousverbaldescriptions;theyaredealtwithinthemindbyavisual,nonverbalprocess.InthedevelopmentofWesterntechnology,ithasbeennonverbalthinking,byandlarge,thathasfixedtheoutlinesandfilledinthedetailsofourmaterialsurroundings.Pyramids,cathedrals,androcketsexistnotbecauseofgeometryorthermodynamics,butbecausetheywerefirstapictureinthemindsofthosewhobuiltthem.

Thecreativeshapingprocessofatechnologist’smindcanbeseeninnearlyeveryartifactthatexists.Forexample,indesigningadieselengine,atechnologistmightimpressindividualwaysofnonverbalthinkingonthemachinebycontinuallyusinganintuitivesenseofrightnessandfitness.Whatwouldbetheshapeofthecombustionchamber?Whereshouldbevalvesbeplaced?Shouldithavealongorshortpiston?Suchquestionshavearangeofanswersthataresuppliedbyexperience,byphysicalrequirements,bylimitationsofavailablespace,andnotleastbyasenseofform.Somedecisionssuchaswallthicknessandpindiameter,maydependonscientificcalculations,butthenonscientificcomponentofdesignremainsprimary.

Designcourses,then,shouldbeanessentialelementinengineeringcurricula.Nonverbalthinking,acentralmechanisminengineeringdesign,involvesperceptions,thestock-in-tradeoftheartist,notthescientist.Becauseperceptiveprocessesarenotassumedtoentail“hardthinking,”nonverbalthoughtissometimesseenasaprimitivestageinthedevelopmentofcognitiveprocessesandinferiortoverbalormathematicalthought.ButitisparadoxicalthatwhenthestaffoftheHistoricAmericanEngineeringRecordwishedtohavedrawingsmadeofmachinesandisometricviewsofindustrialprocessesforitshistoricalrecordofAmericanengineering,theonlycollegestudentswiththerequisiteabilitieswerenotengineeringstudents,butratherstudentsattendingarchitecturalschools.

Ifcoursesindesign,whichinastronglyanalyticalengineeringcurriculumprovidethebackgroundrequiredforpracticalproblem-solving,arenotprovided,wecanexpecttoencountersillybutcostlyerrorsoccurringinadvancedengineeringsystems.Forexample,earlymodelsofhigh-speedrailroadcarsloadedwithsophisticatedcontrolswereunabletooperateinasnowstormbecauseafansuckedsnowintotheelectricalsystem.Absurdrandomfailuresthatplagueautomaticcontrolsystemsarenotmerelytrivialaberrations;theyareareflectionofthechaosthatresultswhendesignisassumedtobeprimarilyaprobleminmathematics.

1.Inthetext,theauthorisprimarilyconcernedwith

[A]identifyingthekindsofthinkingthatareusedbytechnologists.

[B]stressingtheimportanceofnonverbalthinkinginengineeringdesign.

[C]proposinganewrolefornonscientificthinkinginthedevelopmentoftechnology.

[D]contrastingthegoalsofengineerswiththoseoftechnologists.

2.Itcanbeinferredthattheauthorthinksengineeringcurriculaare

[A]strengthenedwhentheyincludecoursesindesign.

[B]weakenedbythesubstitutionofphysicalsciencecoursesforcoursesdesignedtodevelopmathematicalskills.

[C]strongbecausenonverbalthinkingisstillemphasizedbymostofthecourses.

[D]strongdespitetheerrorsthatgraduatesofsuchcurriculahavemadeinthedevelopmentofautomaticcontrolsystems.

3.Whichofthefollowingstatementsbestillustratesthemainpointofthefirsttwoparagraphsofthetext?

[A]Whenamachinelikearotaryenginemalfunctions,itisthetechnologistwhoisbestequippedtorepairit.

[B]Eachcomponentofanautomobile—forexample,theengineorthefueltank—hasashapethathasbeenscientificallydeterminedtobebestsuitedtothatcomponent’sfunction.

[C]Atelephoneisacomplexinstrumentdesignedbytechnologistsusingonlynonverbalthought.

[D]Thedistinctivefeaturesofasuspensionbridgereflectitsdesigner’sconceptualizationaswellasthephysicalrequirementsofitssite.

4.Whichofthefollowingstatementswouldbestserveasanintroductiontothetext?

[A]Theassumptionthattheknowledgeincorporatedintechnologicaldevelopmentsmustbederivedfromscienceignoresthemanynonscientificdecisionsmadebytechnologists.

[B]Analyticalthoughtisnolongeravitalcomponentinthesuccessoftechnologicaldevelopment.

[C]Asknowledgeoftechnologyhasincreased,thetendencyhasbeentolosesightoftheimportantroleplayedbyscientificthoughtinmakingdecisionsaboutform,arrangement,andtexture.

[D]Amovementinengineeringcollegestowardatechnician’sdegreereflectsademandforgraduateswhohavethenonverbalreasoningabilitythatwasoncecommonamongengineers.

5.TheauthorcallsthepredicamentfacedbytheHistoricAmericanEngineeringRecord“paradoxical”(line6,paragraph3)mostprobablybecause

[A]thepublicationneededdrawingsthatitsownstaffcouldnotmake.

[B]architecturalschoolsofferedbutdidnotrequireengineeringdesigncoursesfortheirstudents.

[C]collegestudentswerequalifiedtomakethedrawingswhilepracticingengineerswerenot.

[D]engineeringstudentswerenottrainedtomakethetypeofdrawingsneededtorecordthedevelopmentoftheirowndiscipline.