题目内容
Physics and (化学)are his favorite subjects.It was a party. I was 18 and it was fresher(大一新生) week. I was at the beginning of a course in English Literature and full of enthusiasm for my subject. She was also 18 and enrolled in a course in physics.
“Your major is of no use to society. What will you do with it when you graduate, other than teach? Plus, you’re going to be poor your whole life,” she said. “You have no soul and your degree is boring. I don’t care how much money you’re going to earn. I’d rather be poor and don’t mind being a teacher. If I love my work I’ll have something far more meaningful than a big bank account!” came the reply.
And so it went, back and forth, neither of us giving the other an inch, each of us stubbornly committed to our prejudice. We were both ignorant, but our ignorance was also society’s ignorance. It had always been that way. Scientists mocked(嘲笑) humanists; humanists laughed at scientists. Back in the 1960s, the physicist-turned novelist C. P. Snow labeled the sciences-humanities divide “a problem of ‘the two cultures’” . He said it was bad for society. The modern world needed well-rounded people.
I think I know better now, but it would have helped if we had been encouraged to think a little more outside our science and arts “boxes”.
That’s why I believe it is healthy that China is beginning a debate on whether it’s wise for young people to have to choose which direction their careers – and lives – will take at such an early age. At the moment, in their second year of high school, students must choose either the sciences or the humanities. After making the choice, they focus their energies on passing the appropriate college entrance exam.
But now, people in China are asking: Is this forced, early decision good for young people or society? Young people need time to explore, to discover where their real talents and interests lie. There are more than just a few middle-aged people out there, stuck in jobs they hate because they made the wrong choice at the wrong time.
And from the point of view of society, isn’t it better for students to delay a while before they decide what to study? Scientists can benefit from learning to develop the critical skills associated with the humanities; students in the humanities, surely, only stand to gain by finding out a little more about science and technology, which are so important to the future of a developing country like China.
With any luck, in the future young people fresh to college will be better informed about the possibilities of education than people of my generation.
【小题1】The author describes what happened at a fresher party to ________.
A.show that he was ready to defend the subject he enjoyed |
B.lead up his argument that the sciences-humanities divide is harmful |
C.prove that doing something meaningful is better than having a lot of money |
D.describe how fierce students of different majors can be when arguing with each other |
A. Indifferent. B. Uncertain. C. Positive. D. Negative.
【小题3】In the sixth paragraph, an example mentioning middle-aged people is used to show that ________.
A.students should not make decisions too early |
B.not all people have a talent for or are interested in the sciences |
C.these people did not have the chance to make a choice earlier in life |
D.the earlier young people make a decision, the better it will be for them |
A. sciences are more practical in the modern world
B. C. P. Snow was a novelist who became a physicist
C. future generations will be able to get more out of education
D. a command of both the sciences and humanities is important to society
【小题5】What’s the best title for the article?
A.The sciences or the humanities, which to choose? |
B.High school education in China |
C.Isn’t it better to delay the choice of the career direction? |
D.A better time to decide what to study |
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.
【小题1】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. |
A.become noble idealists |
B.broaden their knowledge |
C.find a better job in the future |
D.balance engineering and liberal arts |
A.confuse | B.compare | C.combine | D.compete |
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 |
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 |
We know the famous ones—the Thomas Edisons and the Alexander Graham Bells —but what about the less famous inventors? What about the people who invented the traffic light and the windshield wiper(雨刮器)?Shouldn’t we know who they are?
Joan Mclean think so. In fact, Mclean, a professor of physics at Mountain University in Range, feels so strongly about this matter that she’s developed a course on the topic. In addition to learning “who” invented “what”, however, Mclean also likes her students to learn the answers to the “why” and ”how” questions. According to Mclean,” When students learn the answers to these questions, they are better prepared to recognize opportunities for inventing and more motivated to give inventing a try.”
So, just what is the story behind the windshield wiper? Well, Mary Anderson came up with the idea in 1902 after a visit to New York City. The day was cold and stormy, but Anderson still wanted to see the sights, so she jumped aboard a streetcar. Noticing that the driver was struggling to see through the snow covering the windshield, she found herself wondering why there couldn’t be a built-in device for cleaning the window. Still wondering about this when she returned home to Birmingham, Alabama, Anderson started drafting out solutions. One of her ideas, a lever(操作杆)on the inside of a vehicle that would control an arm on the outside, became the first windshield wiper.
Today we benefit from countless inventions and innovations,It’s hard to imagine driving without Garrett A. Morgan’s traffic light. It’s equally impossible to picture a world without Katherine J. Blodgett’s innovation that makes glass invisible, Can you picture life without clear windows and eyeglasses?
【小题1】
By mentioning “traffic light” and “windshield wiper”, the author indicates that countless inventions are .
A.beneficial, because their inventors are famous |
B.beneficial, though their inventors are less famous |
C.not useful, because their inventors are less famous |
D.not useful, though their inventors are famous |
Professor Joan McLean’s course aims to_____.
A.add colour and variety to students’ campus life |
B.inform students of the windshield wiper’s invention |
C.carry out the requirements by Mountain University |
D.prepare students to try their own invention |
Tommy Lee’s invention of the unbreakable umbrella was _________.
A.not eventually accepted by the umbrella producer | |
B.inspired by the story behind the windshield wiper | C.due to his dream of being caught in a rainstorm |
D.not related to Professor Joan McLean’s lectures |
Which 0f the following can best serve as the title of this passage?
A How to Help Students to Sell Their Inventions to Producers?
B How to Design a Built-in Device for Cleaning the Window?
C Shouldn’t We Know Who Invented the Windshield Wiper?
D Shouldn’t We Develop Invention Courses in Universities?