I headed off to college sure I was going to have an advantage over those students who went to big engineering “factories” where they didn’t care if you have values or were flexible. I was going to be a complete engineer: technical genius and sensitive humanist（人文学者）all in one.
Now I’m not so sure. Somewhere along the way my noble ideals crashed into reality, as all noble ideals eventually 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（协调）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 assumed in high school. Individually they shape a person in very different ways; together they threaten to confuse. The struggle to reconcile the two fields of study is difficult.
26. The author chose to study engineering at a small liberal-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 courses in college
D) intended to be a sensible student with noble ideals.
27. According to the author, by interacting with people who study liberal arts, engineering students can _______.
A) balance engineering and the liberal arts
B) receive guidance in their careers
C) become noble idealists
D) broaden their horizons
28. In the eyes of the author, a successful 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 vision
29. The author’s experience shows that he was _______.
A) creative
B) ambitious
C) unrealistic
D) irrational
30. The word “they” in “…together they threaten to confuse.” (Line 3, Para.5) refers to _______
A) engineering and the liberal arts.
B) reality and noble ideals
C) flexibility and a value system
D) practicality and rationality
Passage Three
Questions 31 to 35 are based on the following passage:
Priscilla Ouchida’s “energy-efficient” house turned out to be a horrible dream. When she and her engineer husband married a few years ago, they built a $100,000, three-bedroom home in California. Tightly sealed to prevent air leaks, the house was equipped with small double-paned（双层玻璃的）windows and several other energy-saving features. Problems began as soon as the couple moved in, however. Priscilla’s eyes burned. Her throat was constantly dry. She suffered from headaches and could hardly sleep. It was as though she had suddenly developed a strange illness.
Experts finally traced the cause of her illness. The level of formaldehyde（甲醛）gas in her kitchen was twice the maximum allowed by federal standards for chemical workers. The source of the gas? Her new kitchen cabinets and wall-to-wall carpeting.
