Engineering students are supposed to be examples of practicality and rationality, 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 sensible student with my aims would have chosen a college with a large engineering department, famous reputation 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 career. I wanted to open my eyes and expand my vision by interacting with people who weren’t studying science or engineering. My parents, teachers and other adults praised me for such a sensible choice. They told me I was wise and mature beyond my 18 years, and I believed them.

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 had values or were flexible. I was going to be a complete engineer: technical genius and sensitive humanist 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.

1. The author chose to study engineering at a small liberal-arts university because he        .

A)   intended to be a sensible student with noble ideals

B)   wanted to be an example of practicality and rationality

C)    intended to be a combination of engineer and humanist

D)   wanted to coordinate engineering with liberal-arts courses in college

2. According to the author, by interacting with people who study liberal arts, engineering students can       .

   A) broaden their horizons                  C) receive guidance in their careers

   B) become noble idealists                  D) balance engineering and the liberal arts

3. In the eyes of the author, a successful engineering student is expected          .

to be imaginative with a value system to guide him

to be a technical genius with a wide vision

to have an excellent academic record

to be wise and mature

4. The author’s experience shows that he was         .

   A) creative                              C) ambitious

   B) irrational                             D) unrealistic

5. The word "they” in "… together they threaten to confuse." (Para. 5) refers to        .

   A) practicality and rationality               C) reality and noble ideals

   B) engineering and the liberal arts           D) flexibility and a value system

参考答案：C A B D B

译文

工科学生应该是现实性和理性的模范，但谈到我的大学教育，我就是一个空想家和白痴。高中时我就想成为一名电器工程师，当然，任何和我目标相同的明智学生都会选择一个有大工程系、著名的、有许多实验室和研究设备的大学。但我没有这么做。

我选择在一个没有电气工程本科专业、规模又小的文科大学学习工程专业。显然，这是一个不实际的选择；我到这来是为了更崇高的缘由。我想要一种宽泛的教育，它能给我灵活性和一种能指导我前程的价值观念体系。我想与其他不是学习理工科的人互相交流，以拓宽我的视野。我的父母、老师和其他成年人称赞我这样的理智选择。他们说我聪明，比我十八岁的年龄成熟，于是我相信了他们。

我上了大学，满怀信心要超过那些去大型工程“工厂”的学生，这些工厂根本不管你是否有价值、是否有灵活性。我要成为一个全面的工程师：技术天才与理智的人文学者两位一体的工程师。

现在我却不那么有把握了。正像所有崇高理想那样，在我前进道路上的某个地方，我的崇高理想最终与现实发生冲突。在数学、工程课程和文学课程之间取得平衡方面努力了三年后，我了解了大学中几乎没有工科学生去试图协调工科和文科课程的原因。

挡住我通向成为典型的成功学生之路的是：工科和文科简直不可能像我在高中想象的那样容易结合到一起。它们各自以非常不同的方式造就一个人；在一起它们就有造成混乱的危险。调和两种学术领域的奋斗是很困难的。