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 (人文學者) 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 (協調) 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

　　26. B 27. D 28. D 29. C 30. A

　　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 (雙層玻璃的) 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.

　　The Ouchidas are victims of indoor air pollution, which is not given sufficient attention partly because of the nation’s drive to save energy. The problem itself isn’t new. “The indoor environment was dirty long before energy conservation came along,” says Moschandreas, a pollution scientist at Geomet Technologies in Maryland. “Energy conservation has tended to accentuate the situation in some cases.”

　　The problem appears to be more troublesome in newly constructed homes rather than old ones. Back in the days when energy was cheap, home builders didn’t worry much about unsealed cracks. Because of such leaks, the air in an average home was replaced by fresh outdoor air about once an hour. As a result, the pollutants generated in most households seldom build up to dangerous levels.

　　31. It can be learned from the passage that the Ouchidas’ house ________.

　　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 way

　　32. What made the Ouchidas’ new house a horrible dream?

　　A) Lack of fresh air.

　　B) Poor quality of building materials.

　　C) Gas leakage in the kitchen.

　　D) The newly painted walls.

　　33. The word “accentuate” (Line 4, Para. 3) most probably means “________”.

　　A) relieve

　　B) accelerate

　　C) worsen

　　D) improve

　　34. Why were cracks in old houses not a big concern?

　　A) Because indoor cleanliness 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 passage is most probably taken from an article entitled “________”.

　　A) Energy Conservation

　　B) Houses Building Crisis

　　C) Air Pollution Indoors

　　D) Traps in Building Construction

　　31. B 32. A 33. C 34. B 35. C