第二篇 Nonverbal Thinking in Engineering

　　Many objects in daily use have clearly been influenced by science．However,their form and tunctlon，their dimensions and appearance，were determined by technologists．designers．

　　inventors，and engineers using nonscientific modes of thought．Many features and qualities of the objects that a technologist thinks about cannot be reduced to clear verbal descriptions；they are dealt with in the mind by a visual，nonverbal process．Pyramids，cathedrals，and rockets exist not

　　because of geometry or thermo-dynamics(热动力学)，but because they were first the picture in the minds of those who built them．

　　The creative shaping process of a technologist's mind can be seen in nearly every artifact (人工制品) that exists．For example，in designing a diesel engine ，a technologist might express individual(个人的)ways of nonoerbal，thinking on the machine by continually using an intuitive (直觉的)sense of rightness and fitness．What would be the shape of the combustion chamber (燃烧室)?Where should the valves(阀)be placed?Such questions have a range of answers that are supplied by experience，by physical requirement，by limitations of available space．and not in the least by a sense of form．Some decisions，such as wall thickness and pin diameter,may depend on scientific calculations，but the nonscientific component design remains primary．

　　Design courses，then，should be an essential element of engineering curricula．Nonverbal thinking，a central mechanism in engineering design，involves perceptions，which is the special

　　techmque of the artist，not the scientist．Because perceptive processes are not assumed to need"hard thinking"，nonverbal thought is sometimes seen as a primitive stage in the development of cognitive processes and inferior to verbal mathematical thought．

　　If courses in design，which in a strongly analytical(分析的)engineering curriculum provide the background required for practical problem-solving，are not provided，we can expect to

　　encounter silly but costly errors occurring in advanced engineering systems．For example．early modes of high-speed railroad cars loaded with high-tech controls were unable to operate in a snowstorm because the fan sucked snow into the electrical system．Random failures that bring automatic control systems into trouble are a reflection of the chaos that results when design is assumed to be primarily a problem in mathematics.

　　36 The passage is mainly concemed with

　　A the modes of thinking that are used by technologists．

　　B the importance of nonverbal thinking in engineering design．

　　C the new role for nonscientific thinking in engineering．

　　D the difference between the goals of engineers and those of technologists．

　　37 Which of the following is NOT mentioned as an example involving nonverbal thinking in paragraphs 1 and 2?

　　A Building cathedrals．

　　B Creating rockets．

　　C Designing diesel engines．

　　D Making boats．

　　38 The example of the diesel engine is used in the passage to illustrate that

　　A errors in engineering design are unavoidable．

　　B the nonscientific component design is primary．

　　C mathematics is a necessary part of the study of design．

　　D design courses form a part of engineering curricula．

　　39 It can be inferred that the writer thinks that engineering curricula are

　　A strengthened when they include courses in design．

　　B weakened by the courses designed to develop mathematical skills．

　　C weak because they include some nonscientific components．

　　D strong despite the absence of nonscientific modes of thinking?

　　40 What contributes to random failures in automatic control systems?

　　A Using too many inexperienced engineers in the field．

　　B Attaching too much importance to nonverbal thinking in engineering.

　　C Relying too heavily on the role of mathematics in design．

　　D Depending very little on verbal mathematical thought.