单选

请阅读短文,完成此题。
Many objects in daily use have clearly been influenced by science, but their form and function, their dimensions and appearance, were determined by technologists, artisans, designers, inventors, and engineers-use nonscientific modes of thought. This kind of thinking way is different
from science. Many features and qualities of the objects that a technologist thinks about cannot be reduced to unambiguous verbal descriptions; they are dealt with the mind by a visual, nonverbal process. In the development of Western technology, it has been non-verbal thinking, by and large, that has fixed the outlines and filled in the details of our material surroundings. Pyramids, cathedrals, and rockets exist not because of geometry or thermodynamics, but because they were first a 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 that exists. For example, in designing a diesel engine, a technologist might impress individual ways of nonverbal thinking on the machine by continually using an intuitive sense of rightness and fitness.
What would be the shape of the combustion chamber? Where should valves be placed? Should it have a long or short piston? Such questions have a range of answers that are supplied by experience, by physical requirements, by limitations of available space, and not least by a sense of form. Some decisions such as wall thickness and pin diameter, may depend on scientific calculations, but the nonscientific component of design remains primary.
Design courses, then, should be an essential element in engineering curriculum. Nonverbal thinking of a central mechanism in engineering design, involves perceptions, the stock-in-trade of the artist, not the scientist. Because perceptive processes are not assumed to entail "hard thinking", nonverbal thought is sometimes seen as a primitive stage in the development of cognitive process and inferior to verbal or mathematical thought. But it is paradoxical that when the staff began the Historic American. Engineering Record wished to have drawing made of machines and isometric views of industrial processes for its historical record of America engineering, the only college students with the requisite abilities were not engineering students, but rather students attending architectural schools.
If courses in design, which in a strongly analytical 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 models of high-speed railroad cars loaded with sophisticated controls were unable to operate in a snowstorm because a fan sucked snow into the electrical system. Absurd random failures that plague automatic control systems are not merely trivial aberrations: they are a reflection of the chaos that results when design is assumed to be primarily a problem in mathematics.

What is the main idea of the first paragraph?
查看材料

A A.Many objects in daily use have clearly been influenced by science.
B B.Nonscientific modes of thought are very important for material surroundings.
C C.Science is not significant for our daily supplies.
D D.Build a picture in your mind, then design.

正确答案
B
查看解析

相关试题

单选
单选题 Which of the following phonetic symbol is not right?
A A B B C C D D E E
查看
单选
When a teacher makes a lesson plan, he should do all of the following EXCEPT____
A A.design techniques that have easy and difficult aspects of items B B.try to design techniques that involve all students C C.take into consideration the different demands and needs of all students D D.cater only to the top range students to make sure the progress of teaching
查看
单选
__________ may be defined as any kind of engaging with the language on the part
A A.Presentation B B.Practice C C.Production D D.Preparation
查看
单选
单选题 The pronunciation of the English contraction "don't" is________
A A B B C C D D E E
查看
单选
Which of the following activities is the most suitable for group work?
A A.Guessing game. B B.Story. telling. C C.Information gap. D D.Drama performance.
查看
单选
Which of the following is NOT a suitable pre-reading activity?
A A.Demonstrating skimming and scanning techniques. B B.Writing a similar text. C C.Introducing the elements of the reading text. D D.Writing questions about the topic.
查看
单选
According to the componential analysis, the words "girl" and "woman" differ in t
A A.HUMAN B B.ANMATE C C.MALE D D.ADULT
查看
单选
Children may get into some bad habits__________they lack sell-discipline.
A A.when B B.unless C C.though D D.until
查看
单选
请阅读短文,完成此题。 Many objects in daily use have clearly been influenced by science, b
A A.Comparison and contrast. B B.Cause and effect. C C.The two paragraphs are paralleling. D D.Paragraph 2 provides illustration for Paragraph 1.
查看
单选
请阅读短文,完成此题。 Many objects in daily use have clearly been influenced by science, b
A A.Nonverbal thinking is a central mechanism in engineering design. B B.Design courses can provide solutions to solve practical problems. C C.Science course is not important and should be replaced by design courses. D D.Ignorant of design courses may encounter silly but costly errors.
查看
刷题小程序
中学英语题库小程序