24.which of the following statements would best serve
as an introduction to the passage？
（a） the assumption that the knowledge incorpor-
ated in technological developments must be
derived from science ignores the many non-
scientific decisions made by technologists.
（b） analytical thought is no longer a vital com-
ponent in the success of technological
development.
（c） as knowledge of technology has increased， the
tendency has been to lose sight of the impor-
tant role played by scientific thought in
making decisions about form， arrangement，
and texture.
（d） a movement in engineering colleges toward
a technician's degree reflects a demand for
graduates who have the nonverbal reasoning
ability that was once common among engineers.
（e） a technologist thinking about a machine，
reasoning through the successive steps in a
dynamic process， can actually turn the
machine over mentally.
25.the author calls the predicament faced by the
historic american engineering record “para-
doxical“ （lines 36-37） most probably because
（a） the publication needed drawings that its own
staff could not make
（b） architectural schools offered but did not require
engineering design courses for their students
（c） college students were qualified to make the
drawings while practicing engineers were not
（d） the drawings needed were so complicated that
even students in architectural schools had
difficulty making them.
（e） engineering students were not trained to make
the type of drawings needed to record the
development of their own discipline
26.according to the passage， random failures in
automatic control systems are “not merely trivial
aberrations“ （lines53） because
（a） automatic control systems are designed by
engineers who have little practical experience
in the field
（b） the failures are characteristic of systems
designed by engineers relying too heavily on
concepts in mathematics
（c） the failures occur too often to be taken lightly
（d） designers of automatic control systems have too
little training in the analysis of mechanical
difficulties
（e） designers of automatic control systems need
more help from scientists who have a better
understanding of the analytical problems to be
solved before such systems can work efficiently
27.the author uses the example of the early models of
high-speed railroad cars primarily to
（a） weaken the argument that modern engineering
systems have major defects because of an
absence of design courses in engineering
curricula
（b） support the thesis that the number of errors in
modern engineering systems is likely to
increase
（c） illustrate the idea that courses in design are the
most effective means for reducing the cost of
designing engineering systems
（d） support the contention that a lack of attention to
the nonscientific aspects of design results in
poor conceptualization by engineers
（e） weaken the proposition that mathematics is a
necessary part of the study of design
28.ignite：
（a） amplify
（b） douse
（c） obscure
（d） blemish
（e） replicate
29.mutate：
（a） recede
（b） grow larger
（c） link together
（d） remain the same
（e） decrease in speed