关于 I thought 后面跟的时态的语法,

题目

关于 I thought 后面跟的时态的语法,
我想说我对一个事的看法经历了一个过程 In the beginning period,i thought 这事是这样的(这事当时现在都这样,是我的一个看法,没有绝对对错).However,现在我发现不仅这样,还那样.
我想问在i thought后这事阐述用什么时态,跟过去时的话,就不能说明这事现在还是这样的了吧?跟一般时的话,前后事态又不同了.
原句
Actually,my understanding and motivation for learning Civil Engineering has been through some different stages.In the beginning period,to my understanding,civil engineering is a promising subject in this day and age.Inasmuch as it covers wide and varied activities and projects,which are essential for economic development and city building.It is known that China is a developing country so that is hungry for a large pool of talent of engineering.

答案

既然是经历了一个过程,那就说明从过去到现在看法发生了一定的转变,从认识模糊或片面到当前的想法,如果你想要表达曾经有过的想法（I thought）,那就需要明确哪些是过去的认识,然后再把现在的认识写出来进行对比；如果你想表达一贯的想法,不仅不要用 I thought 去追述过去,而且用“经历一个过程”去发端行文也是不合适的.
以下提供两种修改方法：
改法一：补充过去的认识.
Actually,my understanding and motivation for learning Civil Engineering has been through some different stages.In the beginning period,(补充过去的认识,如：I though civil engineering was so promising a subject that I could rely on it to make more money than anything else....) （承接上文,转折为现在的认识：However,I think）civil engineering is a promising subject in this day and age.Inasmuch as it covers wide and varied activities and projects,which are essential for economic development and city building.It is known that China is a developing country so that is hungry for a large pool of talent of engineering.
改法二：重复过去的认识依旧是现在的看法,但增加了进一步的认识：
Actually,my understanding and motivation for learning Civil Engineering has been through some different stages.In the beginning period,(用过去时态追述过去的认识)I though,civil engineering was a promising subject in this day and age.Inasmuch as it covered wide and varied activities and projects,which were essential for economic development and city building.（从此处承接上文并补充现在的认识：And now I realize that it is not only promising but also important.）It is known that China is a developing country so that is hungry for a large pool of talent of engineering.
总而言之,要说明“过程”,必须要进新旧对比.