历年-四级历年真题及答案

2009年12月大学英语四级考试真题及答案

PartIWriting(30minutes)

注意：此部分试题在答题卡1上。

Directions:Forthispart,youareallowed30minutestowriteashortessayonthetopicofCreatingaGreen

Campus.Youshouldwriteatleast120wordsfollowingtheoutlinegivenbelow:

1.建设绿色校园很重要

2.绿色校园不仅指绿色的环境……

3.为了建设绿色校园，我们应该……

CreatingaGreenCampus

PartIIReadingComprehension(SkimmingandScanning)(15minutes)

Directions:Inthispart,youwillhave15minutestogooverthepassagequicklyandanswerthequestions

onAnswerSheet1.Forquestions1-7,choosethebestanswerfromthefourchoicesmarkedA),B),C)andD).

Forquestion8-10,completethesentenceswiththeinformationgiveninthepassage.

Collegestakinganotherlookatvalueofmerit-basedaid

Goodgradesandhightestsscoresstillmatter-alot—tomanycollegesastheyawardfinancialaid.

Butwithlow-incomestudentsprojectedtomakeupanever-largershareofthecollege-boundpopulationin

comingyears,someschoolsarere-examiningwhetherthataid,typicallyknownasmeritaid”,isthemosteffective

useofpreciousinstitutionaldollars.

GeorgeWashingtonUniversityinWashington,D.C.,forexample,saidlastweekthatitwouldcutthevalueofits

averagemeritscholarshipsbyaboutone-thirdandreducethenumberofrecipients(接受者)，pouringthesavings,about

$2.5million,intoneed-basedaid.AlleghenyCollegeinMeadville,Pa.,madeasimilardecisionthreeyearsago.

Now,HamiltonCollegeinClinton,N.Y.,saysitwillphaseoutmeritscholarshipsaltogether.Nocurrentmerit-aid

recipientswilllosetheirscholarships,butneed-basedaidalonewillbeawardedbeginningwithstudentsenteringinfall

2008.

Notallcollegesoffermeritaid;generally,themoreselectiveaschool,thelesslikelyitistodoso.Harvardand

Princeton,forexample,offergenerousneed-basedpackages,butmanyfamilieswhodon'tmeetneedeligibility(资

格)havebeenwillingtopaywhatevertheymustforabig-nameschool.

Forsmallregionalcollegesthatstrugglejusttofillseats,meritaidcanbeanimportantrevenue-builderbecause

manyrecipientsstillpayenoughtuitiondollarsoverandabovethescholarshipamounttokeeptheinstitutionrunning.

Butforrankings-consciousschoolsinbetween,meritaidhasservedprimarilyasatooltorecruittopstudentsand

toimprovetheiracademicprofits."They'retryingtobuystudents,saysSkidmoreCollegeeconomistSandyBaum.

Studiesshowmeritaidalsotendstobenefitdisproportionatelystudentswhocouldaffordtoenrollwithoutit.

“Aswelooktothefuture,weseeamorepressingneedtoinvestinneed-basedaid,“saysMonicaInzer,deanof

admissionandfinancialaidatHamilton,whichhasofferedmeritscholarshipsfor10years.Duringthattime,itrosein

USNews&WorldReport'srankingofthebestliberalartscolleges,from25to17.

Meritaid,whichbenefitedabout75studentsayear,orabout4%ofitsstudentbody,atacostofabout$1million

ayear,userveduswell,“Inzersays,but“tobediscountingthepriceforfamiliesthatdon'tneedfinancialaiddoesn'

tfeelrightanymore.^^

Need-basedaidremainsbyfarthelargestshareofallstudentaid,whichincludesstate,federalandinstitutional

grants.Butmeritaid,offeredprimarilybyschoolsandstates,isgrowingfaster,bothoverallandattheinstitutional

level.

Between1995-96and2003-04,institutionalmeritaidaloneincreased212%,comparedwith47%forneed-based

grants.Atleast15statesalsooffermeritaid,typicallyinabidtoenrolltopstudentsinthestateJspublicinstitutions.

Butinrecentyears,agrowingchorus(异口同声)ofcriticshasbegunpressuringschoolstodropthepractice.

RecentdecisionsbyHamiltonandothersmaybe“asignthatpeoplearestartingtorealizethatthere'sthisdestructive

competitiongoingon,“saysBaum,co-authorofarecentCollegeReportthatraisesconcernsabouttheroleof

institutionalaidnotbasedonneed.

DavidLaird,presidentoftheMinnesotaPrivateCollegeCouncil,saysmanyofhisschoolswouldliketoreduce

theirmeritaidbutfearthatindoingso,theywouldlosetopstudentstotheircompetitors.

“Noonecantakeone-sidedaction,nsaysLaird,whoisexploringwhethertoseekanexemption(豁免)from

federalanti-trustlawssomembercollegescandiscusshowtheycouldjointlyreducemeritaid,uThisisa

merry-go-roundthat'sgoingveryfast,andnoneoftheinstitutionsbelievetheycansustaintherisksoftryingtobreak

awaybythemselves.^^

Acomplicatingfactoristhatmeritaidhasbecomesopopularwithmiddle-incomefamilies,whodon,tqualifyfor

need-basedaid,thatmanyhavecometodependonit.And,astuitionscontinuetoincrease,thelinebetweenmeritand

needblurs.

That'sonereasonAlleghenyCollegedoesn'tplantodropmeritaidentirely.

“Westillbelieveinrewardingsuperiorachievementsandknowthatthesetopstudentstrulyvaluethe

scholarship,saysScottFriedhoff,Allegheny'svicepresidentforenrollment.

EmoryUniversityinAtlanta,whichboastsa$4.7billionendowment(捐赠)，meanwhile,istakinganother

approach.Thisyear,itannounceditwouldeliminateloansforneedystudentsandcapthemformiddle-incomefamilies.

Atthesametime,itwouldexpandits28-year-oldmeritprogram.

“Yeah,we'replayingthemeritgame,“acknowledgesTomLancaster,associatedeanforundergraduateeducation.

Butithasitsstrongpoint,too,hesays."Thefactofthematteris,it'snotjustaboutthelowest-incomepeople,It,sthe

averageAmericanmiddle-classfamilywho'sbeingpricedoutofthemarket.”

*Afewwordsaboutmerit-basedaid:

Merit-basedaidisaidofferedtostudentswhoachieveexcellenceinagivenarea,andisgenerallyknownas

academic,athleticandartisticmeritscholarships.

AcademicmeritscholarshipsarebasedonstudentsTgrades,GPAandoverallacademicperformanceduringhigh

school.Theyaretypicallymeantforstudentsgoingstraighttocollegerightafterhighschool.However,thereare

scholarshipsforcurrentcollegestudentswithexceptionalgradesaswell.Thesemeritscholarshipsusuallyhelpstudents

paytuitionbills,andtheycanberenewedeachyearaslongastherecipientscontinuetoqualify.Insomecases,

studentsmayneedtoberecommendedbytheirschoolorateacheraspartofthequalificationprocess.

Athleticmeritscholarshipsaremeantforstudentsthatexcel(突出)insportsofanykind,fromfootballtotrackand

fieldevents.Recommendationforthesescholarshipsisrequired,sinceexceptionalathleticperformancehastobe

recognizedbyacoachorareferee(裁判).Applicantsneedtosendinatapecontainingtheirbestperformance.

Artisticmeritscholarshipsrequirethatapplicantsexcelinagivenartisticarea.Thisgenerallyincludesany

creativefieldsuchasart,design,fashion,music,danceorwriting.Applyingforartisticmeritscholarshipsusually

requiresthatstudentssubmitaportfolio(选辑)ofsomesort,whetherthatincludesacollectionofartwork,arecording

ofamusicalperformanceoravideoofthemdancing.

1.Withmoreandmorelow-incomestudentspursuinghighereducation,anumberofcollegesare.

A)offeringstudentsmoremerit-basedaidB)revisingtheirfinancialaidpolicies

C)increasingtheamountoffinancialaidD)changingtheiradmissionprocesses

2.WhatdidAlleghenyCollegeinMeadvilledothreeyearsago?

A)Ittriedtoimplementanovelfinancialaidprogram.

B)Itadded$2.5milliontoitsneed-basedaidprogram.

C)Itphasedoutitsmerit-basedscholarshipsaltogether.

D)Itcutsitsmerit-basedaidtohelptheneedystudents.

3.Thechiefpurposeofrankings-consciouscollegesinofferingmeritaidisto.

A)improveteachingqualityB)boosttheirenrollments

C)attractgoodstudentsD)increasetheirrevenues

4.MonicaInzer,deanofadmissionandfinancialaidatHamilton,believes.

A)itdoesn'tpaytospend$1millionayeartoraiseitsranking

B)itgivesstudentsmotivationtoawardacademicachievements

C)it'sillogicaltousesomuchmoneyononly4%ofitsstudents

D)it'snotrighttogiveaidtothosewhocanaffordthetuition

5.Inrecentyears,merit-basedaidhasincreasedmuchfasterthanneed-basedaiddueto.

A)moregovernmentfundingtocollegesB)fiercecompetitionamonginstitutions

C)theincreasingnumberoftopstudentsD)schools'improvedfinancialsituations

6.Whatistheattitudeofmanyprivatecollegestowardmeritaid,accordingtoDavidLaird?

A)Theywouldliketoseeitreduced.

B)Theyregarditasanecessaryevil.

C)Theythinkitdoesmoreharmthangood.

D)Theyconsideritunfairtomiddle-classfamilies.

7.Whydoesn'tAlleghenyCollegeplantodropmeritaidentirely?

A)Raisingtuitionshavemadecollegeunaffordableformiddle-classfamilies.

B)Withrisingincomes,fewerstudentsareapplyingforneed-basedaid.

C)Manystudentsfrommiddle-incomefamilieshavecometorelyonit.

D)Risingincomeshavedisqualifiedmanystudentsforneed-basedaid.

8.Annualrenewalofacademicmeritscholarshipsdependsonwhethertherecipientsremain.

9.Applicantsforathleticmeritscholarshipsneedarecommendationfromacoachorarefereewhotheir

exceptionalathleticperformance.

10.Applicantsforartisticmeritscholarshipsmustproduceevidencetoshowtheirinaparticularartistic

field

SectionA

Infamilieswithtwoworkingparents,fathersmayhavemoreimpactonachildTslanguagedevelopmentthan

mothers,anewstudysuggests.

Researchers4792familiesform11childcarecentersbeforetheirchildrenwereayearold,interviewingeachto

establishincome,levelofeducationandchildcarearrangements.Overall,itwasagroupofwell-classfamilies,with

marriedparentsbothlivinginthehome.

Whenthechildrenwere2,researchersvideotapedthemathomeinfree-playsessionswithbothparents,48allof

theirspeech.ThestudywillappearintheNovemberissueofTheJournalofAppliedDevelopmentalPsychology.

Thescientistsmeasuredthe49numberofutterance(话语)oftheparents,thenumberofdifferentwordstheyused,

thecomplexityoftheirsentencesandother50oftheirspeech.Onaverage,fathersspokelessthanmothersdid,butthey

didnotdifferinthelengthofutterancesorproportionofquestionsasked.

Finally,theresearchers51thechildren,sspeechatage3,usingastandardizedlanguagetest.Theonlypredictors

ofhighscoresonthetestwerethemother?slevelofeducation,the52ofchildcareandthenumberofdifferentwords

thefatherused.

Theresearchersare53whythefather*sspeech,andnotthemother*s,hadaneffect.

“Il'swell54thatthemother'slanguagedoeshaveanimpact,“saidNadyaPancsofar,theleadauthorofthestudy.

Itcouldbethatthehigh-functioningmothersinthestudyhad55hadastronginfluenceontheirchildren,sspeech

development,Ms.Pancsofarsaid,“oritmaybethatmothersare56inawaywedidn'tmeasureinthestudy.”

注意：此部分试题在答题卡］上。

A)alreadyB)analyzedC)aspectsD)charactersE)contributingF)describing

G)establishedH)qualityI)quotedJ)recordingK)recruitedL)total

M)unconsciousN)unsureO)yet

PassageOne

Questions57to61arebasedonthefollowingpassage.

Throughoutthislong,tenseelection,everyonehasfocusedonthepresidentialcandidatesandhowthey'11change

America.Rightlyso,butselfishly,VmmorefascinatedbyMichelleObamaandwhatshemightbeabletodo,notjust

forthiscountry,butformeasanAfrican-Americanwoman.AsthepotentialFirstLady,shewouldhavetheworld's

attention.Andthatmeansthatforthefirsttimepeoplewillhaveachancetogetupcloseandpersonalwiththetypeof

African-Americanwomantheysorarelysee.

Usually,thelivesofblackwomengolargelyunexamined.Theprevailingtheoryseemstobethatwe'reall

hot-temperedsinglemotherswhocan'tkeepaman.Evenintheworldofmake-believe,blackwomenstillcan'tescape

thestereotypeofbeingeye-rolling,oversexedfemalesraisedbyournever-married,alcoholic(酗酒的)mothers.

Theseimageshavehelpeddefinethewayallwomenareviewed,includingMichelleObama.Beforesheevergets

thechancetocommittoacause,charityorfoundationasFirstLady,hermosturgentandperhapsmostcomplicated

dutymaybesimpletobeherself.

Itwon'tbeeasy.Becausefewmainstreampublicationshavedonein-depthfeaturesonregularAfrican-American

women,littleisknownaboutwhoweare,whatwethinkandwhatwefaceonaregularbasis.Forbetterorworse,

Michellewillrepresentusall.

Justasshewillhavehercritics,shewillalsohavemillionsoffanswhousuallyhavelittleinterestintheFirstLady.

ManyAfrican-Americanblogshavewrittenaboutwhatthey*dliketoseeMichellebringtotheWhiteHouse-mainly

showingtheworldthatablackwomancansupporthermanandraiseastrongblackfamily.Michellewillhavetowork

topleaseeveryone一animpossibletask.ButformanyAfrican-Americanwomenlikeme,justalittleofherpoise(沉

着),confidenceandintelligencewillgoalongwayinchanginganimagethat'sbeenaroundforfartoolong.

57.WhydoesMichelleObamaholdastrongfascinationfortheauthor?

A)SheservesasarolemodelforAfricanwomen.

B)ShepossessesmanyadmirablequalitiesbecomingaFirstLady.

C)ShewillpresenttotheworldanewimageofAfrican-Americanwomen.

D)ShewillpaycloserattentiontotheinterestsofAfrican-Americanwomen.

58.WhatisthecommonstereotypeofAfrican-Americanwomenaccordingtotheauthor?

A)Theyarevictimsofviolence.B)Theyareofaninferiorviolence.

C)Theyusequitealotofbodylanguage.D)Theyliveoncharityandsocialwelfare.

59.WhatdomanyAfrican-Americanswriteaboutintheirblogs?

A)WhetherMichellecanliveuptothehighexpectationsofherfans.

B)HowMichelleshouldbehaveasapublicfigure.

C)HowproudtheyaretohaveablackwomanintheWhiteHouse.

D)WhatMichelleshoulddoaswifeandmotherintheWhiteHouse.

60.WhatdoestheauthorsayaboutMichelleObamaasaFirstLady?

A)Howevermanyfansshehas,sheshouldremainmodest,

B)Sheshouldn'tdisappointtheAfrican-Americancommunity.

C)Howeverhardshetries,shecan'texpecttopleaseeverybody.

D)ShewillgiveprioritytoAfrican-Americanwomen'sconcerns.

61.WhatdomanyAfrican-AmericanwomenhopeMichelleObamawilldo?

A)Helpchangetheprevailingviewaboutblackwomen.

B)HelpherhusbandinthetaskofchangingAmerica.

C)OutshinepreviousFirstLady.

D)Fullydisplayherfinequalities.

PassageTwo

Questions62to66arebasedonthefollowingpassage.

Whennextyear'scropofhigh-schoolgraduatesarriveatOxfordUniversityinthefallof2009,they'11bejoined

byanewface;AndrewHamilton,the55-year-oldprovost(教务长)ofYale,who'11becomeOxford'svice-chancellor

——apositionequivalenttouniversitypresidentinAmerica.

Hamiltonisn'ttheonlyeducatorcrossingtheAtlantic.SchoolsinFrance,Egypt,Singapore,etc,havealso

recentlymadetop-levelhiresfromabroad.Highereducationhasbecomeabigandcompetitivebusinessnowadays,and

likesomanybusinesses,it'sgoneglobal.Yetthetalentflowisn'tuniversal.High-levelpersonneltendtoheadinonly

onedirection:outwardfromAmerica.

ThechiefreasonisthatAmericanschoolsdon'ttendtoseriouslyconsiderlookingabroad.Forexample,whenthe

boardoftheUniversityofColoradosearchedforanewpresident,itwantedaleaderfamiliarwiththestategovernment,

amajorsourceoftheuniversityTsbudget."Wedidn'tdoanyglobalconsideration,“saysPatriciaHayes,theboard*

schair.TheboardultimatelypickedBruceBenson,a69-year-oldColoradobusinessmanandpoliticalactivist(活动家)

whoislikelytodowellinthemaintaskofmodernuniversitypresidents:fund-raising.Fund-raisingisadistinctively

Americanthing,sinceU.S.schoolsrelyheavilyondonations.Thefund-raisingabilityislargelyaproductof

experienceandnecessity.

ManyEuropeanuniversities,meanwhile,arestillmostlydependentongovernmentfunding.Butgovernment

supporthasfailedtokeeppacewithrisingstudentnumber.Thedeclineingovernmentsupporthasmade

funding-raisinganincreasingnecessaryabilityamongadministratorsandhashiringcommitteeshungryforAmericans.

Inthepastfewyears,prominentschoolsaroundtheworldhavejoinedthetrend.In2003,whenCambridge

UniversityappointedAlisonRichard,anotherformerYaleprovost,asitsvice-chancellor,theuniversitypublicly

stressedthatinherpreviousjobshehadoverseen“amajorstrengtheningofYale'sfinancialposition.”

Ofcourse,fund-raisingisn'ttheonlyskilloutsidersoffer.Theglobalizationofeducationmeansmoreuniversities

willbeseekingheadswithinternationalexperienceofsomekindofpromoteinternationalprogramsandattractaglobal

studentbody.Foreignerscanofferafreshperspectiveonestablishedpractices.

62.Whatisthecurrenttrendinhighereducationdiscussedinthepassage?

A)InstitutionsworldwidearehiringadministratorsfromtheU.S.

B)Alotofpoliticalactivistsarebeingrecruitedasadministrators.

C)Americanuniversitiesareenrollingmoreinternationalstudents.

D)Universitypresidentsarepayingmoreattentiontofunding-raising.

63.WhatisthechiefconsiderationofAmericanuniversitieswhenhiringtop-leveladministrators?

A)Thepoliticalcorrectness.B)Theirabilitytoraisefunds.

C)Theirfameinacademiccircles.D)Theiradministrativeexperience.

64.WhatdowelearnaboutEuropeanuniversitiesfromthepassage?

A)Thetuitionstheychargehavebeenrisingconsiderably.

B)Theiroperationisunderstrictgovernmentsupervision.

C)Theyarestrengtheningtheirpositionbyglobalization.

D)Mostoftheirrevenuescomefromthegovernment.

65.CambridgeUniversityappointedAlisonRichardasitsvice-chancellorchieflybecause.

A)shewasknowntobegoodatraisingmoney

B)shecouldhelpstrengthenitstieswithYale

C)sheknewhowtoattractstudentsoverseas

D)shehadboostedYale'sacademicstatus

66.Inwhatwaydotop-leveladministratorsfromabroadcontributetouniversitydevelopment?

A)Theycanenhancetheuniversitysimage.

B)Theywillbringwiththemmoreinternationalfaculty.

C)Theywillviewalotofthingsfromanewperspective.

D)Theycansetupnewacademicdisciplines.

PartVCloze(15minutes)

Directions:Thereare20blanksinthefollowingpassage.ForeachblanktherearefourchoicesmarkedA),

B),C),andD)ontherightsideofthepaper.YoushouldchoosetheONEthatbestfitsintothepassage.Then

markthecorrespondingletteronAnswerSheet2withasinglelinethroughthecentre.

Olderpeoplemustbegivenmorechancestolearniftheyaretocontributetosocietyratherthanbeafinancial

burden,accordingtoanewstudyonpopulationpublishedrecently.

Thecurrentpeopleapproachwhich67onyoungerpeopleandonskillsforemploymentisnot68tomeetthe

challengesofdemographic(人口结构的)change,itsays.Only1%oftheeducationbudgetis69spentontheoldest

thirdofthepopulation.

The70includethefactthatmostpeoplecanexpecttospendathirdoftheirlivesin71,thattherearenowmore

peopleover59thanunder16andthat11.3millionpeopleare72statepensionage.

“73needstocontinuethroughoutlife.Ourhistoricconcentrationofpolicyattentionandresources74young

peoplecannotmeetthenew75saysthereportysauthor,ProfessorStephenMcNair.

Themajor76ofoureducationbudgetisspentonpe