1、大学英语四级模拟试卷 856及答案与解析 一、 Part I Writing (30 minutes) 1 For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write a composition on the topic: Job Problem for Graduates. You should write at least 120 words following the outline given below in Chinese. 1. 大学毕业生在 择业方面有什么变化 2. 导致这种变化的原因是什么 3. 就如何解决这个问题给出你的建议 Job
2、 Problem for Graduates 二、 Part II Reading Comprehension (Skimming and Scanning) (15 minutes) Directions: In this part, you will have 15 minutes to go over the passage quickly and answer the questions attached to the passage. For questions 1-7, mark： Y (for YES) if the statement agrees with the infor
3、mation given in the passage; N (for NO) if the statement contradicts the information given in the passage; NG (for NOT GIVEN) if the information is not given in the passage. 1 Small Schools Rising This years list of the top 100 high schools shows that today, those with fewer students are flourishing
4、. Fifty years ago, they were the latest thing in educational reform: big, modern, suburban high schools with students counted in the thousands. As baby boomers (二战后婴儿潮出生的人 ) came of high-school age, big schools promised economic efficiency, a greater choice of courses, and, of course, better footbal
5、l teams. Only years later did we understand the trade-offs this involved: the creation of excessive bureaucracies (官僚机构 ), the difficulty of forging personal connections between teachers and students. SAT scores began dropping in 1963; today, on average, 30% of students do not complete high school i
6、n four years, a figure that rises to 50% in poor urban neighborhoods. While the emphasis on teaching to higher, test-driven standards as set in No Child Left Behind resulted in significantly better performance in elementary (and some middle) schools, high schools for a variety of reasons seemed to h
7、ave made little progress. Size isnt everything, but it does matter, and the past decade has seen a noticeable counter-trend toward smaller schools. This has been due, in part, to the Bill and Melinda Gates Founda-tion, which has invested $1.8 billion in American high schools, helping to open about 1
8、,000 small schools most of them with about 400 kids each, with an average enrollment of only 150 per grade. About 500 more are on the drawing board. Districts all over the country are taking notice, along with mayors in cities like New York, Chicago, and San Diego. The movement includes independent
9、public charter schools, such as No. 1 BASIS in Tucson, with only 120 high-schoolers and 18 graduates this year. It embraces district-sanctioned magnet schools, such as the Talented and Gifted School, with 198 students, and the Science and Engineering Magnet, with 383, which share a building in Dalla
10、s, as well as the City Honors School in Buffalo, N.Y., which grew out of volunteer evening seminars for students. And it includes alternative schools with students selected by lottery (抽签 ), such as H-B Woodlawn in Arlington, Va. And most noticeable of all, there is the phenomenon of large urban and
11、 suburban high schools that have split up into smaller units of a few hundred, generally housed in the same grounds that once boasted thousands of students all marching to the same band. Hillsdale High School in San Mateo, Calif, is one of those, ranking No. 423 among the top 2% in the country on Ne
12、wsweeks annual ranking of Americas top high schools. The success of small schools is apparent in the listings. Ten years ago, when the first Newsweek list based on college-level test participation was published, only three of the top 100 schools had graduating classes smaller than 100 students. This
13、 year there are 22. Nearly 250 schools on the full Newsweek list of the top 5% of schools nationally had fewer than 200 graduates in 2007. Although many of Hillsdales students came from wealthy households, by the late 1990s average test scores were sliding and it had earned the unaffectionate nickna
14、me (绰号 ) “Hillsjail.“ Jeff Gilbert, a Hillsdale teacher who became principal last year, remembers sitting with other teachers watching students file out of a graduation ceremony and asking one another in astonishment, “How did that student graduate?“ So in 2003 Hillsdale remade itself into three “ho
15、uses,“ romantically named Florence, Mar-rakech and Kyoto. Each of the 300 arriving ninth graders are randomly (随机地 ) assigned to one of the houses, where they will keep the same four core subject teachers for two years, before moving on to another for 11th and 12th grades. The closeness this system
16、cultivates is reinforced by the institution of “advisory“ classes. Teachers meet with students in groups of 25, five mornings a week, for open-ended discussions of everything from homework problems to bad Saturday-night dates. The advisers also meet with students privately and stay in touch with par
17、ents, so they are deeply invested in the students success. “Were constantly talking about one anothers advisees,“ says English teacher Chris Crockett. “If you hear that yours isnt doing well in math, or see them sitting outside the deans office, its like a personal failure.“ Along with the new struc
18、ture came a more demanding academic program; the percentage of freshmen taking biology jumped from 17 to 95. “It was rough for some, but by senior year, two-thirds have moved up to physics,“ says Gilbert. “Our kids are coming to school in part because they know there are adults here who know them an
19、d care for them.“ But not all schools show advances after downsizing, and it remains to be seen whether smaller schools will be a cure-all solution. The Newsweek list of top U.S. high schools was made this year, as in years past, according to a single metric, the proportion of students taking colleg
20、e-level exams. Over the years this system has come in for its share of criticism for its simplicity. But that is also its strength: its easy for readers to understand, and to do the arithmetic for their own schools if theyd like. Ranking schools is always controversial, and this year a group of 38 s
21、uperintendents (地区教育主管 ) from five states wrote to ask that their schools be excluded from the calculation. “It is impossible to know which high schools are the best in the nation,“ their letter read, in part. “Determining whether different schools do or dont offer a high quality of education requir
22、es a look at many different measures, including students overall academic accomplishments and their subsequent performance in college, and taking into consideration the unique needs of their communities.“ In the end, the superintendents agreed to provide the data we sought, which is, after all, publ
23、ic information. There is, in our view, no real dispute here; we are all seeking the same thing, which is schools that better serve our children and our nation by encouraging students to tackle tough subjects under the guidance of gifted teachers. And if we keep working toward that goal, someday, per
24、haps, a list wont be necessary. 2 Fifty years ago, big, modern, suburban high schools were established in the hope of_. （ A） ensuring no child is left behind （ B） increasing economic efficiency （ C） improving students performance on SAT （ D） providing good education for baby boomers 3 What happened
25、as a result of setting up big schools? （ A） Teachers workload increased. （ B） Students performance declined. （ C） Administration became centralized. （ D） Students focused more on test scores. 4 What is said about the schools funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation? （ A） They are usually magn
26、et schools. （ B） They are often located in poor neighborhoods. （ C） They are popular with high-achieving students. （ D） They are mostly small in size. 5 What is most noticeable about the current trend in high school education? （ A） Some large schools have split up into smaller ones. （ B） A great var
27、iety of schools have sprung up in urban and suburban areas. （ C） Many schools compete for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation funds. （ D） Students have to meet higher academic standards. 6 Newsweek ranked high schools according to_ （ A） their students academic achievement （ B） the number of their
28、students admitted to college （ C） the size and number of their gradating classes （ D） their college-level test participation 7 What can we learn about Hillsdale s students in the late 1990s? （ A） They were made to study hard like prisoners. （ B） They called each other by unaffectionate nicknames. （
29、C） Most of them did not have any sense of discipline. （ D） Their school performance was getting worse. 8 According to Jeff Gilbert, the “advisory“ classes at Hillsdale were set up so that students could （ A） tell their teachers what they did on weekends （ B） experience a great deal of pleasure in le
30、arning （ C） maintain closer relationships with their teachers （ D） tackle the demanding biology and physics courses 9 _is still considered a strength of Newsweeks school ranking system in spite of the criticism it receives. 10 According to the 38 superintendents, to rank schools scientifically, it i
31、s necessary to use 11 To better serve the children and our nation, schools should hire gifted teachers and encourage students to take_. Section A Directions: In this section, you will hear 8 short conversations and 2 long conversations. At the end of each conversation, one or more questions will be
32、asked about what was said. Both the conversation and the questions will be spoken only once. After each question there will be a pause. During the pause, you must read the four choices marked A, B, C and D, and decide which is the best answer. （ A） a heavy box. （ B） a small dog. （ C） her handbag. （
33、D） a drink. （ A） the bank. （ B） the car park. （ C） the lake. （ D） the office. （ A） 112 （ B） 117 （ C） 132 （ D） 123 （ A） a long time, its a quiet area. （ B） not long, its a busy area. （ C） 5 minutes. （ D） 30 minutes or so. （ A） she thinks she has broken her arm. （ B） she has an upset stomach. （ C） she
34、 thinks she has broken her leg. （ D） she has a bad cold. （ A） since he moved there 3 years ago. （ B） he has never been to see a doctor. （ C） Since he moved there 5 years ago. （ D） he is always going to see the doctor. （ A） a restaurant. （ B） a bar. （ C） a library. （ D） a classroom. （ A） the menu. （
35、B） the bill. （ C） the wine list. （ D） the special food of the day. （ A） How to improve transportation. （ B） The best transportation facilities. （ C） A comparison between railway and airplane. （ D） Transportation in China. （ A） Not comfortable. （ B） Rather crowded and slow. （ C） Interval is long. （ D
36、） Cannot reach suburban areas. （ A） By buses. （ B） By private cars. （ C） By rail. （ D） By air. （ A） The man. （ B） The woman. （ C） Both of them. （ D） Neither of them. （ A） Drama. （ B） Poem. （ C） Novel. （ D） Film. （ A） Help him find some useful information. （ B） Find some books for him in the library.
37、 （ C） Lend some books to him. （ D） Discuss with him about the paper. （ A） Tomorrow morning. （ B） After dinner today. （ C） At exactly the right time. （ D） Right now. Section B Directions: In this section, you will hear 3 short passages. At the end of each passage, you will hear some questions. Both t
38、he passage and the questions will be spoken only once. After you hear a question, you must choose the best answer from the four choices marked A, B, C and D. （ A） From three to five months. （ B） Three months. （ C） Five months. （ D） Four months. （ A） Watch traffic. （ B） Obey commands. （ C） Cross stre
39、ets safely. （ D） Guard the doer. （ A） Three weeks. （ B） Two weeks. （ C） Four weeks. （ D） Five weeks. （ A） Because it is designed like a cradle. （ B） Because it is pulled and pushed by magnetic attraction and repulsion. （ C） Because it runs on air. （ D） Because theres no friction between wheels and r
40、ails. （ A） A battery-operated system on the train will control and bring the cars to a smooth stop. （ B） The magnetic attraction will hook the cars firmly. （ C） The cars equipped with a device will run in a special guide way. （ D） The internal power will keep the cars steady. （ A） Maglev would get m
41、any cars off roads in future. （ B） Maglev would become only means of transportation. （ C） Maglev would turn into a flying train. （ D） Maglev would replace trans and planes. 33 Why does the electric car seem to be the best alternative so far? （ A） It is comfortable. （ B） It is best made. （ C） It caus
42、es no pollution. （ D） It makes less noise. 34 What is the big problem with an electric car? （ A） Its battery is not powerful enough. （ B） Its battery is of enormous size. （ C） It costs too much money. （ D） It breaks down easily. 35 What are the automobile engineers trying to do? （ A） Improve the bat
43、teries of electric cars. （ B） Increase the number of electric cars. （ C） Design a new device for electric cars. （ D） Look for new ways to improve safety. Section C Directions: In this section, you will hear a passage three times. When the passage is read for the first time, you should listen careful
44、ly for its general idea. When the passage is read for the second time, you are required to fill in the blanks numbered from 36 to 43 with the exact words you have just heard. For blanks numbered from 44 to 46 you are required to fill in the missing information. For these blanks, you can either use t
45、he exact words you have just heard or write down the 35 Tens of thousands of the poorest part-time students are to get extra money to help pay university fees and meet rising living costs, ministers will announce today. The students 【 B1】 _will rise by more than 25%, while the money available throug
46、h “hardship funds“ will 【 B2】 _ The 【 B3】 _follows growing concern that those institutions with a high 【 B4】_of part-time students will lose when tuition fees for full-time courses start next year. The Education Secretary, Ruth Kelly, said yesterday that such students played a 【 B5】 _role in higher
47、education, and the proposed measures would 【 B6】_part-time undergraduate courses remained open to all. There are around 500,000 part-timers in higher education in England. The government expects 85,000 to benefit from the 【 B7】 _package. Yesterday David Latchman, of Birkbeck College, London, which e
48、ducates thousands of part-timers, said the proposals were a step in the right direction: “This announcement begins to adjust the balance so that part-time students who might struggle to pay fees will now have【 B8】 _to the financial support they need. The government has been listening to our concerns
49、, and we consider this a good outcome.“ 【 B9】 _. These fees are not paid back until students have graduated. But part-time students have to pay their fees in advance. 【 B10】 _ The grant will rise to 750 pounds for those who study half-time and to 1,125 pounds for those who study three quarters of the time. 【 B11】 _ 36 【 B1】 37 【 B2】 38 【 B3】 39 【 B4】 40 【 B5】 41 【 B6】 42 【 B7】 43 【 B8】 44 【 B9】 45 【 B10】 46 【 B11】 Section A Directions: In this secti
