1、大学英语四级模拟试卷 987及答案与解析 一、 Part I Writing (30 minutes) 1 For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write a short essay entitled Low-carbon Life. You should write at least 120 words following the outline given below: 1如今低碳生活受到人们的欢迎 2低碳生活的意义 3如何进行低碳 生活 Low-carbon Life 二、 Part II Reading Comprehension
2、(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 information given in the passage; N (for NO) if the statement
3、 contradicts the information given in the passage; NG (for NOT GIVEN) if the information is not given in the passage. 1 End the University as We Know It Most graduate programs in American universities produce a product for which there is no market and develop skills for which there is diminishing de
4、mand, all at a rapidly rising cost. Widespread hiring freezes and layoffs have brought these problems into sharp relief now. But our graduate system has been in crisis for decades.and the seeds of this crisis go as far back as the formation of modern universities. Kant, in his 1798 work The Conflict
5、 of the Faculties, wrote that universities should “handle the entire content of learning by mass production, so to speak, by a division of labor, so that for every branch of the sciences there would be a public teacher or professor appointed as its trustee(理事 ).“ Unfortunately this mass-product ion
6、university model has led to separation where there ought to be collaboration and to ever-increasing specialization. In my own religion department, for example, we have 10 faculty members, working in eight subfields.with little overlap. And as departments fragment, research and publication become mor
7、e and more about less and less. Each academic becomes the trustee not of a branch of the sciences, but of limited knowledge that all too often is irrelevant for genuinely important problems. The emphasis on narrow scholarship also encourages an educational system that has become a process of cloning
8、. Faculty members cultivate those students whose futures they envision as identical to their own pasts, even though their tenures will stand in the way of these students having futures as full professors. The dirty secret of higher education is that without underpaid graduate students to help in lab
9、oratories and with teaching, universities couldnt conduct research or even instruct their growing undergraduate populations. Thats one of the main reasons we still encourage people to enroll in doctoral programs. It is simply cheaper to provide graduate students with modest salaries and adjuncts(助理
10、)with as little as $ 5, 000 a course with no benefits than it is to hire full-time professors. The other obstacle to change is that colleges and universities are self-regulating or, in academic parlance(说法 ), governed by peer review. While trustees and administrations theoretically have some oversig
11、ht responsibility, in practice, departments operate independently. To complicate matters further, once a faculty member has been granted tenure he is functionally autonomous. Many academics who cry out for the regulation of financial markets fiercely oppose it in their own departments. If American h
12、igher education is to thrive in the 21st century, colleges and universities, must be rigorously regulated and completely restructured. The long process to make higher learning more agile(灵活的 ), adaptive and imaginative can begin with six major steps: 1. Restructure the curriculum, beginning with gra
13、duate programs and proceeding as quickly as possible to undergraduate programs. The division-of-labor model of separate departments is obsolete and must be replaced with a curriculum structured like a web or complex adaptive network. Responsible teaching and scholarship must become cross-disciplinar
14、y and cross-cultural. It would be far more effective to bring together people working on questions of religion, politics, history, economics, anthropology, sociology, literature, art, religion and philosophy to engage in comparative analysis of common problems. As the curriculum is restructured, fie
15、lds of inquiry and methods of investigation will be transformed. 2. Abolish permanent departments, even for undergraduate education, and create problem-focused programs. These constantly evolving programs would have sunset clauses, and every seven years each one should be evaluated and either abolis
16、hed, continued or significantly changed. It is possible to imagine a broad range of topics around which such zones of inquiry could be organized: Mind, Body, Law, Information, Networks, Language, Space, Time, Media, Money, Life and Water. Consider, for example, a Water program. In the coming decades
17、, water will become a more pressing problem than oil, and the quantity, quality and distribution of water will pose significant scientific, technological and ecological difficulties as well as serious political and economic challenges. These vexing practical problems can not be adequately addressed
18、without also considering important philosophical, religious and ethical issues. After all.beliefs shape practices as much as practices shape beliefs. A Water program would bring together people in the humanities, arts, social and natural sciences with representatives from professional schools like m
19、edicine, law, business, engineering, social work, theology and architecture. Through the intersection of multiple perspectives and approaches, new theoretical insights will develop and unexpected practical solutions will emerge. 3. Increase collaboration among institutions. All institutions do not n
20、eed to do all things and technology makes it possible for schools to form partnerships to share students and faculty. Institutions will be able to expand while contracting. Let one college have a strong department in French.for example, and the other a strong department in German; through teleconfer
21、encing and the Internet both subjects can be taught at both places with half the staff. 4. Transform the traditional dissertation. In the arts and humanities, where looming cutbacks will be most devastating, there is no longer a market for books modeled on the medieval dissertation.with more footnot
22、es than text. As financial pressures on university presses continue to mount, publication of dissertations, and with it scholarly certification? is almost impossible.(The average university press print run of a dissertation that has been converted into a book is less than 500, and sales are usually
23、considerably lower.)For many years. I have taught undergraduate courses in which students do not write traditional papers but develop analytic treatments in formats from hypertext and Web sites to films and video games. Graduate students should likewise be encouraged to produce “theses“ in alternati
24、ve formats. 5. Expand the range of professional options for graduate students. Most graduate students will never hold the kind of job for which they are being trained. It is, therefore, necessary to help them prepare for work in fields other than higher education. The exposure to new approaches and
25、different cultures and the consideration of real-life issues will prepare students for jobs at businesses and nonprofit organizations. Moreover, the knowledge and skills they will cultivate in the new universities will enable them to adapt to a constantly changing world. 6. Impose mandatory retireme
26、nt and abolish tenure. Initially intended to protect academic freedom, tenure has resulted in institutions with little turnover and professors free from change. After all.once tenure has been granted, there is no leverage to encourage a professor to continue to develop professionally or to require h
27、im or her to assume responsibilities like administration and student advising. Tenure should be replaced with seven-year contracts, which, like the programs in which faculty teach, can be terminated or renewed. This policy would enable colleges and universities to reward researchers, scholars and te
28、achers who continue to evolve and remain productive while also making room for young people with new ideas and skills. My hope is that colleges and universities will be shaken out of their complacency(自满 )and will open academia to a future we can not conceive. 2 Whats the crisis of American graduate
29、 system? （ A） The graduate students are not fit for the job market and have no practical skills. （ B） The programs are spending too much of the governments finance. （ C） The undergraduate systems are generally better than that. （ D） Professors focus little on teaching and students learn little. 3 En
30、rollment in doctoral programs is encouraged because graduate students_ . （ A） are needed in laboratories and teaching （ B） can learn more and more about less and less （ C） are increasing in number （ D） can encourage undergraduate students 4 Despite the oversight responsibility of trustees and admini
31、stration, departments of universities_. （ A） collaborate with each other （ B） are independent in operation （ C） seek regulation of financial markets （ D） are governed by peer review 5 What can a restructured curriculum bring about? （ A） Cross-cultural teaching and more scholarships. （ B） More job of
32、fering from famous companies. （ C） Enrollments of more undergraduate and graduate students. （ D） Transformation of fields of inquiry and methods of investigation. 6 A Water program is mentioned in the passage to illustrate_. （ A） why water will become more pressing （ B） how problem-focused programs
33、can be created （ C） how social sciences interact with natural sciences （ D） why new beliefs can be shaped by practices 7 The author assumes that the traditional dissertation needs to be transformed because_. （ A） books modeled on medieval format are hard to sell （ B） analytic treatments in formats f
34、rom hypertext and web sites can be developed （ C） financial strain on university presses has been increasing constantly （ D） cutbacks in the arts and humanities will be most devastating 8 What can be done to create more professional options for graduate students? （ A） Preparing for work in fields ot
35、her than higher education. （ B） Acquiring knowledge and skills from their peers. （ C） Hunting jobs in some nonprofit organizations. （ D） Seeking the sort of job they are trained for. 9 With the development of technology, it is out of question for universities to_to exchange students and faculty. 10
36、Although originally designed to protect academic freedom, tenure has made professors _ change, and universities with little turnover. 11 Mandatory retirement will make it possible for universities to provide vacancies for young people while their present faculty members can _if they stay productive.
37、 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 asked about what was said. Both the conversation and the questions will be spoken only once. After each question there will be a pause.
38、 During the pause, you must read the four choices marked A, B, C and D, and decide which is the best answer. （ A） He doesnt want to have dinner. （ B） He was too busy to make the reservation. （ C） He has reserved the first table. （ D） He has predicted they wouldnt go. （ A） Get a bigger size. （ B） Get
39、 a tighter one. （ C） Buy one more sweater. （ D） Try it on immediately. （ A） She doesnt agree with the man. （ B） She regrets that she took a sociology class. （ C） She plans to think twice next year. （ D） She thanks the man for his help last term. （ A） He thinks highly of Marys skill in the performanc
40、e. （ B） He is surprised to see Mary not nervous while performing. （ C） He cant understand the meaning of Marys performance. （ D） He appreciates Marys wonderful performance. （ A） The woman needs books for her final exam. （ B） The books that the woman needs are not available. （ C） The man could always
41、 find the books he needs. （ D） There are adequate books for them to use. （ A） The snow is on the way. （ B） The snow will be heavy. （ C） The snow will damage their roofs too. （ D） The snow will damage the traffic too. （ A） She doesnt like Lucy to be late again. （ B） Its forgivable for Lucy to be late
42、. （ C） The man should be more patient. （ D） Lucy will show up soon. （ A） It is not so hard to assemble the bike. （ B） Jack is not skillful in assembling bike. （ C） Jack hasnt got assembling instruction. （ D） He could help Jack to assemble the bike. （ A） Lack of sleep can increase the possibility of
43、accidents. （ B） More than 50% accidents in the world are due to sleeplessness. （ C） A growing number of people have problems getting to sleep. （ D） About 10% of accidents in UK are caused by insomnia. （ A） People now go to sleep when it gets dark. （ B） More and more people like to get up early. （ C）
44、 The average sleeping hours have shortened. （ D） Teenagers tend to sleep less than before. （ A） We have found the exact reason why we need sleep. （ B） Sleeping is when our brains have a complete rest. （ C） Sitting in the sofa can get same amount of rest as sleeping. （ D） Our brains may still be busy
45、 working when were asleep. （ A） The current apartment is too noisy. （ B） The current apartment is far from her workplace. （ C） The heating system does not work well. （ D） The owner of the current apartment is unpleasant. （ A） She has to tell the owner two months in advance about her moving out. （ B）
46、 She must inform the housing authorities of her problem. （ C） She can complain to the owner. （ D） She has to leave there by the end of the month. （ A） A comfortable place with cheap rent. （ B） An apartment with quiet surroundings. （ C） A quiet place near the seaside. （ D） A small room on high-rises.
47、 （ A） Rent would be very expensive. （ B） Public transportation wouldnt be available. （ C） Apartments there are too small. （ D） Apartments there tend to be noisy. Section B Directions: In this section, you will hear 3 short passages. At the end of each passage, you will hear some questions. Both the
48、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） He was the founder of Boeing company. （ B） He was a pioneer of modern air travel. （ C） His career on Wall Street was successful. （ D） His co
49、mpany closed after World War II. （ A） They were thrown into financial difficulties. （ B） They thought it was dangerous to fly long distance. （ C） They feared to be involved in the Second World War. （ D） They wanted to maintain higher prices and more profits. （ A） Allowing planes to travel longer and faster. （ B） Eliminating hazards and accidents. （ C） Carrying more passengers. （ D） Obtaining maximum profits. （ A） Only the highest members of society were allowed to use rose oil. （ B） Those who used large a
