英语四级考试练习题及答案

PartIWriting(30minutes)Directions:Forthispart,youareallowed30minutestowriteashortessayonthetopic“Education:Examination-OrientedorQuality-Oriented”.Youshouldwriteatleast120wordsfollowingtheoutlinegivenbelowinChinese:1.应试教育现状及其原因;2.素质教育的优点;3.你的观点。PartIIReadingComprehension(SkimmingandScanning)(15minutes)Directions:Inthispart,youwillhave15minutestogooverthepassagequickly.Forquestions1-7,choosethebestanswerfromthefourchoicesmarkedA),B),C)andD).Forquestions8-10,completethesentenceswiththeinformationgiveninthepassage.SellingExpertiseontheInternetforExtraCashTeresaEstes,alicensedmental-healthcounselor,watchedasbusinessatherprivatepracticedecreasedlastyear.Thenthesinglemotherturnedtoherkeyboardtoboostherincome.Ms.Estesappliedtobecomean“expert”onLivePersonInc.,aWebsitewhereclientspayforonlinechattimewithprofessionalsandadvisersofallfields.For$1.89aminute—aratesheset—the39-year-oldfromMarianna,Fla.,dispensesadvicetoclientsaroundtheglobe.Shespendsaboutfourhoursadayonline,oftenatnight,whenherdaughterhasgonetobed.“Itwastheeconomy,”shesaysofhermovetotakeherskillsonline.“LivePersonismoreprofitablethanmyprivatepractice.”Ms.Esteshadchargedherprivateclientsupto$75anhour.Astherecessiondeepens,asmallbutgrowingnumberofpeoplearetakingtheirskillsonline,offeringexpertiseorperformingspecifiedtasksforafee.Labor-at-the-keyboardsitesaregainingpopularityaspeopleincreasinglyturntotheWebinsearchofwork.Internetjob-searchsitessawa51%riseintrafficfromJanuary2008toJanuary2009,accordingtocomScoreMediaMetrix,to26.7millionuniquevisitors.Amongthemanyfee-for-serviceWebsitesoutthere,atleastthreeareattractingasignificantnumberofusers—thoughconsumersshouldexerciseahealthydegreeofskepticismwhenconsultinganyofthesesites.LivePersonseeksoutexpertsonaslewoftopics,includingmentalhealth,financialservices,shoppingandfashion,aswellaspsychicsandspiritualadvisers.MechanicalTurk,aWebservicerunbyAmazon.comInc.,paysworkerstoperformtasks,suchascatalogingproductsonline.AssociatedContentpayscontributorstowritearticlesonawiderangeofsubjects,fromorganicflowergardeningtohowtoapplyforfinancialaid.LivePersonwentpublicin2001,andthecurrentversionofthesitewaslaunchedinlate2007.Today,thesitehas30,000registeredexperts,attractinganaverageof100,000peopleayearwhopayfortheofferedservices,saysChiefExecutiveOfficerRobertLoCascio.Roughly3,500peoplehavemadecontributingtothesitetheirfull-timejob,hesays.LivePersonsaysitvetscontributors’qualifications,suchasmedicallicensesorfinancialcertification,throughathirdparty,andreliesheavilyonitscommunityreviews.Some200peopleadayapplytobeLivePersonexperts,upfrom120ayearago,saysMr.LoCascio.Oncecleared,advisersworkwithclientsonacost-per-minutebasissetbytheadviser.Thesitetakesacommissionofbetween30%and35%.AssociatedContent,bycontrast,reviewssubmissionsinhouseandthendecideshowmuchtopayforthem.Thesite,whichspecializesinhow-topiecesandfeaturestoriesonnewstopics,had237,000registeredcontributorsandmorethanonemillioncontentpiecesasofFebruary,bothaboutdoublefromthesamemonthayearago.Afterpostingthecontent,thesitesellsadvertisementsagainstitanddistributesittoothercompanies,suchasonlineshoeretailerZappos,whichusethecontentontheirownWebsites.IfAssociatedContentacceptsasubmission(itsaysitrejectsabout25%ofthem),theauthorgetsbetween$5and$30,plus$1.50foreach1,000pageviews.Anabilitytowrite“search-engine-optimized”content,anindustrytermforgeneratinggoodGoogleresults,helps,sayssitefounderLukeBeatty.Peoplearenotonlylookingforpaymentbutalsoestablishingtheircredentials“assomebodywithexperience”,hesays.Writingaboutaspecificprofession,suchaslaworrealestate,helpsraiseaperson’sprofileonline,enhancinghisjobsearches,saysMr.Beatty.SabahKarimi,a26-year-oldfromOrlando,Fla.,leftacareerinmarketingtobecomeafull-timefreelancewriterandnowspendsbetween8and10hoursaweekwritingforAssociatedContent.Shehasbeenatitforaboutthreeyearsandsayssheearnsroughly$1,000amonthfromherpastandcurrentsubmissions.Ms.KarimicautionsnewcomerstoAssociatedContentthatittakestimetobuildupearnings.Shesaysshelearnedhowtowritearticlesthatwouldbringtrafficandoftenlooksfornewsyideasthatwillattractreaders.MechanicalTurk,bycontrast,isbasedon“crowdsourcing”,orbreakingataskintolotsoftinypiecesandgivingittoabiggroupofpeopletocompletequickly.Mostofthesejobs—whichthesitecallsHITs,forhumanintelligencetasks—payjustafewcents.EfficientMTurkers,astheycallthemselves,canmakemorethan$100aweekdoingthingssuchasfindingsomeone’semailaddressorlabelingimagesofaparticularanimalinaphotograph.AmazonsaysthatMTurknowhas200,000workersfrom100differentcountries,butitdoesn’tkeeptrackofpastfigures.Thesite—namedforan18th-centurystuntinvolvingaturbanedchess-playing“machine”withanactualchessmasterhiddenwithin—beganasawaytohelpAmazonmanageitsproductdatabase,saysSharonChiarella,vicepresidentofAmazonMechanicalTurk.Amazonusesthesitetohelpsortimagesandcontent,payingpeopleafewcentsatask.MechanicalTurkalsoservesavarietyofcompanieswhoneedWebtasksperformed,especiallythosethatrequireahumanelement.Test-prepstartupKnewtonInc.,forexample,usesitextensivelyforfocus-