2007年12月大学英语四级考试真题和答案

2007年12月大学英语四级考试真题和答案PartIWriting(30minutes)Directions:Forthispart,youareallowed30minutestowriteacompositiononthetopicWhatElectivestoChoose.Youshouldwriteatleast150wordsaccordingtotheoutlinegivenbelowinChinese:1.各大学开设了各种各样的选修课2.学生因为各种原因选择了不同的选修课3.以你自己为例…WhatElectivestoChoose___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________PartIIReadingComprehension(SkimmingandScanning)(15minutes)Directions:Inthispart,youwillhave15minutestogooverthepassagequicklyandanswerthequestionsonAnswerSheet1.Forquestions1-7,choosethebestanswerfromthefourchoicesmarked[A],[B],[C]and[D].Forquestions8-10,completethesentenceswiththeinformationgiveninthepassage.UniversitiesBranchOutAsneverbeforeintheirlonghistory,universitieshavebecomeinstrumentsofnationalcompetitionaswellasinstrumentsofpeace.Theyaretheplaceofthescientificdiscoveriesthatmoveeconomiesforward,andtheprimarymeansofeducatingthetalentrequiredtoobtainandmaintaincompetitiveadvantage.Butatthesametime,theopeningofnationalborderstotheflowofgoods,services,informationandespeciallypeoplehasmadeuniversitiesapowerfulforceforglobalintegration,mutualunderstandingandgeopoliticalstability.Inresponsetothesameforcesthathavedriventheworldeconomy,universitieshavebecomemoreself-consciouslyglobal:seekingstudentsfromaroundtheworldwhorepresenttheentirerangeofculturesandvalues,sendingtheirownstudentsabroadtopreparethemforglobalcareers,offeringcoursesofstudythataddressthechallengesofaninterconnectedworldandcollaborative(合作的)researchprogramstoadvancescienceforthebenefitofallhumanity.Oftheforcesshapinghighereducationnoneismoresweepingthanthemovementacrossborders.Overthepastthreedecadesthenumberofstudentsleavinghomeeachyeartostudyabroadhasgrownatanannualrateof3.9percent,from800,000in1975to2.5millionin2004.Mosttravelfromonedevelopednationtoanother,buttheflowfromdevelopingtodevelopedcountriesisgrowingrapidly.Thereverseflow,fromdevelopedtodevelopingcountries,isontherise,too.Todayforeignstudentsearn30percentofthedoctoraldegreesawardedintheUnitedStatesand38percentofthoseintheUnitedKingdom.Andthenumbercrossingboardersforundergraduatestudyisgrowingaswell,to8percentoftheundergraduatesatAmerica’sbestinstitutionsand10percentofallundergraduatesintheU.K.IntheUnitedStates,20percentofthenewlyhiredprofessorsinscienceandengineeringareforeign-born,andinChinamanynewlyhiredfacultymembersatthetopresearchuniversitiesreceivedtheirgraduateeducationabroad.Universitiesarealsoencouragingstudentstospendsomeoftheirundergraduateyearsinanothercountry.InEurope,morethan140,000studentsparticipateintheErasmusprogrameachyear,takingcoursesforcreditinoneof2,200participatinginstitutionsacrossthecontinent.AndintheUnitedStates,institutionsarehelpingplacestudentsinsummerinternships(实习)abroadtopreparethemforglobalcareers.YaleandHarvardhaveledtheway,offeringeveryundergraduateatleastoneinternationalstudyorinternshipopportunity-andprovidingthefinancialresourcestomakeitpossible.Globalizationisalsoreshapingthewayresearchisdone.Onenewtrendinvolvessourcingportionsofaresearchprogramtoanothercountry.YaleprofessorandHarvardHughesMedicalInstituteinvestigatorTianXudirectsaresearchcenterfocusedonthegeneticsofhumandiseaseatShanghai’sFudanUniversityincollaborationwithfacultycolleaguesfrombothschools.TheShanghaicenterhas95employeesandgraduatestudentsworkingina4,300-square-meterlaboratoryfacility.Yalefaculty,postdoctorsandgraduatestudentsvisitregularlyandattendvideoconferenceseminarswithscientistsfrombothcampuses.Thearrangementbenefitsbothcountries;Xu’sYalelabismoreproductive,thankstothelowercostsofconductingresearchinChina,andChinesegraduatestudents,postdoctorsandfacultygeton-the-jobtrainingfromaworld-classscientistandhisU.S.team.Asaresultofitsstrengthinscience,theUnitedStateshasconsistentlyledtheworldinthecommercializationofmajornewtechnologies,fromthemainframecomputerandtheintegratedcircuitofthe1960stotheInternetinfrastructure(基础设施)andapplicationssoftwareofthe1990s.Thelinkbetweenuniversity-basedscienceandindustrialapplicationisoftenindirectbutsometimeshighlyvisible:SiliconValleywasinternationallycreatedbyStanfordUniversity（细节辨认）,andRoute128outsideBostonhaslonghousedcompaniesspunofffromMITandHarvard.Aroundtheworld,governmentshaveencouragedcopyingofthismodel,perhapsmostsuccessfullyinCambridge,England,whereMicrosoftandscoresofotherleadingsoftwareandbiotechnologycompanieshavesetupshoparoundtheuniversity.Forallitssuccess,theUnitedStatesremainsdeeplyhesitantaboutsustainingtheresearch-universitymodel.Mostpoliticiansrecognizethelinkbetweeninvestmentinscienceandnationaleconomicstrength,butsupportforresearchfundinghasbeenunsteady.ThebudgetoftheNationalInstitutesofHealthdoubledbetween1998and2003,buthasrisenmoreslowlythaninflationsinc