2012年6月大学英语四级考试真题--答案与解析

2012年6月大学英语四级考试真题试题PartⅠWriting(30minutes)Directions:Forthispart,youareallowed30minutestowriteashortessayentitledExcessivePackagingfollowingtheoutlinegivenbelow.Youshouldwriteatleast120wordsbutnomorethan180words.1.目前许多商品存在过度包装的现象2.出现这一现象的原因3.我对这一现象的看法和建议OnExcessivePackagingPartⅡReadingComprehension(SkimmingandScanning)(15minutes)Directions:Inthispart,youwillhave15minutestogooverthepassagequicklyandanswerthequestionsonAnswersheet1.Forquestions1-7,choosethebestanswerfromthefourchoicesmarkedA)，B)，C)andD).Forquestions8-10,completethesentenceswiththeinformationgiveninthepassage.SmallSchoolsRising1Thisyear’slistofthetop100highschoolsshowsthattoday,thosewithfewerstudentsareflourishing.2Fiftyyearsago,theywerethelatestthingineducationalreform:big,modern,suburbanhighschoolswithstudentscountedinthethousands.Asbabyboomers(二战后婴儿潮时期出生的人)cameofhigh-schoolage,bigschoolspromisedeconomicefficiency.Agreaterchoiceofcourses,and,ofcourse,betterfootballteams.Onlyyearslaterdidweunderstandthetrade-offsthisinvolved:thecreationofexcessivebureaucracies(官僚机构)，thedifficultyofforgingpersonalconnectionsbetweenteachersandstudents.SATscoresbegandroppingin1963;today,onaverage,30%ofstudentsdonotcompletehighschoolinfouryears,afigurethatrisesto50%inpoorurbanneighborhoods.Whiletheemphasisonteachingtohigher,test-drivenstandardsassetinNoChildLeftBehindresultedinsignificantlybetterperformanceinelementary(andsomemiddle)schools,highschoolsforavarietyofreasonsseemedtohavemadelittleprogress.3Sizeisn’teverything,butitdoesmatter,andthepastdecadehasseenanoticeablecountertrendtowardsmallerschools.Thishasbeendue,inpart,totheBillandMelindaGatesFoundation,whichhasinvested$1.8billioninAmericanhighschools,helpingtoopenabout1,000smallschools-mostofthemwithabout400kidseachwithanaverageenrollmentofonly150pergrade,About500moreareonthedrawingboard.Districtsalloverthecountryaretakingnotice,alongwithmayorsincitieslikeNewYork,ChicagoandSanDiego.Themovementincludesindependentpubliccharterschools,suchasNo.1BASISinTucson,withonly120high-schoolersand18graduatesthisyear.Itembracesdistrict-sanctionedmagnetschools,suchastheTalentedandGiftedSchool,with198students,andtheScienceandEngineeringMagnet,with383,whichshareabuildinginDallas,aswellastheCityHonorsSchoolinBuffalo,N.Y.,whichgrewoutofvolunteereveningseminarsforstudents.Anditincludesalternativeschoolswithstudentsselectedbylottery(抽签)，suchasH-BWoodlawninArlington,Va.Andmostnoticeableofall,thereisthephenomenonoflargeurbanandsuburbanhighschoolsthathavesplitupintosmallerunitsofafewhundred,generallyhousedinthesamegroundsthatonceboastedthousandsofstudentsallmarchingtothesameband.4HillsdaleHighSchoolinSanMateo,Calif,isoneofthose,rankingNo.423—amongthetop2%inthecountry—onNewsweek’sannualrankingofAmerica’stophighschools.Thesuccessofsmallschoolsisapparentinthelistings.Tenyearsago,whenthefirstNewsweeklistbasedoncollege-leveltestparticipationwaspublished,onlythreeofthetop100schoolshadgraduatingClassessmallerthan100students.Thisyearthereare22.Nearly250schoolsonthefull,Newsweeklistofthetop5%ofschoolsnationallyhadfewerthan200graduatesin2007.5AlthoughmanyofHillsdale’sstudentscamefromwealthyhouseholds,bythelate1990averagetestscoreswereslidingandithadearnedtheunaffectionatenickname(绰号)“Hillsjail.”JeffGilbert.AHillsdaleteacherwhobecameprincipallastyear,rememberssittingwithotherteacherswatchingstudentsfileoutofagraduationceremonyandaskingoneanotherinastonishment,“Howdidthatstudentgraduate?”6Soin2003Hillsdaleremadeitselfintothree“houses,”romanticallynamedFlorence,MarrakechandKyoto.Eachofthe300arrivingninthgradersarerandomly(随机地)assignedtooneofthehouses.Wheretheywillkeepthesamefourcoresubjectteachersfortwoyears,beforemovingontoanotherfor11thand12thgrades.Theclosenessthissystemcultivatesisreinforcedbytheinstitutionof“advisory”classesTeachersmeetwithstudentsingroupsof25,fivemorningsaweek,foropen-endeddiscussionsofeverythingfromhomeworkproblemstobadSaturday-nightdates.Theadvisersalsomeetwithstudentsprivatelyandstayintouchwithparents,sotheyaredeeplyinvestedinthestudents’success.“We’reconstantlytalkingaboutoneanother’sadvisers,”saysEnglishteacherChrisCrockett.“Ifyouhearthatyoursisn’tdoingwellinmath,orseethemsittingoutsidethedean’soffice,it’slikeapersonalfailure.”Alongwiththenewstructurecameamoredemandingacademicprogram,thepercentageoffreshmentakingbiologyjumpedfrom17to95.“Itwasroughforsome.Butbysenioryear,two-thirdshavemoveduptophysics,”saysGilbert“Ourkidsarecomingtoschoolinpartbecausetheyknowthereareadultsherewhoknowthemandcareforthem.”Butnotallschoolsshowadvancesafterdownsizing,anditremainstobeseenwhethersmallerschoolswillbeacure-allsolution.7TheNewsweeklistoftopU.S.highschoolswasmadethisyear,asinyearspast,accordingtoasinglemetric,theproportionofstudentstakingcollege-levelexams.Overtheyearsthissystemhascomeinforitsshareofcriticismforitssimplicity.Butthatisalsoitsstrength:it’seasyforreaderstounderstand,andtodothearithmeticfortheirownschoolsifthey’dlike.8Rankingschoolsisalwayscontroversial,andthisyearagroupof38superintendents(地区教育主管)fromfivestateswrot