2007年12月大学英语四级真题及答案

2007年12月大学英语四级考试试题PartⅠWriting(30minutes)Directions:Forthispart,youareallowed30minutestowriteashortessayonthetopicofWhatelectivestochoose.Youshouldwriteatleast120wordsfollowingtheoutlinegivenbellow:Whatelectivestochoose1.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……PartⅡReadingComprehension(SkimmingandScanning)(15minutes)Directions:Inthispart,youwillhave15minutestogooverthepassagequicklyandanswerthequestionsonAnswerSheet1.Forquestions1-7,choosethebestanswerfromthefourchoicesmarkedA),B),C)andD).Forquestions8-10,completethesentenceswiththeinformationgiveninthepassage.UniversitiesBranchOutAsneverbeforeintheirlonghistory,universitieshavebecomeinstrumentsofnationalcompetitionaswellasinstrumentsofpeace.Theyaretheplaceofthescientificdiscoveriesthatmoveeconomiesforward,andtheprimarymeansofeducatingthetalentrequiredtoobtainandmaintaincompetitiveadvantage.Butatthesametime,theopeningofnationalborderstotheflowofgoods,services,informationandespeciallypeoplehasmadeuniversitiesapowerfulforceforglobalintegration,mutualunderstandingandgeopoliticalstability.Inresponsetothesameforcesthathavedriventheworldeconomy,universitieshavebecomemoreself-consciouslyglobal:seekingstudentsfromaroundtheworldwhorepresenttheentirerangeofculturesandvalues,sendingtheirownstudentsabroadtopreparethemforglobalcareers,offeringcourseofstudythataddressthechallengesofaninterconnectedworldandcollaborative(合作的)researchprogramstoadvancescienceforthebenefitofallhumanity.Oftheforcesshapinghighereducationnoneismoresweepingthanthemovementacrossborders.Overthepastthreedecadesthenumberofstudentsleavinghomeeachyeartostudyabroadhasgrownatanannualrateofpercent,from800,000in1975tomillionin2004.Mosttravelfromonedevelopednationtoanother,buttheflowfromdevelopingtodevelopedcountriesisgrowingrapidly.Thereverseflow,fromdevelopedtodevelopingcountries,isontherise,too.Todayforeignstudentsearn30percentofthedoctoraldegreesawardedintheUnitedStatesand38percentofthoseintheUnitedKingdom.Andthenumbercrossingbordersforundergraduatestudyisgrowingaswell,to8percentoftheundergraduatesatAmerica'sbestinstitutionsand10percentofallundergraduatesinthe.IntheUnitedStates,20percentofthenewlyhiredprofessorsinscienceandengineeringareforeign-born,andinChinamanynewlyhiredfacultymembersatthetopresearchuniversitiesreceivedtheirgraduateeducationabroad.Universitiesarealsoencouragingstudentstospendsomeoftheirundergraduateyearsinanothercountry.InEurope,morethan140,000studentsparticipateintheErasmusprogrameachyear,takingcoursesforcreditinoneof2,200participatinginstitutionsacrossthecontinent.AndintheUnitedStates,institutionsarehelpingplacestudentsinsummerinternships(实习)abroadtopreparethemforglobalcareers.YaleandHarvardhaveledtheway,offeringeveryundergraduateatleastoneinternationalstudyorinternshipopportunity--andprovidingthefinancialresourcestomakeitpossible.Globalizationisalsoreshapingthewayresearchisdone.Onenewtrendinvolvessourcingportionsofaresearchprogramtoanothercountry.YaleprofessorandHowardHughesMedicalInstituteinvestigatorTianXudirectsaresearchcenterfocusedonthegeneticsofhumandiseaseatShanghai'sFudanUniversity,incollaborationwithfacultycolleaguesfrombothschools.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:SiliconValleywasintentionallycreatedbyStanfordUniversity,andRoute128outsideBostonhaslonghousedcompaniesspunofffromMITandHarvard.Aroundtheworld,governmentshaveencouragedcopyingofthismodel,perhapsmostsuccessfullyinCambridge,England,whereMicrosoftandscoresofotherleadingsoftwareandbiotechnologycompanieshavesetupshoparoundtheuniversity.Forallitssuccess,theUnitedStatesremainsdeeplyhesitantaboutsustainingtheresearch-universitymodel.Mostpoliticiansrecognizethelinkbetweeninvestmentinscienceandnationaleconomicstrength,butsupportforresearchfundinghasbeenunsteady.ThebudgetoftheNationalInstitutesofHealthdoubledbetween1998and2003,buthasrisenmoreslowlythaninflationsincethen.Supportforthephysicalsciencesandengineeringbarelykeptpacewithinflationduringthatsameperiod.Theattempttomakeuplostgroundiswelcome,butthenationwouldbebetterservedbysteady,predictableincreasesinsciencefundingattherateoflong-termGDPgrowth,whichisontheorderofinflationplus3percentperyear.Americanpoliticianshavegreatdifficultrecognizingthatadmittingmoreforeignstudentscangreatlypromotethenationalinterestbyincreasinginternationa