2012年6月英语四级真题.docx

2012年6月英语四级考试真题 Part I Writing （30 minutes） Directions: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write a short essay entitled Excessive Packaging following the outline given below. You should write at least 120 words but no more than 180 words. 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 On Excessive Packaging 　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 Part II Reading Comprehension (Skimming and Scanning) (15 minutes) Directions: In this part, you will have 15 minutes to go over the passage quickly and answer the questions on Answer Sheet 1. For questions 1-7 choose the best answer from the four choices marked A), B), C) and D). For questions 8-10, complete the sentence with the information given in the passage. Small Schools Rising 　　This year’s list of the top 100 high schools shows that today, those with fewer students are flourishing. 　　Fifty years ago, they were the latest thing in educational reform: big, modern, suburban high schools with students counted in the thousands. As baby boomers(二战后婴儿潮时期出生的人) came of high-school age, big schools promised economic efficiency. A greater choice of courses, and, of course, better football teams. Only years later did we understand the trade-offs this involved: the creation of excessive bureaucracies(官僚机构)，the difficulty of forging personal connections between teachers and students.SAT scores began dropping in 1963;today,on average,30% of students do not complete high school in four years, a figure that rises to 50% in poor urban neighborhoods. While the emphasis on teaching to higher, test-driven standards as set in No Child Left Behind resulted in significantly better performance in elementary(and some middle)schools, high schools for a variety of reasons seemed to have made little progress. 　　Size isn’t everything, but it does matter, and the past decade has seen a noticeable countertrend toward smaller schools. This has been due ,in part ,to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which has invested $1.8 billion in American high schools, helping to open about 1,000 small schools-most of them with about 400 kids each with an average enrollment of only 150 per grade, About 500 more are on the drawing board. Districts all over the country are taking notice, along with mayors in cities like New York, Chicago and San Diego. The movement includes independent public charter schools, such as No.1 BASIS in Tucson, with only 120 high-schoolers and 18 graduates this year. It embraces district-sanctioned magnet schools, such as the Talented and Gifted School, with 198 students, and the Science and Engineering Magnet,with383,which share a building in Dallas, as well as the City Honors School in Buffalo, N.Y., which grew out of volunteer evening seminars for students. And it includes alternative schools with students selected by lottery(抽签)，such as H-B Woodlawn in Arlington, Va. And most noticeable of all, there is the phenomenon of large urban and suburban high schools that have split up into smaller units of a few hundred, generally housed in the same grounds that once boasted thousands of students all marching to the same band. 　　Hillsdale High School in San Mateo, Calif, is one of those, ranking No.423—among the top 2% in the country—on Newsweek’s annual ranking of America’s top high schools. The success of small schools is apparent in the listings. Ten years ago, when the first Newsweek list based on college-level test participation was published, only three of the top 100 schools had graduating Classes smaller than 100 students. This year there are 22. Nearly 250 schools on the full ,Newsweek list of the top 5% of schools nationally had fewer than 200 graduates in 2007. 　　Although many of Hillsdale’s students came from wealthy households, by the late 1990 average test scores were sliding and it had earned the unaffectionate nickname (绰号) “Hillsjail. ” Jeff Gilbert. A Hillsdale teacher who became principal last year, remembers sitting with other teachers watching students file out of a graduation ceremony and asking one another in astonishment, “How did that student graduate?” 　　So in 2003 Hillsdale remade itself into three “houses,” romantically named Florence, Marrakech and Kyoto. Each of the 300 arriving ninth graders are randomly(随机地) assigned to one of the houses. Where they will keep the same four core subject teachers for two years, before moving on to another for 11th and 12th grades. The closeness this system cultivates is reinforced by the institution of “advisory” classes Teachers meet with students in groups of 25, five mornings a week, for open-ended discussions of everything from homework problems to bad Saturday-night dates. The advisers also meet with students privately and stay in touch with parents, so they are deeply invested in the students’ success.“We’re constantly talking about one another’s advisers,” says English teacher Chris Crockett. “If you hear that yours isn’t doing well in math, or see them sitting outside the dean’s office, it’s like a personal failure.” Along with the new structure came a more demanding academic program, the percentage of freshmen taking biology jumped from 17 to 95.“It was rough for some. But by senior year, two-thirds have moved up to physics,” says Gilbert “Our kids are coming to school in part because they know there are adults here who know them and care for them.”But not all schools show advances after downsizing, and it remains to be seen whether smaller schools will be a cure-all solution. 　　The Newsweek list of top U.S. high schools was made this year, as in years past, according to a single metric, the proportion of students taking college-level exams. Over the years this system has come in for its share of criticism for its simplicity. But that is also its strength: it’s easy for readers to understand, and to do the arithmetic for their own schools if they’d like. 　　Ranking schools is always controversial, and this year a group of 38 superintendents(地区教育主管)from five states wrote to ask that their schools be excluded from the calculation.“It is impossible to know which high schools are ‘the best’ in the nation, ”their letter read. in part. “Determining whether different schools do or don’t offer a high quality of education requires a look at man different measures, including students’ overall academic accomplishments and their subsequent performance in college. And taking into consideration the unique needs of their communities.” 　　In the end, the superintendents agreed to provide the data we sought, which is, after all, public information. There is, in our view, no real dispute here, we are all seeking the same thing, which is schools that better serve our children and our nation by encouraging students to tackle tough subjects under the guidance of gifted teachers. And if we keep working toward that goal, someday, perhaps a list won’t be necessary. 　　注意：此部分试题请在答卡1上作答. 　　1. Fifty years ago. big. Modern. Suburban high schools were established in the hope of __________. 　　A) ensuring no child is left behind 　　B) increasing economic efficiency 　　C) improving students’ performance on SAT D) providing good education for baby boomers 　　2. What happened as a result of setting up big schools? 　　A) Teachers’ workload increased. 　　B) Students’ performance declined. 　　C) Administration became centralized. D) Students focused more on test scores. 　　3. What is said about the schools forded by the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation? 　　A) They are usually magnet schools. 　　B) They are often located in poor neighborhoods. 　　C) They are popular with high-achieving students. D) They are mostly small in size. 　　4. What is most noticeable about the current trend in high school education? 　　A) Some large schools have split up into smaller ones. 　　B) A great variety of schools have sprung up in urban and suburban areas. 　　C) Many schools compete for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation funds. D) Students have to meet higher academic standards. 　　5. Newsweek ranked high schools according to . 　　A) their students’ academic achievement 　　B) the number of their students admitted to college 　　C) the size and number of their graduating classes D) their college-level test participation 　　6. What can we learn about Hillsdale’s students in the late 1990s? 　　A) They were made to study hard like prisoners. 　　B) They called each other by unaffectionate nicknames. 　　C) Most of them did not have any sense of discipline, D) Their school performance was getting worse. 　　7. According to Jeff Gilbert, the “advisory” classes at Hillsdale were set up so that students could . 　　A) tell their teachers what they did on weekends 　　B) experience a great deal of pleasure in learning 　　C) maintain closer relationships with their teachers D) tackle the demanding biology and physics courses 8. is still considered a strength of Newsweek’s school ranking system in spite of the criticism it receives. 　　9. According to the 38 superintendents, to rank schools scientifically, it is necessary to use . 　　10. To better serve the children and our nation, schools students to take . 　　Part Ⅲ Listening Comprehension (35minutes) 　　Section A 　　Directions: in this section you will hear 8 short conversations, 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. During the pause, you must read the four choices marked A)、B)、C)and D)、and decide which is the best answer. Then mark the corresponding letter on Answer sheet 2 with a single line through the centre. 　　注意：此部分试题请在答案卡2上作案。 　　11. A) Trying to sketch a map C) Discussing a house plan. B) Painting the dining room. D) Cleaning the kitchen. 　　12. A) She is tired of the food in the canteen. 　　B) She often eats in a French restaurant. 　　C) She usually takes a snack in the KFC. D) She in very fussy about what she eats. 　　13. A) Listening to some loud music C) Talking loudly on the telephone. B) Preparing for as oral examination. D) Practicing for a speech contest. 　　14. A) The man has left a good impression on her family. 　　B) The man can dress casually for the occasion. 　　C) The man should buy himself a new suit. D) The man’s jeans and T-shirts are stylish. 　　15. A)Grey pants made from pure cotton. C) 100% cotton pants in dark blue. B) Fashionable pants in bright colors. D) Something to match her brown pants. 　　16. A) Its price. C) Its comfort. B) Its location D) Its facilities. 　　17. A) Travel overseas. C) Take a photo. B) Look for a new job. D) Adopt a child. 　　18. A)It is a routine offer. C)It is quite healthy. B) It is new on the menu. D)It is a good bargain. 　　Questions 19 to 22 are based on the conversation you . 　　19. A) Hosting an evening TV program. C) Lecturing on business management. B) Having her bicycle repaired. D) Conducting a market survey. 　　20. A) He repaired bicycles. C) He worked as a salesman. B) He served as a consultant. D) He coached in a racing club. 　　21. A) He wanted to be his own boss. 　　B) He found it more profitable 　　C) He didn’t want to start from scratch. D) He didn’t want to be in too much debt. 　　22. A) They work five days a week. C) They are paid by the hour. B) They are all the man’s friends. D) They all enjoy gambling. Questions 23 to 25 are based on the conversation you have just heard. 　　23. A) It has gradually given way to service industry. 　　B) It remains a major part of industrial activity. 　　C) It has a history as long as paper processing. D) It accounts for 80 percent of the region’s GDP. 　　24. A) Transport problems. C) Lack of resources. B) Shortage of funding. D) poor management. 　　25.A) Competition from rival companies. C) Possible locations for a new factory B) Product promotion campaigns. D) Measures to create job opportunities. 　　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 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).Then mark the corresponding letter on Answer sheet 2 with a single line through the centre. 　　注意：此部分试题请在答题卡2上作答。 　　Passage One Questions 26 to 28 are based on the passage you have just heard. 　　26. A) They shared mutual friends in school. 　　B) They had known each other since childhood. 　　C) They shared many extracurricular activities. D) They had many interests in common. 　　27. A) At a local club. B)At the sports center. 　　B) At Joe’s house. D)At the bearing school. 　　28. A) Durable friendships can be very difficult to maintain 　　B) One has to be respectful of other people in order to win respect. 　　C) It is hard for people from different backgrounds to become friends D) Social divisions will break down if people get to know each other 　　Passage Two Questions 29 to 31 are based as the passage you have just heart. 　　29. A) Near the entrance of a park. C) At a parking meter. B) In his building’s parking lot D)At a street corner. 　　30.A)It had been taken by the police C) In had been stolen by someone. B) it had keen moved to the next block. D ) it had been parked at a wrong place 　　31. A) At the Greenville center. C) In a neighboring town. B) At a public parking lot. D) In a the city garage. 　　Passage Three Questions 32 to 35 are based on the passage you have just heard. 　　32. A) Famous creative individuals. C) A major scientific discovery. B) The mysteriousness of creativity. D) Creativity as shown in arts. 　　33. A) It is something people all engage in. C) It starts soon after we are born. B) It helps people acquire knowledge. D) It is the source of all artistic work. 　　34. A) Creative imagination. C) Natural curiosity. B) Logical reasoning D) Critical thinking. 　　35. A) It is beyond ordinary people. C) It is part of everyday life. B) It is yet to be fully understood. D) It is a unique human trait. 　　Section C 　　Directions: In this section, you will hear a passage three times. When the passage is read for the first time, you should listen carefully for its general idea. When the passage is read for the second time, you are required to fill in the blanks numbered from 36 to 43 with the exact words you have just heard. For blanks numbered from 44 to 46 you are required to fill in the missing information. For these blanks you can other use the exact words you have just heard or write down the main points in your are words. Finally, when the passage is read for the third time, you should check what you have written. 　　注意：此部分试题请在答题卡2上作答。 　　Students have been complaining more and more a