2012年12月大学英语四级考试真题(试卷第一套)1四级原题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.SmallSchoolsRisingThisyear'slistofthetop100highschoolsshowsthattoday,thosewithfewerstudentsareflourishing.Fiftyyearsago,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.Sizeisn'teverything,butitdoesmatter,andthepastdecadehasseenanoticeablecountertrendtowardsmallerschools.Thishasbeendue,inpart,totheBillandMelindaGatesFoundation,whichhasinvested$1.8billioninAmericanhighschools,helpingtoopenabout1,000smallschools-mostofthemwithabout400kidseachwithanaverageenrollmentofonly150pergrade,About500moreareonthedrawingboard.Districtsalloverthecountryaretakingnotice,alongwithmayorsincitieslikeNewYork,ChicagoandSanDiego.Themovementincludesindependentpubliccharterschools,suchasNo.1BASISinTucson,withonly120high-schoolersand18graduatesthisyear.Itembracesdistrict-sanctionedmagnetschools,suchastheTalentedandGiftedSchool,with1982012年12月大学英语四级考试真题(试卷第一套)2students,andtheScienceandEngineeringMagnet,with383,whichshareabuildinginDallas,aswellastheCityHonorsSchoolinBuffalo,N.Y.,whichgrewoutofvolunteereveningseminarsforstudents.Anditincludesalternativeschoolswithstudentsselectedbylottery(抽签),suchasH-BWoodlawninArlington,Va.Andmostnoticeableofall,thereisthephenomenonoflargeurbanandsuburbanhighschoolsthathavesplitupintosmallerunitsofafewhundred,generallyhousedinthesamegroundsthatonceboastedthousandsofstudentsallmarchingtothesameband.HillsdaleHighSchoolinSanMateo,Calif,isoneofthose,rankingNo.423-amongthetop2%inthecountry-onNewsweek'sannualrankingofAmerica'stophighschools.Thesuccessofsmallschoolsisapparentinthelistings.Tenyearsago,whenthefirstNewsweeklistbasedoncollege-leveltestparticipationwaspublished,onlythreeofthetop100schoolshadgraduatingClassessmallerthan100students.Thisyearthereare22.Nearly250schoolsonthefull,Newsweeklistofthetop5%ofschoolsnationallyhadfewerthan200graduatesin2007.AlthoughmanyofHillsdale'sstudentscamefromwealthyhouseholds,bythelate1990averagetestscoreswereslidingandithadearnedtheunaffectionatenickname(绰号)Hillsjail.JeffGilbert.AHillsdaleteacherwhobecameprincipallastyear,rememberssittingwithotherteacherswatchingstudentsfileoutofagraduationceremonyandaskingoneanotherinastonishment,Howdidthatstudentgraduate?Soin2003Hillsdaleremadeitselfintothreehouses,romanticallynamedFlorence,MarrakechandKyoto.Eachofthe300arrivingninthgradersarerandomly(随机地)assignedtooneofthehouses.Wheretheywillkeepthesamefourcoresubjectteachersfortwoyears,beforemovingontoanotherfor11thand12thgrades.TheclosenessthissystemcultivatesisreinforcedbytheinstitutionofadvisoryclassesTeachersmeetwithstudentsingroupsof25,fivemorningsaweek,foropen-endeddiscussionsofeverythingfromhomeworkproblemstobadSaturday-nightdates.Theadvisersalsomeetwithstudentsprivatelyandstayintouchwithparents,sotheyaredeeplyinvestedinthestudents'success.We'reconstantlytalkingaboutoneanother'sadvisers,saysEnglishteacherChrisCrockett.Ifyouhearthatyoursisn'tdoingwellinmath,orseethemsittingoutsidethedean'soffice,it'slikeapersonalfailure.Alongwiththenewstructurecameamoredemandingacademicprogram,thepercentageoffreshmentakingbiologyjumpedfrom17to95.Itwasroughforsome.Butbysenioryear,two-thirdshavemoveduptophysics,saysGilbertOurkidsarecomingtoschoolinpartbecausetheyknowthereareadultsherewhoknowthemandcareforthem.Butnotallschoolsshowadvancesafterdownsizing,anditremainstobeseenwhethersmallerschoolswillbeacure-allsolution.TheNewsweeklistoftopU.S.highschoolswasmadethisyear,asinyearspast,accordingtoasinglemetric,theproportionofstudentstakingcollege-levelexams.Overtheyearsthissystemhascomeinforitsshareofcriticismforitssimplicity.Butthatisalso2012年12月大学英语四级考试真题(试卷第一套)3itsstrength:it'seasyforreaderstounderstand,andtodothearithmeticfortheirownschoolsifthey'dlike.Rankingschoolsisalwayscontroversial,andthisyearagroupof38su