大学英语六级考试试题册(2011年6月)PartIWriting(30minutes)Directions:Forthispart,youareallowed30minutestowriteashortessayentitledTheCertificateCraze.Youshouldwriteatleast150wordsfollowingtheoutlinegivenbelow.1.现在很多学生热衷于考证2.他们的目的各不相同3.在我看来TheCertificateCraze__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________PartIIReadingComprehension(SkimmingandScanning)(15minutes)Directions:Inthissectionyouwillhave15minutestogooverthepassagequicklyandanswerthequestionsonAnswerSheet1.Forquestions1-7,choosethebestanswerfromthefourchoicesmarkedA),B),C)andD).Forquestions8-10,completethesentenceswiththeinformationgiveninthepassage.MinorityReportAmericanuniversitiesareacceptingmoreminoritiesthanever.Graduatingthemisanothermatter.BarryMills,thepresidentofBowdoinCollege,wasjustifiablyproudofBowdoin’seffortstorecruitminoritystudents.Since2003thesmall,eliteliberalartsschoolinBrunswick,Maine,hasboostedtheproportionofso-calledunder-representedminoritystudentsinenteringfreshmanclassesfrom8%to13%.“Itisourresponsibilitytoreachoutandattractstudentstocometoourkindsofplaces,”hetoldaNEWSWEEKreporter.ButBowdoinhasnotdonequiteaswellwhenitcomestoactuallygraduatingminorities.While9outofl0whitestudentsroutinelygettheirdiplomaswithinsixyears,only7outofl0blackstudentsmadeittograduationdayinseveralrecentclasses.“Ifyoulookatwhoenterscollege,itnowlookslikeAmerica,”saysHilaryPennington,directorofpostsecondaryprogramsfortheBill&MelindaGatesFoundation,whichhascloselystudiedenrollmentpatternsinhighereducation.“Butifyoulookatwhowalksacrossthestageforadiploma,it’sstilllargelythewhite,upper-incomepopulation.”TheUnitedStatesoncehadthehighestgraduationrateofanynation.Nowitstands10th.ForthefirsttimeinAmericanhistory,thereistheriskthattherisinggenerationwillbelesswelleducatedthanthepreviousone.Thegraduationrateamong25-to34-year-oldsisnobetterthantherateforthe55-to64-year-oldswhoweregoingtocollegemorethan30yearsago.Studiesshowthatmoreandmorepoorandnon-whitestudentswanttograduatefromcollege—buttheirgraduationratesfallfarshortoftheirdreams.Thegraduationratesforblacks,Latinos,andNativeAmericanslagfarbehindthegraduationratesforwhitesandAsians.AstheminoritypopulationgrowsintheUnitedStates,lowcollegegraduationratesbecomeathreattonationalprosperity.Theproblemispronouncedatpublicuniversities.In2007theUniversityofWisconsin-Madison—oneofthetopfiveorsoprestigiouspublicuniversities—graduated81%ofitswhitestudentswithinsixyears,butonly56%ofitsblacks.Atless-selectivestateschools,thenumbersgetworse.Duringthesametimeframe,theUniversityofNorthernIowagraduated67%ofitswhitestudents,butonly39%ofitsblacks.Communitycollegeshavelowgraduationratesgenerally—butrockbottomratesforminorities.ArecentreviewofCaliforniacommunitycollegesfoundthatwhileathirdoftheAsianstudentspickeduptheirdegrees,only15%ofAfrican-Americansdidsoaswell.Privatecollegesanduniversitiesgenerallydobetter,partlybecausetheyoffersmallerclassesandmorepersonalattention.Butwhenitcomestoasignificantgraduationgap,Bowdoinhascompany.NearbyColbyCollegeloggedan18-pointdifferencebetweenwhiteandblackgraduatesin2007and25pointsin2006.MiddleburyCollegeinVermont,anothertopschool,hada19-pointgapin2007anda22-pointgapin2006.Themostselectiveprivateschools—Harvard,Yale,andPrinceton—showalmostnogapbetweenblackandwhitegraduationrates.Butthatmayhavemoretodowiththeirabilitytoselectthebeststudents.AccordingtodatagatheredbyHarvardLawSchoolprofessorLaniGuinier,themostselectiveschoolsarcmorelikelytochooseblackswhohaveatleastoneimmigrantparentfromAfricaortheCaribbeanthanblackstudentswhoaredescendantsofAmericanslaves.“Highereducationhasbeenabletoduckthisissueforyears,particularlythemoreselectiveschools,bysayingtheresponsibilityisontheindividualstudent,”saysPenningtonoftheGatesFoundation.“Iftheyfail,it’stheirfault.”Somecriticsblameaffirmativeaction—studentsadmittedwithlowertestscoresandgradesfromshakyhighschoolsoftenstruggleateliteschools.Butabiggerproblemmaybethatpoorhighschoolsoftensendtheirstudentstocollegesforwhichtheyare“undermatched”:theycouldgetintomoreelite,richerschools,butinsteadgotocommunitycollegesandlow-ratedstateschoolsthatlacktheresourcestohelpthem.Someschoolsoutforprofitcynicallyincreasetuitionsandcountonstudentloansandfederalaidtofootthebill—knowingfullwellthatthestudentswon’tmakeit.“Theschoolkeepsthemoney,butthekidleaveswithloadsofdebtandnodegreeandnoabilitytogetabetterjob.Collegesarenotholdinguptheirend,”saysAmyWilkinsoftheEducationTrust.Acollegeeducationisgettingevermoreexpensive.Since1982tuitionshavebeenrisingatroughlytwicetherateofinflation.In2008thenetcostofattendingafour-yearpublicuniversity—afterfinancialaid—equaled28%ofmedian(中间的)familyincome,whileafour-yearprivateuniversitycost76%ofmedianfamilyincome.Moreandmorescholarshipsarebasedonmerit,notneed.Poorerstudentsarenotalwaysthebest-informedconsumers.Oftentheywindupdeeplyindebtorsimplyunabletopayafterayearortwoandmustdropout.Thereoncewasatimewhenuniversitiestookprideintheirdropoutrates.Professorswouldbegintheye