搜索
2009年12月大学英语四级考试试题(一)Totalscore:710Totaltimeallowed:125minutesPartIWriting(30minutes)Directions:Forthispart,youareallowed30minutestowriteanessayentitledCreatingaGreenCampus.Youshouldwriteatleast120wordsfollowingtheoutlinebelowinChinese:1.建设绿色校园很重要2.绿色校园不仅指绿色的环境……3.为了建设绿色校园，我们应该……PartIIReadingComprehension(SkimmingandScanning)(15minutes)Directions:Inthispart,youwillhave15minutestogooverthepassagequicklyandanswerthequestionsonAnswerSheet1.Forquestions1-7,choosethebestanswerfromthefourchoicesmarked[A],[B],[C]and[D].Forquestions8-10,completethesentenceswiththeinformationgiveninthepassage.Collegestakeanotherlookatvalueofmerit-basedaidGoodgradesandhightestscoresstillmatter—alot—manycollegesastheyawardfinancialaid.Butwithlow-incomestudentsprojectedtomakeupanever-largershareofthecollege-boundpopulationincomingyears,someschoolsarere-examiningwhetherthataid,typicallyknownas“meritaid”,isthemosteffectiveuseofpreciousinstitutionaldollars.GeorgeWashingtonUniversityinWashington,D.C.,forexample,saidlastweekthatitwouldcutthevalueofitsaveragemeritscholarshipsbyaboutone-thirdandreducethenumberofrecipients(接受者),pouringthesavings,about$2.5million,intoneed-basedaid.AlleghenyCollegeinMeadville,Pa.,madeasimilardecisionthreeyearsago.Now,HamiltonCollegeinClinton,N.Y.,saysitwillphaseoutmeritscholarshipsaltogether.Nocurrentmerit-aidrecipientswilllosetheirscholarships,butneed-basedaidalonewillbeawardedbeginningwithstudentsenteringinfall2008.Notallcollegesoffermeritaid;generally,themoreselectiveaschool,thelesslikelyitistodoso.HarvardandPrinceton,forexample,offergenerousneed-basedpackages,butmanyfamilieswhodon’tmeetneedeligibility(资格)havebeenwillingtopaywhatevertheymustforabig-nameschool.Forsmallregionalcollegesthatstrugglejusttofillseats,meritaidcanbeanimportantrevenue-builderbecausemanyrecipientsstillpayenoughtuitiondollarsoverandabovethescholarshipamounttokeeptheinstitutionrunning.Butforrankings-consciousschoolsinbetween,meritaidhasservedprimarilyasatooltorecruittopstudentsandtoimprovetheiracademicprofiles.“They’retryingtobuystudents,”saysSkidmoreCollegeeconomistSandyBaum.Studiesshowmeritaidalsotendstobenefitdisproportionatelystudentswhocouldaffordtoenrollwithoutit.“Aswelooktothefuture,weseeamorepressingneedtoinvestinneed-baseaid,”saysMonicaInzer,deanofadmissionandfinancialaidatHamilton,whichhasofferedmeritscholarshipsfor10years.Duringthattime,itroseinUSNews&WorldReport’srankingofthebestliberalartscolleges,from25to17.Meritaid,whichbenefitedabout75studentsayear,orabout4%ofitsstudentbody,atacostofabout$1millionayear,“serveduswell,”Inzersays,but“tobediscountingthepriceforfamiliesthatdon’tneedfinancialaiddoesn’tfeelrightanymore.”Need-basedaidremainsbyfarthelargestshareofallstudentsaid,whichincludesstate,federalandinstitutionalgrants.Butmeritaid,offeredprimarilybyschoolsandstates,isgrowingfaster,bothoverallandattheinstitutionallevel.Between1995-96and2003-04,institutionalmeritaidaloneincreased212%,comparedwith47%forneed-basedgrants,.Atleast15statesalsooffermeritaid,typicallyinabidtoenrolltopstudentsinthestate’spublicinstitutions.Butinrecentyears,agrowingchorus(异口同声)ofcriticshasbegunpressuringschoolstodropthepractice.RecentdecisionsbyHamiltonandothersmaybe“asignthatpeoplearestartingtorealizethatthere’sthisdestructivecompetitiongoingon.”SaysBaum,co-authorofarecentCollegeReportthatraisesconcernsabouttheroleofinstitutionalaidnotbasedonneed.Davidlaird,presidentoftheMinnesotaPrivateCollegeCouncil,saysmanyofhisschoolswouldliketoreducetheirmeritaidbutfearthatindoingso,theywouldlosetopstudentstotheircompetitors.“Noonecantakeone-sidedaction,”saysLaird,whoisexploringwhethertoseekanexemption(豁免)fromfederalanti-trustlawssomembercollegescandiscusshowtheycouldjointlyreducemeritaid.“Thisisamerry-go-roundthat’sgoingveryfast,andnoneoftheinstitutionsbelievetheycansustaintherisksoftryingtobreakawaybythemselves.Acomplicatingfactoristhatmeritaidhasbecomesopopularwithmiddle-incomefamilies,whodon’tqualifyforneed-basedaid,thatmanyhavecometodependonit.And,astuitionscontinuetoincrease,thelinebetweenmeritandneedblurs.ThatisonereasonAlleghenyCollegedoesn’tplantodropmeritaidentirely.“Westillbelieveinrewardingsuperiorachievementsandknowthatthesetopstudentstrulyvaluethescholarship,”saysScottFriedhoff,Allegheny’svicepresidentforenrollment.EmoryUniversityinAtlanta,whichboastsa$4.7billionendowment(捐赠),meanwhile,istakinganotherapproach.Thisyear,itannounceditwouldeliminateloansforneedystudentsandcapthemformiddle-incomefamilies.Atthesametime,itwouldexpandits28-year-oldmeritprogram.“Yean,we’replayingthemeritgame,”acknowledgesTomLancaster,associatedeanforundergraduateeducation.Butithasitsstrongpoints,too,hesays.“Thefactofthematteris,it’snotjustaboutthelowest-incomepeople.It’stheaverageAmericanmiddle-classfamilywho’sbeingpricedoutofthemarket.”*Afewwordsaboutmerit-basedaid:Merit-basedaidisaidofferedtostudentswhoachieveexcellenceinagivenarea,andisgenerallyknownasacademic,athleticandartisticmeritscholarships.Academicmeritscholarshipsarebasedonstudents’grades,GPAandoverallacademicperf