2009年12月英语四级真题及答案

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2009 年 12 月英语四级真题及答案

　　Part Ⅰ Writing (30 minutes)

　　注意：此部分试题在答题卡 1 上。

　　 Directions: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write a short

essay on the topic of Creating a Green Campus. You should write at least 120

words following the outline given below:

　　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……

　　Creating a Green Campus

　　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 question 8-

10, complete the sentences with the information given in the passage.

Colleges taking another look at value of merit-based aid

　　Good grades and high tests scores still matter—a lot—to many colleges as

they award financial aid.

　　But with low-income students projected to make up an ever-larger share of

the college-bound population in coming years, some schools are re-examining

whether that aid, typically known as “merit aid”, is the most effective use

of precious institutional dollars.

　　 George Washington University in Washington, D.C., for example, said last

week that it would cut the value of its average merit scholarships by about

one-third and reduce the number of recipients( 接受者 ), pouring the savings,

about $2.5 million, into need-based aid. Allegheny College in Meadville, Pa.,

made a similar decision three years ago.

　　 Now, Hamilton College in Clinton, N.Y., says it will phase out merit

scholarships altogether. No current merit-aid recipients will lose their

scholarships, but need-based aid alone will be awarded beginning with students

entering in fall 2008.

　　Not all colleges offer merit aid; generally, the more selective a school,

the less likely it is to do so. Harvard and Princeton, for example, offer

generous need-based packages, but many families who don’t meet need

eligibility( 资格 )have been willing to pay whatever they must for a big-name

school.

　　For small regional colleges that struggle just to fill seats, merit aid can

be an important revenue-builder because many recipients still pay enough

tuition dollars over and above the scholarship amount to keep the institution

running.

　　 But for rankings-conscious schools in between, merit aid has served

primarily as a tool to recruit top students and to improve their academic

profits. “They’re trying to buy students,” says Skidmore College economist

Sandy Baum.

　　 Studies show merit aid also tends to benefit disproportionately students

who could afford to enroll without it.

　　“As we look to the future, we see a more pressing need to invest in need-

based aid,” says Monica Inzer, dean of admission and financial aid at

Hamilton, which has offered merit scholarships for 10 years. During that time,

it rose in US News & World Report’s ranking of the best liberal arts colleges,

from 25 to 17.

　　 Merit aid, which benefited about 75 students a year, or about 4% of its

student body, at a cost of about $ 1 million a year, “served us well,” Inzer

says, but “to be discounting the price for families that don’t need financial

aid doesn’t feel right any more.”

　　Need-based aid remains by far the largest share of all student aid, which

includes state, federal and institutional grants. But merit aid, offered

primarily by schools and states, is growing faster, both overall and at the

institutional level.

　　Between 1995-96 and 2003-04, institutional merit aid alone increased 212%,

compared with 47% for need-based grants. At least 15 states also offer merit

aid, typically in a bid to enroll top students in the state’s public

institutions.

　　 But in recent years, a growing chorus( 异口同声 )of critics has begun

pressuring schools to drop the practice. Recent decisions by Hamilton and

others may be “a sign that people are starting to realize that there’s this

destructive competition going on,” says Baum, co-author of a recent College

Report that raises concerns about the role of institutional aid not based on

need.

　　David Laird, president of the Minnesota Private College Council, says many

of his schools would like to reduce their merit aid but fear that in doing so,

they would lose top students to their competitors.

　　“No one can take one-sided action,” says Laird, who is exploring whether

to seek an exemption(豁免)from federal anti-trust laws so member colleges can

discuss how they could jointly reduce merit aid, “This is a merry-go-round

that’s going very fast, and none of the institutions believe they can sustain

the risks of trying to break away by themselves.”

　　A complicating factor is that merit aid has become so popular with middle-

income families, who don’t qualify for need-based aid, that many have come to

depend on it. And, as tuitions continue to increase, the line between merit and

need blurs.

　　 That’s one reason Allegheny College doesn’t plan to drop merit aid

entirely.

　　“We still believe in rewarding superior achievements and know that these

top students truly value the scholarship,” says Scott Friedhoff, Allegheny’s

vice president for enrollment.

　　Emory University in Atlanta, which boasts a $4.7 billion endowment( 捐赠),

meanwhile, is taking another approach. This year, it announced it would

eliminate loans for needy students and cap them for middle-income families. At

the same time, it would expand its 28-year-old merit program.

　　 “ Yeah, we’re playing the merit game,” acknowledges Tom Lancaster,

associate dean for undergraduate education. But it has its strong point, too,

he says. “The fact of the matter is, it’s not just about the lowest-income

people. It’s the average American middle-class family who’s being priced out

of the market.”

　　*A few words about merit-based aid:

　　 Merit-based aid is aid offered to students who achieve excellence in a

given area, and is generally known as academic, athletic and artistic merit

scholarships.

　　Academic merit scholarships are based on students’ grades, GPA and overall

academic performance during high school. They are typically meant for students

going straight to college right after high school. However, there are

scholarships for current college students with exceptional grades as well.

These merit scholarships usually help students pay tuition bills, and they can

be renewed each year as long as the recipients continue to qualify. In some

cases, students may need to be recommended by their school or a teacher as part

of the qualification process.

　　 Athletic merit scholarships are meant for students that excel( 突出 )in

sports of any kind, from football to track and field events. Recommendation for

these scholarships is required, since exceptional athletic performance has to

be recognized by a coach or a referee(裁判). Applicants need to send in a tape

containing their best performance.

　　 Artistic merit scholarships require that applicants excel in a given

artistic area. This generally includes any creative field such as art, design,

fashion, music, dance or writing. Applying for artistic merit scholarships

usually requires that students submit a portfolio( 选辑 )of some sort, whether

that includes a collection of artwork, a recording of a musical performance or

a video of them dancing.

　　 1. With more and more low-income students pursuing higher education, a

number of colleges are ________.

　　A) offering students more merit-based aid B) revising their financial aid

policies

　　 C) increasing the amount of financial aid D) changing their admission

processes

　　2. What did Allegheny College in Meadville do three years ago?

　　A) It tried to implement a novel financial aid program.

　　B) It added $ 2.5 million to its need-based aid program.

　　C) It phased out its merit-based scholarships altogether.

　　D) It cuts its merit-based aid to help the needy students.

　　3. The chief purpose of rankings-conscious colleges in offering merit aid

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