2007年12月英语四级真题及答案

1/272007年12月英语四级考试真题及答案PartⅠWriting(30minutes)注意：此部分试题在答题卡1上。Directions:Forthispart,youareallowedthirtyminutestowriteacompositiononthetopicWhatElectivesToChoose.Youshouldwriteatleast120wordsaccordingtotheoutlinegivenbelowinChinese:1.各学校开了各种各样的选修课2.学生选课有不同的原因3.就我而言WhatElectivesToChoosePartⅡRadingcomprehension(Skimmingandscanning)(15minutes)Directions:Inthispart,youwillhave15minutestogooverthepasssagequicklyandanswerthequestionsonAnswerSheet1.Forquestions1-7,choosethebestanswerfromthefourchoicesmarkedA),B),C)andD).Forquestions8-10,completethesentenceswiththeinformationgiveninthepassage.UniveraitiesBranchOutAsneverbeforeintheirlongstory,universitieshavebecomeinstrumentsofnationalcompetitionaswellasinstrumentsofpeace.Theyaretheplaceofthescientificdiscoveriesthatmoveeconomiesforward,andtheprimarymeansofeducatingthetalentrequiredtoobtainandmaintaincompetitiveadvantages.Butatthesametime,theopeningofnationalborderstotheflowofgoods,services,informationandespeciallypeoplehasmadeuniversitiesapowerfulforceforglobalintegration,mutualunderstandingandgeopoliticalstability.2/27Inresponsetothesameforcesthathavedriventheworldeconomy,universitieshavebecomeMoreself-consciousyglobal:seekingstudentsfromaroundtheworldwhorepresenttheentirerangeofculturesandvalues,sendingtheirownstudentsabroadtopreparethemforglobalcareers,offeringcoursesofstudythataddressthechallengesofaninterconnectedworldandcollaborative（合作的）researchprogramstoadvancescienceforthebenefitofallhumanity.Oftheforcesshapinghighereducationnoneismoresweepingthanthemovementacrossborders.Overthepastthreedecadesthenumberofstudentsleavinghomeeachyeartostudyabroadhasgrownatanannualrateof3.0percent,from8000,000in1975to2.5millionin2994.Mosttravelfromonedevelopednationtoanother,buttheflowfromdevelopingtodevelopedcountriesidgrowingrapidly.Thereverseflow,fromdevelopedtodevelopingcountries,isontherise,too.Todayforeignstudentsearn30percentofthedoctoraldegreesawardedintheUnitedStatesand38percentofthoseintheUnitedKingdom.Andthenumbercrossingbordersforundergraduatestudyisgrowingaswell,to8percentoftheundergraduatesatAmerica’sbestinstitutionsand10percentofallundergraduatesintheU.K.IntheUnitedStates,20percentofthenewlyhiredprofessorsinscienceandengineeringareforeign-born,andinChinamanynewlyhiredfacultyhiredfacultymembersatthetopresearchuniversitiesreceivedtheirgraduateeducationabroad.Universitiesarealsoencouragingstudentstospendsomeoftheirundergraduateyearsinanothercountry.InEurope,morethan140,000studentsparticipateintheErasmusprogrameachyear,takingcoursesforcreditinoneof2,2000participatinginstitutionsacrossthecontinent.AndintheUnitedStates,institutionsarehelpingplacestudentsinsummerinternships（实习）abroadtopreparethemforglobalcareers.YaleandHarvardhaveledtheway,offeringeveryundergraduateatleastoneinternationalstudyorinternshipopportunityandprovidingthefinancialresourcestomakeitpossible.Globalizationisalsoreshapingthewayresearchisdone.Onenewtrendinvolvessourcingportionsofaresearchprogramtoanothercountry.YaleprofessorandHowardHughesMedicalShanghai’sFudanUniversity,incollaborationwithfacultycolleaguesfrombothschools.TheShanghaicenterhas95employeesandgraduatestudentsworkingina4,300-square-meterlaboratoryseminarswithscientistsfrombothcampuses.Thearrangementbenefitsbothcountries;Xu’sYalelabismoreproductive,thankstothelowercostsofconducingfromaword-classscientistandhisU.S.team.Asaresultofitsstrengthinscience,theUnitedStateshasconsistentlyledoftheworldintheworldinthecommercializationofmajornewtechnologies,fromthemainframecomputerandintegratedcircuitof3/27the1960stotheinternetinfrastructure(基础设施)andapplicationssoftwareofthe1990s.Thelinkbetweenuniversity-basedscienceandindustrialapplicationisoftenindirectbutsometimeshighlyvisible:SiliconValleywasintentionallycreatedbyStanfordUniversity,andRoute128outsideBostonhaslonghousedcompaniesspunofffromMITandHarvard.Aroundtheworld,governmentshaveencouragedcopyingofhismodel,perhapsmostsuccessfullyinCambridge,England,whereMicrosoftandscoresofotherleadingsoftwareandbiotechnologycompanieshavesetupshoparoundtheuniversity.Forallitssuccess,theUnitedStatesremainsdeeplyhesitantaboutsustainingtheresearchuniversitymodel.MostpoliticianrecognizethelinkbetweeninvestmentinscienceandnationalEconomicstrength,butsupportforresearchfundinghasbeenunsteady.ThebudgetoftheNationalInstitutesofHealthdoubledbetween1998and2003,buthasrisenmoreslowlythaninflationssincethen.Supportforthephysicalsciencesandengineeringbarelykeptpacewithinflationduringthatsameperiod.Theattempttomakeuplostgroundiswelcome,butthenationwouldbebetterservedbysteady,predictableincreasesinsciencefundingattherateoflong-termGDPgrowth,whichisontheorderofinflationplus3percentperyear.Americanpoliticianshavegreatdifficultyrecognizingthatadmittingmoreforeignstudentscangreatlypromotethenationalinterestbyincreasinginternationalunderstanding.Adjustedforinflation,publicfundingforinternationalexchangesandforeign-languagestudyiswellbelowthelevelsof40yearsago.InthewakeofSeptember11,changesinthevisaprocesscausedadramaticdeclineinthe