2015年6月大学英语四级考试真题

2015年6月大学英语四级考试真题SectionBDirections:Inthissection,youaregoingtoreadapassagewithtenstatementsattavchedtoit.Eachstatementcontainsinformationgiveninoneoftheparagraphs.Identifytheparagraphfromwhichtheinformationisderived.Youmaychooseaparagraphmorethanonce.Eachparagraphismarkedwithaletter.AnswerthequestionbymarkingthecorrespondingletteronAnswerSheet2Essay-grandingSoftwareOfficersProfessorsaBreakImaginetakingacollegeexam,andinsteadofhandinginabluebookandgettingagradefromaprofessoerafewweekslater,clickingthe“send”buttonwhenyouaredoneandreceivingagradebackinstantly,youressayscoredbyasoftwareprogram.Andthen,insteadofbeingdonewiththeexam,imaginethatthesystemwouldimmediatelyletyourewritethetesttotrytoimproveyourgrade.Edx,thenonprofitenterprisefoundedbyHarvardandtheMassachusettsInstituteofThnology(MIT)tooffercoursesontheInternet,hasjustintroducedsuchasystemandwillmakeitsautomated(自动的)softwareavailablefreeontheWebtoanyinstitutioonsthatwantstouseit.Thesoftwareusesartificialintelligencetogradestudentessaysandshortwrittenanswers,freeingprofessorsforothertasks.Thenewservicewillbringtheeducationalconsortium（联盟）intoagrowingconflictovertheroleoftheautomationeducation.Altoughautomatedgradingsystemsformultiple-choiceandtrue-falsetestsarenowwidespread,theuseofartificialintelligencetechnologytogradeessayanswershasnotyetprovidedwidespreadacceptancebyeducationsandhasmanycritics.AnantAgarwal,anelectricalengineerwhoispresidentofEdx,predictedthattheinstantgradingsoftwarewouldbeausefulteachingtool,enablingstudentstotaketestsandwriteessaysoverandoverandimprovethequalityoftheiranswers.Hesaidthetechnologywouldofferdistinctadvantagesoverthetraditionalclassroomsystem,wherestudentsoftenwaitdaysorweeksforgrades.“Thersisahugevalueinlearningwithinstantfeedback,”Dr.Agarwalsaid,“Studentsaretellingustheylearnmuchbetterwithinstantfeedback.”Butskeptics（怀疑者）saytheautomatedsystemisnomatterforliveteachers.Onelongtimecritic,LesPerelman,hasdrawnnationalattentionseveraltimesforputtingtogethernonsenseessaysthathavefooledsoftwaregradingprogramsintogivinghighmarks.Hehasalsobeenhighlycriticalofstudiesclaimingthatthesoftwarecompareswelltohumangrades.Heisamongagroupofeducatorswholastmonthbegancirculatingapetition（呼吁）opposingautomatedassessmentsoftware.Thegroup,whichcallsitselfProfessionalsAgainstMachineScoringofStudentEssaysinHigh-StakesAssessment,hascollectednearly2,000signatures,includingsomefromfamouspeoplelikeNoamChomsky."Let'sfacetherealitiesofautomaticessayscoring,”thegroup'sstatementreadsinpart."Computerscannot'read'.Theycannotmeasuretheessentialsofeffectivewrittencommunication:accuracy,reasoning,adequacyofevidence,goodsense,ethical（伦理）position,convincingargument,meaningfulorganization,andclarity,amongothers.”ButEdXexpertsitssoftwaretobewidelybyschoolsanduniversities.ItoffersfreeonlineclassesfromHarvard,MITandtheUniversityofCalifornia-Berkeley;thisfall,itwilladdclassesfromWellesley,GeogetownandtheUniversityofTexas.Inall,12universitiesparticipateinEdX,whichofferscertificatesforcoursecompletionandhassaidthatitplanstocontinuetoexpandnextyear,includingaddinginternationalschools.TheEdXassessmenttoolrequireshumanteachers,orgraders100essayoressayquestions.Thesystemthenusesavarietyofmachine-learningtechniquestotrainitselftobeabletogradeanynumberofessaysoranswersautomaticallyandalmostinstantly.Thesoftwarewillassignagradedependingonthescoringsystemcreatedbytheteacher,whetheritisalettergradeornumerical（数字的）rank.Edxisnotthefirsttousetheautomatedassessmenttechnology,whichdatestoearlycomputersinthe1960s.thereisnowarangeofcompaniesofferingcommercialprogramstogradewrittentestanswers,andfourstates—Louisiana,NorthDakota,UtahandWestVirginia—areusingsomeformofthetechnologyinsecondschools.Afifth,Indiana,hasexperimentedwithit.Insomecasesthesoftwareisusedasa“secondreader”,tocheckthereliabilityofthehumangraders.ButthegrowinginfluenceoftheEdxconsortiumtosetstandardsislikelytogivethetechnologyaboost.OnTuesday,StanfordannouncedthatitwouldworkwithEdXtodevelopajointeducationalsystemthatwillmakeuseoftheautomatedassessmenttechnology.Twostart-ups,CourseraandUdacity,recentlyfoundedbyStanfordfacultymemberstocreate“massiveopenonlinecourses,”orMOOCs,arealsocommittedtoautomatedassessmentsystemsbecauseofthevalueofinstantfeedback.“itallowsstudentstogetimmediatefeedbackontheirwork,sothatlearningturnsintoagame,withstudentsnaturallygravitating（吸引）towardresubmittingtheworkuntiltheygetitright,”saidDaphneKoller,acomputerscientistandafounderofCoursera.LastyeartheHewlettFoundation,agrant-makingorganizationsetupbyoneoftheHewlett-Packardfoundersandhiswife,sponsoredtwo$100,000Prizesaimedatimprovingsoftwarethatgradesessayandshortanswers.Morethan150teamsenteredeachcategory.AwinnerofoneoftheHewlettcontents,VikParuchurtwashiredbyEdXtohelpdesignitsassessmentsoftware.“Oneofourfocusistohelpkidslearnhowtothinkcritically,”saidVuchic,aprogramofficerattheHewlettFoundation.“Ifsprobablyimpossibletodothatwithmultiple-choicetests”.Thechallengeisthatthisrequireshumangraders,andsotheycostalotmoreandtheytakealotofmoretime.MarkD.Shermis,aprofessorattheUniversityofAkroninOhio,supervisedtheHewlettFoundation'scontestonautomatedessayscoringandwroteapaperabouttheexperiment.Inhisview,thetechnology一thoughimperfect-hasaplaceineducationalsettings.Withincreasinglargeclass,itisimpossibleformostteacherstogivestudentsmeaningfulfeedbackonwritingassignments,hesaidPlus,henoted,criticsofthetechnologyhavetendedtocomefromthenation'sbestuniversities,wherethelevelofteachingismuchbetterthanatmostschools.“Oftentheycomefromveryfamousinstitutionswhere,infact,theydoamuchbetterjobofprovidingfeedbackthanamachineovercould,”Dr.Shermissaid.“Thereseemstobealackofappreciationofwhatisactuallygoingonintherealworld.”注意：此部分试题请在答题卡2上作答。Someprofessorsineducationarecollectingsignaturestovoicetheiroppositiontoautomatedessaygrading.usingsoftwaretogradestudents5essaysavesteacherstimeforotherwork.theHewlettcontestsaimatimprovingessaygradingsoftware.Thoughtheautomatedgradingsystemiswidelyusedinmultiple-choicetests,automatedessaygradingisstillcriticizedbymanyeducators.Somepeopledon'tbelievethesoftwaregradingsystemcandoasgoodajobashumangraders.Criticsofautomatedessayscoringdonotseemtoknowthetruerealitiesinlesesfamousuniversity.Criticsarguemanyimportantaspectsofeffectivewritingcannotmeasuredbycomputerratingprograms.Asclasssizegrows,mostteachersareunabletogivestudentvaluablecommentsastohowtoimprovetheirwriting.Theautomatedassessmenttechnologyissometimesusedtodoublechecktheworkofhumangraders.Studentsfindinstantfeedbackhelpstheirlearningconsiderably.SectionCDirections:Thereare2passagesinthissection.Eachpassageisfollowedbysomequestionsorunfinishedstatements.ForeachofthemtherearefourchoicesmarkedA),B),C)andD).YoushoulddecideonthebestchoiceandmarkthecorrespondingletteronAnswerSheet2withasinglelinethroughthecenter.PassageOneQuestion56to60arebasedonthefollowingpassage.Acrosstherichworld,well-educatedpeopleincreasinglyworklongerthantheless-skilled.Some65%ofAmericanmenaged62-74withaprofessionaldegreeareintheworkforce,comparedwith32%ofmenwithonlyahigh-schoolcertificate.Thisgapispartofadeepeningdividebetweenthewell-educationwelloffandtheunskilledpoor.Rapidtechnologicaladvancehasraisedtheincomesofthehighlyskilledwhilesqueezingthoseoftheunskilled.Theconsequences,forindividualandsociety,areprofound.Theworldisfacingasastonishingriseinthenumberofoldpeople,andtheywilllivelongerthaneverbefore.Overthenext20yearstheglobalpopulationofthoseaged65ormorewillalmostdouble,from600millionto1.1billion.Theexperienceofthe20thcentury,whengreaterlongevity（长寿）translatedintomoreyearsinretirementratherthanmoreyearsatwork,haspersuadedmanyobserversthatthisshiftwillleadtoslowereconomicgrowth,whiletheswellingranksofpensionerswillcreategovernmentbudgetproblems.Butthenotionofasharpdivisionbetweentheworkingyoungandtheidleoldmissesanewtrend,thegrowinggapbetweentheskilledandtheunskilled.Employmentratesarefallingamongyoungerunskilledpeople,whereasolderskilledfolkareworkinglonger.ThedivideismostextremeinAmerica,wherewell-educatedbaby-boomers（二战后生育高峰期出生的美国人）areputtingoffretirementwhilemanyless-skilledyoungerpeoplehavedroppedoutoftheworkforce.Thateventhebetter-offmustworklongertohaveacomfortableretirement.Butthechangingnatureofworkalsoplaysabigrole.Payhasrisensharplyforthehighlyeducated,andthosepeoplecontinuetoreaprichrewardsintooldagebecausethesedaystheeducatedelderlyaremoreproductivethantheprecedinggeneration.Technologicalchangemaywellreinforcethatshift:theskillsthatcomplementcomputers,frommanagementknowhowtocreativity.Donotnecessarilydeclinewithage.注意：此部分试题请在答题卡2上作答。56、whatishappeningintheworkforceinrichcountries?youngerpeoplearereplacingtheelderlywell-educatedpeopletendtoworklongerunemploymentratesarerisingyearafteryearpeoplewithnocollegedegreedonoteasilyfindwork57、whathashelpeddeepenthedividebetweenthewell-offandpoor?LongerlifeexpectanciesProfoundchangesintheworkforcerapidtechnologicaladvance.Agrowingnumberofwell-graduated.58、whatdomanyobserverspredictinviewoftheexperienceofthe20thcentury?Economicgrowthwillslowdown.Governmentbudgetswillincrease.MorepeoplewilltrytopursuehighereducationTherewillbemorecompetitioninthejobmarket.59、WhatistheresultofpolicychangesinEuropeancountries?Unskilledworkersmaychoosetoretireearly.morepeoplehavetoreceivein-servicetraining.Evenwealthypeoplemustworklongertolivecomfortablyinretirement.Peoplemaybeabletoenjoygenerousdefined-benefitsfrompensionplans.60、Whatischaracteristicofworkinthe21stcentury?Computerswilldomorecomplicatedwork.Morewillbetakenbytheeducatedyoung.Mostjobstobedonewillbecreativeones.Skillsarehighlyvaluedregardlessofage.PassageTwoQuestions61-65arebasedonthefollowingpassage.Someoftheworld'smostsignificantproblemsneverhitheadlines.Oneexamplecomesfromagriculture.Foodriotsandhungermakenews.Butthetrendlyingbehindthesemattersisrarelytalkedabout.Thisisthedeclineinthegrowthinyieldsofsomeoftheworld'smajorcrops.AnewstudybytheUniversityofMinnesotaandMcGillUniversityinMontreallooksatwhere,andhowfar,thisdeclineisoccurring.Theauthorstakeavastnumberofdatapointsforthefourmostimportantcrops:rice,wheatcornandsoybeans（大豆）.Theyfindthatonbetween24%and39%ofallharvestedareas,theimprovementinyieldsthattoodplacebeforethe1980ssloweddowninthe1990sand2000s.Therearetwoworryingfeaturesoftheslowdown.Oneisthatithasbeenparticularlysharpintheworld'smostpopulous（人□多的）countries,IndiaandChina.Theirabilitytofeedthemselveshasbeenanimportantsourceofrelativestabilitybothwithinthecountriesandonworldfoodmarkets.Thatself-sufficiencycannotbetakenforgrantedifyieldscontinuetoslowdownorreverse.Second,yieldgrowthhasbeenlowerinwheatandricethanincornandsoyabeans.Thisisproblematicbecausewheatandricearemoreimportantasfoods,accountingforaroundhalfofallcaloriesconsumed.Cornandsoyabeansaremoreimportantasfeedgrains.Theauthorsnotethat“wehavepreferentiallyfocusedourcropimprovementeffortsonfeedinganimalsandcarsratherthanoncropsthatfeedpeopleandarethebasisoffoodsecurityinmuchoftheworld.”Thereportqualifiesthemoreoptimisticfindingsofanothernewpaperwhichsuggeststhattheworldwillnothavetodigupalotmorelandforfarminginordertofeed9billionpeoplein2050,astheFoodandAgricultureOrganisationhasargued.Instead,itsays,thankstoslowingpopulationgrowth,landcurrentlyploughtedupforcropsmightbeabletorevert(回返)toforestorwilderness.Thiscouldhappen.Thetroubleisthattheforecastassumescontinuedimprovementsinyields,whichmaynotactuallyhappen.注意:此部分试题请在答题卡2上作答。.Whatdoestheauthortrytodrawattentionto?A)Foodriotsandhungerintheworld.C)Thedeclineofthegrainyieldgrowth.B)Newsheadlinesintheleadingmedia.D)Thefoodsupplyinpopulouscountries..WhydoestheauthormentionIndiaandChinainparticular?A)Theirself-sufficiencyisvitaltothestabilityofworldfoodmarkets.B)Theirfoodyieldshavebeguntodec