四级阅读冲刺.docx

四级阅读冲刺.docx

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四级阅读冲刺

四级阅读高分冲刺

PartlIIReadingComprehension（40minutes）

SectionA

Questions36to45arebasedonthefollowingpassage.

Togetasenseofhowwomenhaveprogressedinscience,takeaquicktourofthephysicsdepartmentattheUniversityofCalifornia,Berkeley.Thisisastoriedplace,the__36__ofsomeofthemostimportantdiscoveriesinmodernscience-startingwithErnestLawrence'sinventionofthecyclotron（回旋加速器）in1931.Agenerationago,femalefaceswere__37__and,eventoday,visitorswalkingthroughthefirstfloorofLeConteHallwillseeafullcorridorofexhibits__38__themanydistinguishedphysicistswhomadehistoryhere.__39__allofthemwhitemales.

Butclimbuptothethirdfloorandyou'llseea__40__display.There,amongthephotosofcurrentfacultymembersandstudents,areportraitsofthe__41__headofthedepartment,MarjorieShapiro,andfourotherwomenwhoseresearch__42__everythingfromthemechanicsoftheuniversetothesmallestparticlesofmatter.Asixthwomanwashiredjusttwoweeksago.Althoughthey'restillonlyabout10percentofthephysicsfaculty,womenareclearlyapresencehere.Andthereal__43__maybeinthesmallerphotostotheright:

graduateandundergraduatestudents,about20percentofthemfemale.EveryyearBerkeleysendsitsfreshfemalephysicsPhDstothecountry'stopuniversities.ThatmakesShapirooptimistic,butalso__44__."Ibelievethingsaregettingbetter,"shesays,"butthey'renotgettingbetteras__45__asIwouldlike."

IsCollegeaWorthyInvestment?

A）Whyarewespendingsomuchmoneyoncollege?

Andwhyarewesounhappyaboutit?

Weallseemtoagreethatacollegeeducationiswonderful,andyetstrangelyweworrywhenweseefamiliesinvestingsomuchinthissupposedlyessentialgood.Maybeit'stimetoaskaquestionthatseemsalmostsacrilegious（大不敬的）:

isallthisinvestmentincollegeeducationreallyworthit?

B）Theanswer,Ifear,isno.Foranincreasingnumberofkids,theextratimeandmoneyspentpursuingacollegediplomawillleavethemworseoffthantheywerebeforetheysetfootoncampus.

C）Formyentireadultlife,agoodeducationhasbeenthemostimportantthingformiddle-classhouseholds.Myparentsspentmoreeducatingmysisterandmethantheyspentontheirhouse,andthey'renottheonlyones...and,ofcourse,foranincreasingnumberoffamilies,mostofthecostoftheirhouseisactuallythecostoflivinginagoodschooldistrict.Questioningthevalueofacollegeeducationseemsabitlikequestioningthevalueofhappiness,orfun.

D）Theaveragepriceofallgoodsandserviceshasrisenabout50percent.Butthepriceofacollegeeducationhasnearlydoubledinthattime.Istheeducationthattoday'sstudentsaregettingtwiceasgood?

Arenewworkerstwiceassmart?

Havetheybecomesomehowmassivelymoreexpensivetoeducate?

E）Perhapsabit.RichardVedder,anOhioUniversityeconomicsprofessor,says,"Ilookatthedata,andIseecollegecostsrisingfasterthaninflationuptothemid-1980sby1percentayear.NowIseethemrising3to4percentayearoverinflation.Whathashappened?

Thefederalgovernmenthasstarteddroppingmoneyoutofairplanes."Aidhasincreased,subsidized（补贴的）loanshavebecomeavailable,and"theuniversitieshavegottenthemoney."EconomistBryanCaplan,whoiswritingabookabouteducation,agrees:

"It'sagiantwasteofresourcesthatwillcontinueaslongasthesubsidiescontinue."

F）Promotionalliteratureforcollegesandstudentloansoftenspeaksofdebtasan"investmentinyourself."Butaninvestmentissupposedtogenerateincometopayofftheloans.Morethanhalfofallrecentgraduatesareunemployedorinjobsthatdonotrequireadegree,andtheamountofstudent-loandebtcarriedbyhouseholdshasincreasedmorethanfivetimessince1999.Thesegraduatesweretoldthatadiplomawasalltheyneededtosucceed,butitwon'tevengetthemoutofthesparebedroomatMomandDad's.Formany,themostvisibleresultoftheirfouryearsistheloanpayments,whichnowaveragehundredsofdollarsamonthonloanbalancesinthetensofthousands.

G）It'strueaboutthemoney-sortof.Collegegraduatesnowmake80percentmorethanpeoplewhohaveonlyahigh-schooldiploma,andthoughtherearenopreciseestimates,thewagepremium（高出的部分）foranoutstandingschoolseemstobeevenhigher.Butthat'snottrueofeverystudent.It'sveryeasytospendfouryearsmajoringinEnglishliteratureandcomeoutnomoreemployablethanyouwerebeforeyouwentin.Conversely,chemicalengineersstraightoutofschoolcaneasilymakealmostfourtimesthewagesofanentry-levelhigh-schoolgraduate.

H）JamesHeckman,theNobelPrize-winningeconomist,hasexaminedhowthereturnsoneducationbreakdownforindividualswithdifferentbackgroundsandlevelsofability."Evenwiththesehighprices,you'restillfindingahighreturnforindividualswhoarebrightandmotivated,"hesays.Ontheotherhand,"ifyou'renotcollegeready,thentheanswerisno,it'snotworthit."Expertstendtoagreethatfortheaveragestudent,collegeisstillworthittoday,buttheyalsoagreethattherapidincreaseinpriceiseatingupmoreandmoreofthepotentialreturn.Forborderlinestudents,tuition（学费）risecanpushthosereturnsintonegativeterritory.

I）Everyoneseemstoagreethatthegovernment,andparents,shouldberethinkinghowweinvestinhighereducationandthatemployersneedtorethinktheincreasinguseofcollegedegreesascrudescreeningtoolsforjobsthatdon'treallyrequirecollegeskills."Employersseeingasurplusofcollegegraduatesandlookingtofilljobsarejustaddingthatrequirement."saysVedder."Infact,acollegedegreebecomesajobrequirementforbecomingabar-tender."

J）Wehavestartedtoseesomechangeonthefinanceside.Alawpassedin2007allowsmanystudentstocaptheirloanpaymentat10percentoftheirincomeandforgivesanybalanceafter25years.Butofcourse,thatdoesn'tcontrolthecostofeducation!

itjustshiftsittotaxpayers.Italsoencouragesgraduatestochooselower-payingcareers,whichreducesthefinancialreturntoeducationstillfurther."You'resubsidizingpeopletobecomepriestsandpoetsandsoforth,"saysHeckman."Youmaythinkthat'sagoodthing,oryoumaynot."Eitherwayitwillbeexpensiveforthegovernment.

K）Whatmightbealotcheaperisputtingmorekidstowork.Caplannotesthatworkalsobuildsvaluableskills-probablymorevaluableforkidswhodon'tnaturallylovesittinginaclassroom.Heckmanagreeswholeheartedly:

"Peoplearedifferent,andthoseabilitiescanbeshaped.That'swhatwe'velearned,andpublicpolicyshouldrecognizethat."

L）Heckmanwouldliketoseemoreapprenticeship-style（学徒式）programs,wherekidscanlearnintheworkplace-learnnotjustspecificjobskills,butthekindof"softskills,"likegettingtoworkontimeandgettingalongwithateam-thatarecrucialforcareersuccess."It'sabouthavingmentors（指导者）andhavingworkplace-basededucation,"hesays."TimeandagainI'veseenexamplesofthiskindofprogramworking."

M）Ah,buthowdowegettherefromhere?

Withbetterpublicpolicy,hopefully,butalsobymakingbetterindividualdecisions."Historicallymarketshavebeenabletohandlethesethings,"saysVedder."andIthinkeventuallymarketswillhandlethisone.Ifitdoesn'timprovesoon,peoplearegoingtowakeupandask,'WhyamIgoingtocollege?

'"

注意：

此部分试题请在答题卡2上作答。

46.Caplansuggeststhatkidswhodon'tloveschoolgotowork.

47.Anincreasingnumberoffamiliesspendmoremoneyonhousesinagoodschooldistrict.

48.Subsidizedloanstocollegestudentsareahugewasteofmoney,accordingtooneeconomist.

49.Moreandmorekidsfindtheyfareworsewithacollegediploma.

50.Forthosewhoarenotpreparedforhighereducation,goingtocollegeisnotworthit.

51.Overtheyearsthecostofacollegeeducationhasincreasedalmostby100%.

52.Alawpassedrecentlyallowsmanystudentstopaynomorethanonetenthoftheirincomefortheircollegeloans.

53.Middle-classAmericanshavehighlyvaluedagoodeducation.

54.Morekidsshouldbeencouragedtoparticipateinprogramswheretheycanlearnnotonlyjobskillsbutalsosocialskills.

55.Overfiftypercentofrecentcollegegraduatesremainunemployedorunabletofindasuitablejob.

PassageOne

Questions56to60arebasedonthefollowingpassage.

Arecentglobalsurveyof2000high-net-worthindividualsfoundthat60%werenotplanningonatraditionalretirement.AmongUSparticipants,75%expectedtocontinueworkinginsomecapacityevenaftersteppingawayfromfull-timejobs."Manyofthesepeoplemadetheirwealthbydoingsomethingthey'repassionate（有激情的）about."saysDanielEgan,headofbehavioralfinanceforBarclaysWealthAmericas."Giventhechoice,theyprefertocontinueworking."Barclayscallsthesepeople"nevertirees."

UnlikemanyAmericanscompelledintoearlyretirementbycompanyrestrictions,theaveragenevertireeoftenhasnooneforcinghishand.If106-year-oldinvestorIrvingKahn,headofhisownfamilyfirm,wantstokeepcomingtoworkeveryday.who'sgoingtostophim?

Seventy-eight-year-oldSupremeCourtJusticeRuthBaderGinsburg'sjobsecurityisguaranteedintheConstitution.

Itmayseemthattheseelderlypeoplearetryingtocheatdeath.Infact,theyare.Andit'sworking.HowardFriedman,aprofessoratUCRiverside,foundinhisresearchthatthosewhoworkhardestandaresuccessfulintheircareersoftenlivethelongestlives."Peoplearegenerallybeinggivenbadadvicetoslowdown,takeiteasy,stopworrying,andretiretoFlorida,"hesays.Hedescribedonestudyparticipant,stillworkin