英语四六级

2009年12月大学英语四级模拟试题Passage OneQuestions 57 to 61 are based on the following passage.A detailed and thorough research project undertaken by the Open University r ecently reported that their evidence appears to show that competition between near by schools does not significantly improve academic standards. Indeed, their report i nclines to the opposite outcome; the exam results may actually decline where com petition is fiercest.When the further education sector was " privatized" a few years ago, competiti on between colleges became truly fierce, at least in urban areas where potential st udents could choose between several of them. Colleges appointed highly paid mark eting directors and gave them large budgets; some even "bribed" interested student s with promises of hundreds of pounds if they completed certain courses satisfactor ily.Fully competitive markets being a philosophical foundation of Britain's recent g overnments, it was no surprise to hear claims that many educational developments of the 1990s would move us towards a free market in secondary education---givin g youngsters and their parents a free choice of where to study. However, the seco ndary sector did not become particularly competitive while, admittedly, the consume rs have been given more information, which is one aspect of a truly free market. It is very rare that two nearby schools with at least some empty places are similar enough to be comparable yet different enough to be rankable; only where that occ urs can there be true competition.The Open University research was probably not flawed---but its conclusions ar e. This is because the team did not really compare areas having true competition (as just defined) with areas that do not.But, let us all breathe a sigh of relief. Secondary schools had started of late t o move in the marketing direction----considering allocating scarce resources of staff and money to persuading the pupils that their schools are the best in the area. N o schools could afford to do that properly, so it is a relief to realize this research t ells us we don't have to.Competition? We haven't got time for it! Let's spend our small budget in teach ing and learning, not in competing and marketing.57. It is indicated in the passage that competition between schools results in .A) higher enrollment rateB) lower academic standardC) higher marketing expensesD) privatization of further education58. Real competition can happen only when .A) academic standard is improvedB) there are comparable schools with different educational qualitiesC) students have different interestsD) schools of all areas have sufficient budget for their development59. According to the passage, the free market in secondary education .A) only provides consumers with more informationB) is more competitive than the higher education marketC) means there will be more intensive competition than in collegesD) is a real surprise to Britain's recent government60. The author of the passage feels relieved that .A) secondary schools have to market themselvesB) most secondary schools have scarce resources of staff and moneyC) the research by Open University proves that most secondary schools are t he best in its areaD) schools needn't prove that they are the best61. What might be the author's attitude towards competitions between nearby schools?A) The author is in favor of various kinds of competition.B) The author is indifferent to any competition and its result.C) The author is not certain of the effect of competitions.D) The author is against inter-collegiate competitions.Passage 2Questions 62 to 66 are based on the following passage.Going online is a favorite recreation for millions of American children. Almost1 0 million (14 percent) of America's 69 million children are online. The Internet both entertains and educates children, however, there are some possible negative cons equences for children who access kid-based Web sites. Advertising on kid-based W eb sites has become both a rapidly growing market for consumer companies and a concern for parents. With a click on an icon, children can link to advertisers and be granted tremendous spending power. Children are an important target group for consumer companies. Children under age 12 spent $14 billion, teenagers another $67 billion, and together they influenced $160 billion of their parents' income.Many critics question the appropriateness of targeting children in Internet adver tising and press to require that children be treated as a "special case" by advertise rs. Because children lack the analytical abilities and judgment of adults, they may be unable to evaluate the accuracy of information they view, or understand that the information they provide to advertisers is really just data collected by an advertiser. Children generally lack the ability to reject the release of personal Information to a n advertiser, an even greater problem for children when they are offered incentives (刺激)for providing personal information, or when personal information is required b efore they are allowed to register for various services. Children may not realize tha t in many cases these characters provide hotlinks directly to advertising sites.The Internet does present some challenges for advertisers who want to be eth ical in theirmarketing practices. Many advertisers argue that we underestimate（低估）the l evels of mediaawareness shown by children. By the age of seven or eight most children can recognize an advertisement and know that its purpose is to sell something and ar e able to make judgments about the products shown in advertisements. However, t his somewhat optimistic and decidedly libertarian view of children runs aground wh en we realize that they are (like a surprising number of adults) unable to judge ac curately between entertainment and advertising. Adults can fend for themselves but, as marketers, we should be explicit（明确的）about our purpose when advertising to children on the Internet.62. According to the first paragraph, children as an Internet market .A) are becoming increasingly rationalB) are using Internet at an earlier and earlier ageC) have created a growing advertising marketD) are overtaking the adult market due to their spending power63. Targeting children for advertising is controversial because children .A) are unable to analyze and judge advertisementsB) are unable to cooperate since they are too youngC) often give off information that may be dangerous to them.D)are not ready to evaluate advertisements or information requests64. Many advertisers defend the targeting of children because .A) no actual sales take placeB ) it is up to parents to monitor their childrenC) children understand what an advertisement is trying to doD)children are provided a game in return for the information65. One reason why children are unable to resist giving personal information o n the Internet isthat .A) they feel they must follow an adult's ordersB) it is presented in connection with entertainmentC) they do not know that the information is going to be read by someoneD) due to their inability to distinguish an advertisement from a non-advertisem ent66. In the passage the author wants his marketers to understand that .A) advertising to children must stopB) a libertarian view in advertising is unethicalC) advertising to children must have a clear purposeD) children must be treated differently when advertisingPart V Cloze (15 minutes)Directions: There are 20 blanks in the following passage. For each blank there are four choices marked A), B), C) and D) on the right side of the paper. You should choose the ONE that best fits into the passage. Then mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the centre.注意：此部分试题在答题卡2上作答。