发布时间 : 星期三 文章2016年12月大学英语四级考试真题（第三套）更新完毕开始阅读8a47b62f54270722192e453610661ed9ad51552b
Recently I attended several meetings where we talked about ways to retain students and keep younger faculty members from going elsewhere.
It seems higher education has become an industry of meeting-holders whose task it is to “solve” problems- real or imagined. And in my position as a professor at three diff erent colleges , the actual problems in educating our young people and older students have deepened ,while the number of people hired not to teach but to hold meetings- has increasedsignificantly. Every new problem creates a new job for an administrative fixer. Take our Center for Teaching Excellence. Contrary to its title , the center is a clearing house （信息交流中心） for using technology in classrooms and in online courses. It? s an administrative sham （欺诈） of the kind that has multiplied over the last 30 years.I offer a simple proposition in responsez Many of our problems- class attendance , educational success , student happiness and well-being- might be improved by cutting down the bureaucratic（宫僚的） mechanisms and meetings and instead hiring an army of good teachers. If we replaced half of our administrative staff with classroom teachers , we might actually get a majority of our classes back to 20 or f ewer students per teacher. This would be an environment in which teachers and students actually knew each other.The teachers must be free to teach in their own way the curriculum should be flexible enough so that they can use their individual talents to achieve the goals of the course. Additionally, they should be cllowed to teach , and be rewarded for doing it well. Teachers are not people who are great at and consumed by research and happen to appear in a classroom. Good teaching and research are not exclusive, but they are also not automatic companions. Teaching is an art and a craft , talent and practice ; it is not something that just anyone can be good at. It is utterly confusing to me that people do not recognize this , despite the fact that
pretty much anyone who has been a student can tell the difference between their best and worst teachers.
46.What does the author say about present-day universities? A) They are effectively tackling real or imagined problems. B) They of ten fail to combine teaching with research. C) They are over burdened with administrative staff. D) They lack talent to fix their deepening problems.
47. According to the author , what kind of people do universities lack most?
A) Good classroom teachers. B) Efficient administrators. C) Talentedresearchers. D) Motivated students.
48. What does the author imply about the classes at present? A) They facilitate students' independent learning. B) They help students form closer relationships.
C) They have more older students that before. D) They are much bigger than is desirable.
49. What does the author think of teaching ability? A) It requires talent and practice. B) It is closely related to research.
C) It is a chief factor affecting students' learning.? D) It can be acquired through persistent practice.
50. What is the author's suggestion for improving university teaching?
A) Creating an environment for teachers to share their teaching experiences. B) Hiring more classroom teachers and allowing them to teach in their own way. C) Using high technology in classrooms and promoting exchange of information. D) Cutting down meetings and encouraging administrative staff to go to classrooms.
Passage Two
Questions 51 to 55 are based on the following passage.
The secret to eating less and being happy about it may have been cracked years ago-by McDonald ? s. According to a new study from Cornell University ?s Food and Brand Lab , small non-food rewards- like the toys in McDonald ? s Happy Meals- stimulate the same reward centers in the brain as food does.
The researchers , led by Martin Reimann , carried out a series of experiments to see if people would choose a smaller meal if it was paired with a non-food item.
They found that the majority of both kids and adults opted for a half sized portion when combined with a prize. Both options were priced the same.
Even more interesting is that the promise of a future reward was enough to make adults choose the smaller portion. One of the prizes used was a lottery ticket （彩票） , with a $ 10 ,$ 50 or $ 100 payout , and this was as effective as a tangible gif t in persuading people to eat less.“The fact that participants were willing to substitute part of a food item for the mere prospect of a relatively small monetary award is interesting ，”says Reimann.
He theorizes that it is the emotional component of these intangible prizes that make them effective. In fact, vaguely-stated possibilities of winning a prize were more effective than options with hard odds included.
“One explanation for this finding is that possible awards may be more emotionally provoking than certainty awards ，”says Reimann. “The uncertainty of winning provides added attraction and desirability through emotional ? thrills. ? The possibility of receiving an award also produces a state of hope- a state that is in itself psychologically rewarding. ” In other words , there's a reason why people like to gamble.
How might this knowledge be used to help people eat more healthily?
One possibility is a healthy option that offers the chance to win a spa （温泉疗养）
weekend. Or maybe the reward of a half sized portion could be a half-sized dessert to be claimed only on a future date. That would get you back in the restaurant- and make you eat a little less.
51. What do we learn about McDonald ? s inclusion of toys in its Happy Meals? A) It may shed light on people ? s desire to crack a secret. B) It has proved to be key to McDonald's business success.
C) It appeals to kids? curiosity to find out what is hidden inside.
D) It may be a pleasant way for kids to reduce their food intake． 52. What is the finding of the researchers led by Martin Reimann?
A) Reducing food intake is not that difficult if people go to McDonald ? s more.
B) Most kids and adults don?t actually f eel hungry when they eat half
of their meal.
C) Eating a smaller portion of food does good to the health of kids and adults alike. D) Most kids and adults would choose a smaller meal that came with a non-food item. 53. What is most interesting in Martin Reimann's finding?
A) Kids preferred an award in the form of money to one in the form of a toy. B) Adults chose the smaller portion on the mere promise of a future award. C) Both kids and adults felt satisfied with only half of their meal portions. D) Neither children nor adults could resist the temptation of a free toy. 54. How does Martin Reimann interpret his finding? A) The emotional component of the prizes is at work. B) People now care more about quality than quantity. C) People prefer certainty awards to possible awards. D) The desire for a future reward is overwhelming.
55.What can we infer from Martin Reimann? s finding? A) People should eat much less if they wish to stay healthy and happy.
B) More fast food restaurants are likely to follow McDonald ?s example. C) We can lead people to eat less while helping the restaurant business. D) More studies are needed to find out the impact of emotion on behavior.
Part IV Translation (30 minutes)
Directions:For this part, you are allowed 30 minted to translate a passage from Chinese into English. You should write your answer on Answer Sheet 2.
在中国文化中，黄颜色是一种很重要的颜色，因为它具有独特的象征意义。在封建（feudal) 社会中，它象征统治者的权力和权威。那时，黄色是专为皇帝使用的颜色，皇家宫殿全都漆成黄色,皇袍总是黄色的 ,而普通老百姓是禁止穿黄色衣服的。在中国，黄色也是收获的象征。秋天庄稼成熟时，田野变得一片金黄。人们兴高采烈 ,庆祝丰收。