2013年12月四级答案

PartⅢReadingComprehension(40minutes)

SectionB

Directions:Inthisction,youaregoingtoreadapassagewithtenstatementsattachedtoit.

fytheparagraphfrom

ragraphis

thequestionsbymarkingthecorrespondingletteronAnswerSheet

2.

IsCollegeaWorthyInvestment?

A）Whyarewespendingsomuchmoneyoncollege?Andwhyarewesounhappyaboutit?

Weallemtoagreethatacollegeeducationiswonderful,andyetstrangelyweworrywhenwe

t’stimetoaska

questionthatemsalmostsacrilegious（大不敬的）：isallthisinvestmentincollegeeducation

reallyworthit?

B）Theanswer,Ifear,ncreasingnumberofkids,theextratimeandmoney

spentpursuingacollegediplomawillleavethemworoffthantheywerebeforetheytfoot

oncampus.

C）Formyentireadultlife,agoodeducationhasbeenthemostimportantthingfor

ntsspentmoreeducatingmysisterandmethantheyspenton

theirhou,andthey’renottheonlyones…and,ofcour,foranincreasingnumberof

families,mostofthecostoftheirhouisactuallythecostoflivinginagoodschooldistrict.

Questioningthevalueofacollegeeducationemsabitlikequestioningthevalueofhappiness,

orfun.

D）priceofa

ducationthattoday’sstudentsare

gettingtwiceasgood?Arenewworkerstwiceassmart?Havetheybecomesomehowmassively

moreexpensivetoeducate?

E）dVedder,anOhioUniversityeconomicsprofessor,says,“Ilookatthe

data,andIecollegecostsrisingfasterthaninflationuptothemid-1980sby1percentayear.

shappened?Thefederal

governmenthasstarteddroppingmoneyoutofairplanes.”Aidhasincread,subsidized（补

贴的）loanshavebecomeavailable,and“theuniversitieshavegottenthemoney.”Economist

BryanCaplan,whoiswritingabookabouteducation,agrees:“It’sagiantwasteofresourcesthat

willcontinueaslongasthesubsidiescontinue.”

F）Promotionalliteratureforcollegesandstudentloansoftenspeaksofdebtasan

“investmentinyourlf.”Butaninvestmentissuppodtogenerateincometopayoffthe

anhalfofallrecentgraduatesareunemployedorinjobsthatdonotrequirea

degree,andtheamountofstudent-loandebtcarriedbyhouholdshasincreadmorethanfive

raduatesweretoldthatadiplomawasalltheyneededtosucceed,but

itwon’tevengetthemoutofthesparebedroomatMomandDad’y,themostvisible

resultoftheirfouryearsistheloanpayments,whichnowaveragehundredsofdollarsamonth

onloanbalancesinthetensofthousands.

G）It’strueaboutthemoney—egraduatesnowmake80percentmorethan

peoplewhohaveonlyahigh-schooldiploma,andthoughtherearenopreciestimates,the

wagepremium（高出的部分）t’snot

’sveryeasytospendfouryearsmajoringinEnglishliteratureandcome

ly,chemicalengineers

straightoutofschoolcaneasilymakealmostfourtimesthewagesofanentry-levelhigh-school

graduate.

H）JamesHeckman,theNobelPrize-winningeconomist,haxaminedhowthereturnson

educationbreakdownforindividualswithdifferentbackgroundsandlevelsofability.“Evenwith

thehighprices,you’restillfindingahighreturnforindividualswhoarebrightandmotivated,”

therhand,“ifyou’renotcollegeready,thentheanswerisno,it’snotworthit.”

Expertstendtoagreethatfortheaveragestudent,collegeisstillworthittoday,buttheyalso

agreethatt

borderlinestudents,tuition（学费）ricanpushthoreturnsintonegativeterritory.

I）Everyoneemstoagreethatthegovernment,andparents,shouldberethinkinghowwe

investinhighereducation—andthatemployersneedtorethinktheincreasinguofcollege

degreesascrudescreeningtoolsforjobsthatdon’treallyrequirecollegeskills.“Employers

eingasurplusofcollegegraduatesandlookingtofilljobsarejustaddingthatrequirement,”

saysVedder.“Infact,acollegedegreebecomesajobrequirementforbecomingabar-tender.”

J）sdin2007allowsmany

studentstocaptheirloanpaymentat10percentoftheirincomeandforgivesanybalanceafter

our,thatdoesn’tcontrolthecostofeducation;

alsoencouragesgraduatestochoolower-payingcareers,whichreducesthefinancialreturnto

educationstillfurther.“You’resubsidizingpeopletobecomepriestsandpoetsandsoforth,”says

Heckman.“Youmaythinkthat’sagoodthing,oryoumaynot.”Eitherwayitwillbeexpensivefor

thegovernment.

K）notesthatworkalso

buildsvaluableskills—probablymorevaluableforkidswhodon’tnaturallylovesittingina

nagreeswholeheartedly:“Peoplearedifferent,andthoabilitiescanbe

’swhatwe’velearned,andpublicpolicyshouldrecognizethat.”

L）Heckmanwouldliketoemoreapprenticeship-style（学徒式）programs,wherekids

canlearnintheworkplace—learnnotjustspecificjobskills,butthekindof“softskills,”like

gettingtoworkontimeandgettingalongwithateam,thatarecrucialforcareersuccess.“It’s

abouthavingmentors（指导者）andhavingworkplace-badeducation,”hesays.“Timeand

againI’veenexamplesofthiskindofprogramworking.”

M）Ah,buthowdowegettherefromhere?Withbetterpublicpolicy,hopefully,butalsoby

makingbetterindividualdecisions.“Historicallymarketshavebeenabletohandlethethings,”

saysVedder,“esn’timprovesoon,

peoplearegoingtowakeupandask,‘WhyamIgoingtocollege?’”

注意：此部分试题请在答题卡2上作答。

suggeststhatkidswhodon’tloveschoolgotowork.

easingnumberoffamiliesspendmoremoneyonhousinagoodschooldistrict.

izedloanstocollegestudentsareahugewasteofmoney,accordingtoone

economist.

dmorekidsfindtheyfareworwithacollegediploma.

whoarenotpreparedforhighereducation,goingtocollegeisnotworthit.

eyearsthecostofacollegeeducationhasincreadalmostby100%.

sdrecentlyallowsmanystudentstopaynomorethanonetenthoftheir

income

fortheircollegeloans.

-classAmericanshavehighlyvaluedagoodeducation.

dsshouldbeencouragedtoparticipateinprogramswheretheycanlearnnot

onlyjobskillsbutalsosocialskills.

ftypercentofrecentcollegegraduatesremainunemployedorunabletofinda

suitablejob.

SectionC

Directions:ssageisfollowedbysomequestions

hofthemtherearefourchoicesmarkedA），B），C）andD）。

YoushoulddecideonthebestchoiceandmarkthecorrespondingletteronAnswerSheet2with

asinglelinethroughthecentre.

PassageOne

Questions56to60arebadonthefollowingpassage.

Arecentglobalsurveyof2000high-net-worthindividualsfoundthat60%werenotplanning

Sparticipants,75%expectedtocontinueworkinginsome

capacityevenaftersteppingawayfromfull-timejobs.“Manyofthepeoplemadetheirwealth

bydoingsomethingthey’repassionate（有激情的）about,”saysDanielEgan,headof

behavioralfinanceforBarclaysWealthAmericas.“Giventhechoice,theyprefertocontinue

working.”Barclayscallsthepeople“nevertirees.”UnlikemanyAmericanscompelledinto

earlyretirementbycompanyrestrictions,theaveragenevertireeoftenhasnooneforcinghis

106-year-oldinvestorIrvingKahn,headofhisownfamilyfirm,wantstokeepcomingto

workeveryday,who’sgoingtostophim?Seventy-eight-year-oldSupremeCourtJusticeRuth

BaderGinsburg’eemthattheelderly

,’Friedman,a

professoratUCRiverside,foundinhisrearchthatthowhoworkhardestandaresuccessfulin

theircareersoftenlivethelongestlives.“Peoplearegenerallybeinggivenbadadvicetoslow

down,takeiteasy,stopworrying,andretiretoFlorida,”ribedonestudy

participant,stillworkingattheageof100,whowasrecentlydisappointedtoehisson

retire.“We’rebeginningtoeachangeinhowpeopleviewretirement,”saysGeorgeLeeson,

nceretirementwasenasa

briefrewardafteralongstrugglethroughsomemirablejob,itisnowakin（近似）tobeing

esonterms“theWarrenBuffetteffect”isbecomingmorebroadlyappealing

asindividualscometo“viewretirementasnotsimplybeinglinkedtoeconomicproductivitybut

alsoaboutcontribution.”ne

hand,companiesandfinancialfirmscanbenefitfromthewisdomofaresilient（坚韧的）chief.

Ontheother,thenewgenerationcanfinditmoredifficulttoadvance—anargumentthat

typicallyholdslittleswaytoanevertiree.

注意：此部分试题请在答题卡2上作答。

welearnabouttheso-called“nevertirees”？

A）Theyarepassionateaboutmakingafortune.

B）Theyhavenochoicebuttocontinueworking.

C）Theylovewhattheydoandchoonottoretire.

D）Theywillnotretireunlesstheyarecompelledto.

IrvingKahnandRuthBaderGinsburghaveincommon?

A）Neitherofthemissubjecttoforcedretirement.

B）Neitherofthemdesiresrewardfortheirwork.

C）Bothclingtotheirpositionsdespiteopposition.

D）Botharecapableofcopingwithheavyworkloads.

thefindingofHowardFriedman’srearch?

A）Theharderyouwork,thebiggeryourfortunewillbe.

B）Theearlieryouretire,thehealthieryouwillbe.

C）Elderlypeoplehavetoslowdowntolivelonger.

D）Workingatanadvancedagelengthenspeople’slife.

thetraditionalviewofretirementaccordingtothepassage?

A）Itmeansaburdentotheyoungergeneration.

B）Itisasymbolofamatureandcivilizedsociety.

C）Itisacompensationforone’slife-longhardwork.

D）Ithelpsincreaanation’conomicproductivity.

criticssayabout“nevertirees”？

A）Theyareanobstacletoacompany’sdevelopment.

B）Theylackthecreativityoftheyoungergeneration.

C）Theycannotworkafficientlyastheyudto.

D）Theypreventyoungpeoplefromgettingahead.

PassageTwo

Questions61to65arebadonthefollowingpassage.

WhenwetalkaboutAmericansbarelyintoadulthoodwhoaresaddledwithunbearable

levelsofdebt,re’sagrowing

bodyofevidencesuggestingthattoday’syoungadultsarealsodrowningincredit-carddebt—

an20%overspenttheirincome

bymorethan＄heyhaven’tbuiltuptheircredithistoriesyet,it’

sasafebetthattheyoungadultsarepayingrelativelyhighinterestratesontheresultingcredit

ghmanyyoungpeopleblame“socializing”asabarriertosavingmoney,most

ofthemaren’tknockingback＄20drinksintrendy（时尚的）’restrugglingwith

turbinglylargeextent,theyoungandthebrokeare

viouslyisn’tsustainableinthe

longrun,andit’sgoingtoputahugedragontheirspendingpowerevenaftertheyreachtheir

peakearningyears,becauthey’llstillbepayinginterestonthatbottleoforangejuiceorboxof

spaghetti（意式面条）udyoutofOhioStateUniversity

foundthatyoungadultsareaccumulatingcreditcarddebtatamorerapidratethanotherage

groups,andthatthey’resloweratpayingitoff.“Ifwhatwefoundcontinuestoholdtrue,wemay

havemoreelderlypeoplewithsubstantialfinancialproblemsinthefuture,”warnsLuciaDunn,

professorofeconomicsatOhioState.“Ifourfindingspersist,wemaybefacedwithafinancial

crisisamongelderlypeoplewhocan’tpayofftheircreditcards.”Dunnsaysalotof

theyoungpeoplearenevergoingtogetoutfromundertheircreditcarddebt.“Many

peopleareborrowingoncreditcardssoheavilythatpayoffratesatthelevelsarenotsufficient

torecovertheircreditcarddebtbytheendoftheirlife,whichcouldhavelossimplicationsforthe

creditcardissuingbanks.”

注意：此部分试题请在答题卡2上作答。

themainideaofthefirstparagraph?

A）ManyyoungAmericanswillneverbeabletopayofftheirdebts.

B）Creditcardsplayanincreasinglyimportantroleincollegelife.

C）Creditcardsaredoingmoreharmthanstudentloans.

D）TheAmericancreditcardsystemisundercriticism.

oungpeoplehavetopayahigherinterestontheircreditcarddebt?

A）Theytendtoforgetaboutthedeadlines.

B）Theyhaven’tdevelopedacredithistory.

C）Theyareoftenunabletopaybackintime.

D）Theyareinexperiencedinmanagingmoney.

saidtobetheconquenceofyoungadultsrelyingoncreditcardstomakeends

meet?

A）Itwillplaceanunnecessaryburdenonsociety.

B）Itwillgivethemnomotivationtoworkhard.

C）Itwillexertpsychologicalpressureonthem.

D）Itwillaffecttheirfuturespendingpower.

llhappentoyoungadultsiftheircreditcarddebtkeepsaccumulatingaccording

toLuciaDunn?

A）Theywillhavetopayanincreasinglyhigherinterestrate.

B）Theymayexperienceafinancialcrisisintheiroldage.

C）Theirqualityoflifewillbeaffected.

D）Theircreditcardsmaybecancelled.

esLuciaDunnthinkmightbeariskforthecreditcardissuingbanks?

A）Theygobankruptasaresultofover-lending.

B）Theylolargenumbersoftheirregularclients.

C）Theirclientsleavetheirdebtsunpaidupondeath.

D）Theirinterestrateshavetobereducednowandthen.

答案：

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