12月大学英语四级考试真题及答案PartⅠWriting(30 minutes)注意：此部分在答卡1上。Directions:For this part,you are allowed 30 minutes to write a short essay on the topic of Creating a Green Campus.You should write at least 120 words following the outline given below:1.建色校园很重要2.色校园不但指色的境⋯⋯3.了建色校园，我⋯⋯Creating a Green Campus PartⅡReading Comprehension(Skimming and Scanning)(15 minutes)Directions:In thispart,you willhave 15 minutestogo overthe passagequickly and answer the questions on Answer Sheet 1.For questions 1-7,choose the best answer from the four choices marked A),B),C)and D).For question 8-10,complete thesentences with the information given in the passage.Colleges taking another look at value of merit-based aid Good grades and high tests scores still matter—a lot—to manycolleges as they award financial aid.But with low-income students projected to make up an ever-larger share of the college-bound population incoming years,some schools arere-examining wh ether that aid,typically known as“merit aid”,is themost effective use of precious institutional dollars.George Washington UniversityinWashington,D.C.,for example,saidlast week that it would cut the value of its average merit scholarships by aboutone-thirdand reduce the number ofrecipients(接受者),pouringthe savings,about$2.5million,into need-based aid.
AlleghenyCollegein Meadville,Pa.,made a similar decision three years ago.Now,HamiltonCollegein Clinton,N.Y.,says itwillphase outmeritscholarshipsaltogether.No currentmerit-aidrecipientswilllosetheirscholarships,but need-based aid alone will be awarded beginning with students entering in fall.Not all colleges offer merit aid;generally,the more selective a school,theless likelyitis to do so.Harvard and Princeton,forexample,offer generous need-based packages,but many families who don’t meet资料仅供参考need eligibility(资格)have been willing to pay whatever they must for a big-name school.For small regionalcollegesthatstruggle justto fill seats,meritaid can be an important revenue-builder because many recipients still pay enough tuition dollarsoverand above thescholarshipamount to keepthe institution running.But for rankings-conscious schoolsinbetween,meritaid has servedprimarilyas a toolto recruittop studentsand to improve theiracademicprofits.
“They’re trying to buy students,”says Skidmore Collegeeconomist Sandy Baum.Studies show merit aid also tends to benefit disproportionately students who could afford to enroll without it.“As we look to the future,we see a more pressing need to invest in need-based aid,”says Monica Inzer,dean of admission and financialaidat Hamilton,which has offeredmeritscholarshipsfor10 years.
Duringth at time,itrose in USNews&World Report’s ranking ofthebestliberalarts colleges,from 25 to 17.Merit aid,which benefited about 75 students a year,or about 4%of itsstudentbody,at a cost ofabout$1 milliona year,“served us well,”Inzer says,but“to be discounting the price for families that don’tneed financial aid doesn’t feel right any more.
”Need-based aid remains by far the largest share of all student aid,which includes state,federal and institutional grants.But merit aid,offeredprimarily by schoolsand states,isgrowingfaster,bothoveralland at the institutional level.Between 1995-96 and-04,institutional merit aid alone increased 212%,compared with 47%for need-based grants.At least 15 states also offer meritaid,typicallyina bid toenrolltop studentsinthestate’spublic institutions.But in recent years,a growing chorus(异口同声)of criticshas begunpressuring schools to drop the practice.Recent decisions by Hamilton and others may be“a sign that people are starting to realize that there’s this destructive competition going on,”says Baum,co-author of a recent College Report that raises concerns about the role of institutional aid not based on need.David Laird,president of the Minnesota Private College Council,says many of his schools would like to reduce their merit aid but fear that in doing so,they would lose top students to their competitors.资料仅供参考“No one can take one-sided action,”says Laird,who is exploring whether to seek an exemption(豁免)from federal anti-trust laws so member colleges can discuss how they could jointly reduce merit aid,“This is a merry-go-round that’s going very fast,and none of the institutions believe they can sustain the risks of trying to break away by themselves.”A complicating factor is that merit aid has become so popular with middle-income families,who don’t qualify for need-based aid,that many have come to depend on it.And,as tuitions continue to increase,the line between merit and need blurs.That’s one reason Allegheny College doesn’t plan to drop merit aid entirely.“Westill believe in rewarding superior achievements and know that these top students truly value the scholarship,”says Scott Friedhoff,Allegheny’s vice president for enrollment.Emory University in Atlanta,which boasts a$4.7 billion endowment(捐赠),meanwhile,is taking another approach.This year,it announced it would eliminateloansforneedy studentsand cap them formiddle-incomefamilies.At the sametime,itwould expand its28-year-oldmeritprogram.
“Yeah,we’re playing the merit game,”acknowledges Tom Lancaster,associatedean forundergraduateeducation.
Butithas itsstrongpoint,。
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