2012年12月大学英语四级真题试卷（第2套）
For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write a short essay entitled Education Pays based on the statistics provided in the chart below (Unemployment rate in 2010). Please give a brief description of the chart first and then make comments on it. You should write at least 120 words but no more than 180 words.
Education Pays
Should Sugar Be Regulated like Alcohol and Tobacco?
Sugar poses enough health risks that it should be considered a controlled substance just like alcohol and tobacco, argue a team of researchers from the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF).
In an opinion piece called “The Toxic (毒性的) Truth About Sugar”published Feb. 1 in Nature, Robert Lustig, Laura Schmidt and Claire Brindis argue that it’s wrong to consider sugar just “ empty calories. ” They write: “ There is nothing empty about these calories. A growing body of scientific evidence is showing that fructose (果糖) can trigger processes that lead to liver toxicity and a host of other chronic diseases. A little is not a problem, but a lot kills—slowly. “
Almost everyone’s heard of—or personally experienced—the well-known sugar high, so perhaps the comparison between sugar and alcohol or tobacco shouldn’t come as a surprise. But it’s doubtful that Americans will look favorably upon regulating their favorite vice. We’re a nation that’s sweet on sugar: the average US adult downs 22 teaspoons of sugar a day, according to the American Heart Association, and surveys have found that teens swallow 34 teaspoons.
To counter our consumption, the authors advocate taxing sugary foods and controlling sales to kids under 17. Already, 17% of US children and teens are obese (肥胖的), and across the world the sugar intake (摄入) has increased three times in the past 50 years. The increase has helped create a global obesity plague that contributes to 35 million annual deaths worldwide from noninfectious diseases including cancer, heart disease and diabetes. Linda Matzigkeit, a senior vice president at Children’s Healthcare, said “ We have to do something about this or our country is in danger. It’s not good if your state has the second-highest obesity rate. Obese children turn into obese adults. “
” There are good calories and bad calories, just as there are good fats and bad fats, good amino acids (氨基酸) and bad amino acids,” Lustig, director of the Weight Assessment for Teen and Child Health program at UCSF, said in a statement. “But sugar is toxic beyond its calories. “
The food industry tries to imply that “ a calorie is a calorie,” says Kelly Brownell, director of the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at Yale University. “ But this and other research suggests there is something different about sugar,” says Brownell.
The UCSF report emphasizes the metabolic (新陈代谢的) effects of sugar. Excess sugar can alter metabolism, raise blood pressure, affect the signaling of hormones and damage the liver—outcomes that sound suspiciously similar to what can happen after a person drinks too much alcohol. Schmidt, co-chair of UCSF’s Community Engagement and Health Policy program, noted on CNN: “ When you think about it, this actually makes a lot of sense. Alcohol, after all, is simply made from sugar. Where does vodka come from? Sugar. “
But there are also other areas of impact that researchers have investigated: the effect of sugar on the brain and how liquid calories are interpreted differently by the body than solids. Research has suggested that sugar activates the same reward pathways in the brain as traditional drugs of abuse like morphine or heroin. No one is claiming the effect of sugar is quite that strong, but, says Brownell, “ it helps confirm what people tell you sometimes, that they hunger for sugar and have withdrawal symptoms when they stop eating it. “
There’s also something particularly tricky about sugary drinks. “ When calories come in liquids, the body doesn’t feel as full,” says Brownell. “ People are getting more of their calories than ever before from sugared drinks. “
Other countries, including France, Greece and Denmark, impose soda taxes, and the concept is being considered in at least 20 US cities and states. Last summer, Philadelphia came close to passing a 2-cents-per-ounce soda tax. The Rudd Center has been a strong advocate of a more modest 1 -cent-per-ounce tax. But at least one study, from 2010, has raised doubts that soda taxes would result in significant weight loss: apparently people who are determined to eat—and drink—unhealthily will find ways to do it. Teens—no surprise—are good at finding ways to get the things they can’t have, so state policies banning all sugar-sweetened drinks from public schools and providing only water, milk or 100% fruit juices haven’t had the intended effect of steering kids away from drinking sugared drinks: the average teen consumes about 300 calories per day—that’s nearly 15% of his daily calories—in sweetened drinks, and the food and drink industry is only too happy to feed this need.
Ultimately, regulating sugar will prove particularly tricky because it goes beyond health concerns; sugar, for so many people, is love. A plate of cut-up vegetables just doesn’t pack the same emotional punch as a tin of home-made chocolate chip cookies (饼干) , which is why I took my daughter out for a cupcake and not an apple as an after-school treat today. We don’t do that regularly—it’s the first time this school year, actually—and that’s what made it special. As a society, could we ever reach the point where we’d think apples—not a cupcake—are something to get excited over? Says Brindis, one of the report’s authors and director of UCSF’s Philip R. Lee Institute for Health Policy Studies: “ We recognize that there are cultural and celebratory aspects of sugar. Changing these patterns is very complicated. “
For inroads (进展) to be made, say the authors in their statement, people have to be better educated about the hazards of sugar and agree that something’s got to change:
Many of the interventions (干预) that have reduced alcohol and tobacco consumption can be models for addressing the sugar problem, such as imposing special sales taxes, controlling access, and tightening licensing requirements on vending machines (自动售货机) and snack-bars that sell high sugar products in schools and workplaces.
” We’re not talking prohibition,” Schmidt said. “ We’re not advocating a major imposition of the government into people’s lives. We’re talking about gentle ways to make sugar consumption slightly less convenient, thereby moving people away from the concentrated dose. What we want is to actually increase people’s choices by making foods that aren’t loaded with sugar comparatively easier and cheaper to get. “
Why do some researchers think sugar should be considered “a controlled substance” ?
It contains nothing but empty calories.
It is as harmful as morphine and heroin.
It works the same way as alcohol and tobacco in the human body.
Excessive intake of sugar results in liver toxicity and various diseases,
What might be Americans’ attitude towards government regulation of sugar consumption?
Ehusiastic.
Indifferent.
Disapproving.
Supportive.
What is a consequence of excessive sugar intake worldwide?
It contributes to 35 million noninfectious disease-related deaths a year.
It has increased the death toll nearly three times in the past 50 years.
It contributes to the rise of prices of sugar and sugary foods.
It has increased the global obesity rate to some 17 percent.
The food industry tries to relieve the public worry about sugar intake by suggesting that______.
sugar is no more than a source of energy
sugar is not harmful like alcohol or tobacco
the hazard of sugar to the body is exaggerated
the consumption of sugar is easily controllable
According to Brownell, liquid sugar______.
is especially attractive to young children
is much easier and quicker to absorb than solid sugar
effectively stimulates people’s appetite
increases your calorie intake without your knowing it
What does the author think of the practice of imposing sugar taxes?
It will harm the food and drink industry.
It is unlikely to yield the intended effect.
It is likely to alter people’s eating habits.
It can steer kids away from sugary foods.
Regulating sugar will prove tricky because______.
people consume sugar in large quantities
nothing has been found to replace sugar
sugar may convey a sense of love
many foods will become tasteless
In order to reduce sugar consumption, education should be conducted to raise people’s awareness of its______.
To address the sugar problem, the author suggests that the licensing requirements on vending machines and snack-bars selling high sugar products be______.
She has been invited to give a talk.
She is going to meet the man at 9:30.
She cannot attend the presentation.
She cannot work because of her toothache.
He is a very successful businessman.
He has changed his business strategy.
He is making plans to expand his operation.
He was twenty when he took over the company.
She has every confidence in Susan.
She has not read the news on the Net.
She is a little bit surprised at the news.
She is not as bright and diligent as Susan.
It is more comfortable and convenient to take a bus.
It is worth the money taking a train to Miami.
It is not always cheaper going by bus.
It is faster to go to Miami by train.
Antiques can improve their image.
Preservation of antiques is important.
The old furniture should be replaced.
They should move into a new office.
All roads were closed because of the flood.
The man stayed at the lab the whole night.
The man got home late due to the storm.
The storm continued until midnight.
Many children feel bored when left alone.
The woman’s sons might enjoy team sports.
The woman’s kids can play soccer with his son.
Children should play sports at least once a week.
They had different business strategies.
Customers often mistook one for the other.
Conflicts between them could not be properly solved.
Customers’ questions could not be answered on the same day.
They each take a week.
They like to spend it together.
They have to take it by turns.
They are given two weeks each.
He drove too fast to read it.
He did not notice it.
It says 45 miles an hour.
It is not clearly visible.
It should have been renewed two months ago.
It actually belongs to somebody else.
It is no longer valid.
It is not genuine.
He got a ticket.
He was fined $35.
He had his driver’s license canceled.
He had to do two weeks’ community service.
The skillful use of gestures and facial expressions.
Differences in style between writing and speaking.
Different preferences of audiences.
The importance of preparation.
The differences between American and Asian cultures.
The significance of cross-cultural communication.
The increasing importance of public speaking.
The key to becoming a good speaker.
The best students are usually smart by nature.
It is only natural for children to make errors.
Children cannot detect their own mistakes.
All children should have equal opportunities.
It is favorable to knowledge accumulation.
It is beneficial to independent children.
It is unhealthy to students’ upbringing.
It is unhelpful to students’ learning.
Those with a VIP card.
Those with 15 items or less.
Those needing assistance.
Those paying in cash.
Go back and pick up more items.
Take out some unwanted purchases.
Change the items they have picked up.
Calculate the total cost of the groceries.
It calls for carefulness.
It requires tolerance.
It needs a good knowledge of math.
It involves communication skills.
Time is, for the average American, of utmost importance. To the【B1】___visitor, Americans seem to be more concerned with getting things【B2】on time (according to a predetermined schedule) than they are with developing deep【B3】relations. Schedules, for the American, are meant to be planned and then followed in the smallest【B4】___.
It may seem to you that most Americans are completely【B5】___by the little machines they wear on their wrists, cutting their discussions off【B6】___to make it to their next appointment on time.
Americans’ language is filled with【B7】______ to time, giving a clear【B8】______of how much it is valued. Time is something to be “on,” to be “kept,” “filled,” “saved,” “wasted,” “gained,” “planned,” “given,” “made the most of,” even “killed. “
The international visitor soon learns that【B9】______.
Time is so valued in America because by considering time to be important one can clearly achieve more than if one “wastes” time and doesn’t keep busy. This philosophy has proven its worth.【B10】___. Many American proverbs (谚语) stress the value of guarding time, using it wisely and setting and working toward specific goals.【B11】___.
When Carly Fiorina became Hewlett-Packard’s first female chief executive officer, the existence of her househusband, Frank Fiorina, who had retired early from AT&T to support her career, was a mini-sensation (小轰动); now this arrangement isn’t【S1】___at all. Seven of the 18 women who are【S2】CEOs of Fortune 500 companies—including Xerox’s Ursula Burns and PepsiCo’s Indra Nooyi—have, or at some point have had, a stay-at-home husband. So do scores of【S3】___CEOs of smaller companies and women in other senior executive jobs.
This role change is【S4】___more and more as women edge past men at work. Women now【S5】a majority of jobs in the US, including 51.4 percent of managerial and professional【S6】, according to US Census Bureau data. Some 23 percent of wives now earn more than their husbands. And this earnings trend is more dramatic among younger people. Women 30 and under make more money, on【S7】___, than their male counterparts (年龄相当的人) in many large cities in the US.
During the recent【S8】___, three men lost their jobs for every woman. Many unemployed fathers have ended up caring for their children full-time while their wives are the【S9】wage earners. The number of men in the US who【S10】___care for children under age five increased to 32 percent in 2010 from 19 percent in 1988, according to Census figures.
A) appealing I) occupations
B) average J) occurring
C) conflict K) positions
D) currently L) primary
E) elementary M) recession
F) ensure N) regularly
G) female O) unusual
H) fill
I’ve worked in the factories surrounding my hometown every summer since I graduated from high school, but making the transition (转变) between school and full-time blue-collar work during the break never gets any easier. For a student like me who considers any class before noon to be uncivilized, getting to a factory by 6 o’clock each morning is torture. My friends never seem to understand why I’m so relieved to be back at school or that my summer vacation has been anything but a vacation.
There’re few people as self-confident as a college student who has never been out in the real world. People my age always seem to overestimate the value of their time and knowledge. In fact, all the classes did not prepare me for my battles with the machine I ran in the plant, which would jam whenever I absent-mindedly put in a part backward or upside down.
The most stressful thing about blue-collar life is knowing your job could disappear overnight. Issues like downsizing (裁员) and overseas relocation had always seemed distant to me until my co-workers told me that the unit I was working in would shut down within six months and move to Mexico, where people would work for 60 cents an hour.
After working 12-hour shifts in a factory, the other options have become only too clear. When I’m back at the university, skipping classes and turning in lazy re-writes seems too irresponsible after seeing what I would be doing without school. All the advice and public-service announcements about the value of an education that used to sound stale now ring true.
These lessons I’m learning, however valuable, are always tinged (带有) with a sense of guilt. Many people pass their lives in the places I briefly work, spending 30 years where I spend only two months at a time. “This job pays well, but it’s hell on the body,” said one co-worker. “Study hard and keep reading,” she added.
My experiences in the factories have inspired me to make the most of my college years before I enter the real world for good.
What does the author say about college students?
They expect too much from the real world.
They have little interest in blue-collar life.
They think too highly of themselves.
They are confident of their future.
What, according to the author, is most frustrating for blue-collar workers?
They do not get decent pay.
They do not have job security.
They have to work 12-hour shifts.
They have to move from place to place.
In what important way has the author’s work experience changed him?
He learned to be more practical.
He acquired a sense of urgency.
He came to respect blue-collar workers.
He came to appreciate his college education.
Why does the author feel somewhat guilty?
He realizes there is a great divide between his life and that of blue-collar workers.
He looks down upon the mechanical work at the assembly line.
He has not done much to help his co-workers at the factory.
He has stayed at school just for the purpose of escaping from the real world.
Are people suffering from gadget (小器具) overload? Are they exhausted by the consumer equivalent of the brain fatigue—information overload—that is caused by constant updates of devices and online media?
Underwriters Laboratories issued a report last week that found 48% of consumers “ feel high-tech manufacturers bring new products to market faster than people need them. “
There are two possible explanations. The first, obvious one is that the pace of innovation (创新) is too fast for consumers. The second, less obvious one is that, in fact, innovation is too slow. That is, the new offerings companies are pushing out the door every six months or so are me-too products or ones with just a couple of new features. Marketing schedules, not product innovation, are driving the corporate (公司的) train. Manufacturers in America valued “ speed to market” more than in other countries, the report found.
Sara Greenstein, Underwriters Laboratories’ chief strategy officer, offered her interpretation of the survey results, “ Innovation is too fast only if corners are cut. “
For the high-tech sector, there are a few other interesting findings. Consumers are less concerned about safety in high-tech products than categories like fresh and processed food. But their top safety concerns are emissions and wireless radio waves. Many people, it seems, are uneasy living in a thickening cloud of radio waves from mobile phone towers and the gadgets they communicate with.
A finding that was a bit surprising is that to consumers, the inner parts of high-tech devices do apparently matter. Some 55% of consumers, according to the report, said they are “more concerned about where high-tech components come from than where the product was assembled. “
The report doesn’t really say how that information would affect consumer buying decisions. It could be complicated. Manufacturing companies on average rely on more than 35 contract suppliers around the world to create a single product. That number would be higher for a smartphone or laptop.
But maybe some sort of supply-chain labeling showing where parts come from in a product? “We’re working on it,” Ms. Greenstein said.
What does the author mean by “me-too products”?
Products with no substantial difference.
Products tailored to individual users.
Products everyone is eager to possess.
Products companies compete to make.
What do American businesses give priority to when marketing their products?
The constant updating of their technology.
The speed of putting them on the market.
The quality of their new products.
The pace of product innovation.
What is the consumers’ chief concern about high-tech products?
User-friendliness.
Product quality.
Place of assembly.
Radio emissions.
Why does the author suggest supply-chain labeling?
It guarantees the safe shipping of products.
It promotes the competitiveness of the supplier.
Consumers care about where components are made.
Consumers tend to buy products they are familiar with.
Strong emotional bonds between mothers and infants increase children’s willingness to explore the world—an effect that has been observed【C1】___the animal kingdom, in people, monkeys and even spiders. The more secure we are in our【C2】to Mom, the more likely we are to try new things and take risks. Now researchers are discovering that this effect continues into adulthood. A【C3】reminder of Mom’s touch or the sound of her voice on the phone is【C4】to change people’s minds and moods,【C5】___their decision making in measurable ways.
In a study【C6】___online in April in Psychological Science, undergraduate business students had to choose between safe bets and risky gambles—a bond with a guaranteed 4 percent yearly【C7】or a riskier stock option, for example. In half the cases, the experimenters patted the students【C8】on the back of the shoulder for about one second【C9】providing verbal (口头的) instructions about the study. Both male and female students who were touched by a female experimenter were【C10】more likely to choose the risky alternative【C11】were those who had not been touched or were patted by male experimenters. The reassuring (宽慰的) touch of a woman may have induced early associations,【C12】the same openness to exploration that is observed in young children of【C13】___mothers, explains Jonathan Levav, a business professor at Columbia University and lead author of the study.
To further【C14】___that a woman’s touch links feelings of security【C15】risk taking, the researchers asked a【C16】group of undergraduates to make financial decisions after a writing exercise. Half of them wrote about a time they felt secure and supported, whereas the【C17】half wrote about feeling insecure and alone. Evoking (唤起) a【C18】of insecurity made students in the latter group【C19】receptive to the gentle shoulder pats from female experimenters and much more willing to take a risk—just as a child leaving for a field trip might steal one last reassuring hug【C20】___Mom before stepping on the bus.
试卷年份
2012年
总分
92分
题量
92道
下载
828次