大学英语四级题库/阅读理解 Section B

Section B
Directions
:In this section,you are going to read a passage with ten statements attached to it. Each statement contains information given in one of the paragraphs. Identify the paragraph from which the information is derived. You may choose a paragraph more than once. Each paragraph is marked with a letter. Answer the questions by marking the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2

Do In-class Exams Make Students Study Harder?

Research suggests they may study more broadly for the unexpected rather than search for answers.

[A] I have always been a poor test-taker. So it may seem rather strange that I have returned to college to finish the degree I left undone some four decades ago .I am making my way through Columbia University, surrounded by students who quickly supply the verbal answer while I am still processing the question.

[B] Since there is no way for me to avoid exams, I am currently questioning what kind are the most taxing and ultimately beneficial. I have already sweated through numerous in-class midterms and finals, and now I have a professor who issues take-home ones. I was excited when I learned this, figuring I had a full week to do the research, read the texts, and write it all up. In fact, I was still rewriting my midterm the morning it was due. To say I had lost the thread is putting it mildly.

[C] As I was suffering through my week of anxiety, overthinking the material and guessing my grasp of it, I did some of my own polling among students and professors, David Eisenbach, who teachers a popular class on U.S. presidents at Columbia, prefers the in-class variety. He believes students ultimately learn more and encourages them to form study groups. “That way they socialize over history outside the class, which wouldn’t happen without the pressure of an in-class exam,” he explained. “Furthermore, in-class exams force students to learn how to perform under pressure, an essential work skill.”

[D] He also says there is less chance of cheating with the in-class variety. In 2012, 125 students at Harvard were caught up in a scandal when it was discovered they had cheated on a take-home exam for a class entitled “Introduction To Congress.” Some colleges have what they call an “honor code,” though if you are smart enough to get into these schools, you are either smart enough to get around any codes or hopefully, too ethical to consider doing so. As I sat blocked and clueless for two solid days, I momentarily wondered if I couldn’t just call an expert on the subject matter which I was tackling, or someone who took the class previously, to get me going.

[E] Following the Harvard scandal, Mary Miller, the former dean of students at Yale, made an impassioned appeal to her school’s professors to refrain from take-home exams. “Students risk health and well being, as well as performance in other end-of-term work, when faculty offers take-home exams without clear, time-limited boundaries,” she told me. ”Research now shows that regular quizzes, short essays, and other assignments over the course of a term better enhance learning and retention.”

[F] Most college professors agree the king of exam they choose largely depends on the subject. A quantitative-based one, for example, is unlikely to be sent home, where one could ask their older brothers and sisters to help. Vocational-type classes, such as computer science or journalism, on the other hand, are often more research-oriented and lend themselves to take-home testing. Chris Koch, who teaches “History of Broadcast Journalism” at Montgomery Community College in Rockville, Maryland, points out that reporting is about investigation rather than the memorization of minute details. “In my field, it’s not what you know—it’s what you how to find out,” says Koch. “There is way too much information, and more coming all the time, for anyone to remember. I want my students to search out the answers to questions by using all the resources available to them.”

[G] Students’ test-form preferences vary, too, often depending on the subject and course difficulty. “I prefer take-home essays because it is then really about the writing, so you have time to edit and do more research,” says Elizabeth Dresser, a junior at Barnard. Then there is the stress factor. Francesca Haass, a senior at Middlebury, says, ”I find the in-class ones are more stressful in the short term, but there is immediate relief as you swallow information like mad, and then you get to forget it all. Take-homes require thoughtful engagement which can lead to longer term stress as there is never a moment when the time is up.” Meanwhile, Olivia Rubin, a sophomore at Emory, says she hardly even considers take-home true exams. “If you understand and material and have the ability to articulate(说出)your thoughts, they should be a breeze.”

[H]How students ultimately handle tests may depend on their personal test-taking abilities. There are people who always wait until the last minute, and make it much harder than is needs to be. And then there are those who, not knowing what questions are coming at them, and having no resources to refer to, can freeze. And then there are we rare folk is who fit both those descriptions.

[I] Yes, my advanced age must factor into the equation (等式),  in part because of my inability to access  the information as quickly. As another returning student at Columbia, Kate Marber, told me, “We are learning not only all this information, but essentially how to learn again. Our fellow students have just come out of high school. A lot has changed since we were last in school.”

[J] If nothing else, the situation has given my college son and me something to share. When I asked his opinion on this matter, he responded, “I like in-class exams because the time is already reserved, as opposed to using my free time at home to work on a test,” he responded. It seems to me that a compromise would be receiving the exam questions a day or two in advance, and then doing the actual test in class with the ticking clock overhead.

[K] Better yet, how about what one Hunter College professor reportedly did recently for her final exam: She encouraged the class not to stress or even study, promising that, “It is going to be a piece of cake.” When the students came in, sharpened pencils in hand, there was not a blue book in sight. Rather, they saw a large chocolate cake and they each were given a slice.


1.[选词填空]Most professors agree whether to give an in-class or a take-home exam depends on the type of course being taught.
    2.[选词填空]Some believe take-home exams may affect students' performance in other courses,
      3.[选词填空]The author dropped out of college some forty years ago.
        4.[选词填空]Students who put off their work until the last moment often find the exams more difficult than they actually are.
          5.[选词填空]Certain professors believe in-class exams are ultimately more helpful to students.
            6.[选词填空]Different students may prefer different types of exams.
              7.[选词填空]In-class exams are believed to discourage cheating in exams.
                8.[选词填空]Elderly students find it hard to keep up with the rapid changes in education.
                  9.[选词填空]Some students think take-home exams will eat up their free time.
                    10.[选词填空]The author was happy to learn she could do some exams at home.
                      参考答案: F,E,A,H,C,G,D,I,J,B
                      解题思路:>>>立即刷题