四级考前模考试卷（二）
Part I
Writing (30 minutes)
Directions: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write a short essay on the topic of The Young Want to Be Leaders. You should write at least 120 words according to the outline given below. 1. 现在的年轻人普遍想当领导 2. 人们对此有不同看法 3. 我认为……
The Young Want to Be Leaders
Part II Reading Comprehension (Skimming and Scanning) (15 minutes)
Directions: In this part, you will have 15 minutes to go over the passage quickly 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 questions 8-10, complete the sentences with the information given in the passage.
As English Spreads, Indonesians Fear for Their Language
Paulina Sugiarto’s three children played together at a mall here the other day, chattering not in Indonesia’s national language, but English. Their fluency often draws admiring questions from other Indonesian parents Ms. Sugiarto encounters in this city’s upscale malls.
But the children’s ability in English obscured the fact that, though born and raised in Indonesia, they were struggling with the Indonesian language, known as Bahasa Indonesia. Their parents, who grew up speaking the Indonesian language but went to college in the United States and Australia, talk to their children in English. And the children attend a private school where English is the main language of instruction.
“They know they’re Indonesian,” Ms. Sugiarto, 34, said. “They love Indonesia. They just can’t speak Bahasa Indonesia. It’s tragic.”
Indonesia’s linguistic legacy is increasingly under threat as growing numbers of wealthy and upper-middle-class families shun (避开) public schools where Indonesian remains the main language but English is often taught poorly. They are turning, instead, to private schools that focus on English and devote little time, if any, to Indonesian.
For some Indonesians, as mastery of English has become increasingly tied to social standing, Indonesian has been relegated to second-class status. In extreme cases, people take pride in speaking Indonesian poorly.
The global spread of English, with its sometimes corrosive (逐渐破坏的) effects on local languages, has caused much hand-wringing (焦虑) in many non-English-speaking corners of the world. But the implications may be more far-reaching in Indonesia, where generations of political leaders promoted Indonesian to unite the nation and forge a national identity out of countless ethnic groups, ancient cultures and disparate dialects.
The government recently announced that it would require all private schools to teach the nation’s official language to its Indonesian students by 2013. Details remain sketchy, though.
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“These schools operate here, but don’t offer Bahasa to our citizens,” said Suyanto, who oversees primary and secondary education at the Education Ministry.
“If we don’t regulate them, in the long run this could be dangerous for the continuity of our language,” said Mr. Suyanto, who like many Indonesians uses one name. “If this big country doesn’t have a strong language to unite it, it could be dangerous.”
The seemingly reflexive preference for English has begun to attract criticism in the popular culture. Last year, a woman, whose father is Indonesian and her mother American, was crowned Miss Indonesia despite her poor command of Indonesian. The judges were later condemned in the news media and in the blogs for being impressed by her English fluency and for disregarding the fact that, despite growing up here, she needed interpreters to translate the judges’ questions.
In 1928, nationalists seeking independence from Dutch rule chose Indonesian, a form of Malay, as the language of civic unity. While a small percentage of educated Indonesians spoke Dutch, Indonesian became the preferred language of intellectuals.
Each language had a social rank, said Arief Rachman, an education expert. “If you spoke Javanese, you were below,” he said, referring to the main language on the island of Java. “If you spoke Indonesian, you were a bit above. If you spoke Dutch, you were at the top.”
Leaders, especially Suharto, the general who ruled Indonesia until 1998, enforced teaching of Indonesian and curbed use of English.
“During the Suharto era, Bahasa Indonesia was the only language that we could see or read. English was at the bottom of the rank,” said Aimee Dawis, who teaches communications at Universitas Indonesia. “It was used to create a national identity, and it worked, because all of us spoke Bahasa Indonesia. Now the dilution (淡化) of Bahasa Indonesia is not the result of a deliberate government policy. It’s just occurring naturally.”
With Indonesia’s democratization (民主化) in the past decade, experts say, English became the new Dutch. Regulations were loosened, allowing Indonesian children to attend private schools that did not follow the national curriculum, but offered English. The more expensive ones, with tuition costing several thousand dollars a year, usually employ native speakers of English, said Elena Racho, vice chairwoman of the Association of National Plus Schools, an umbrella organization for private schools.
But with the popularity of private schools booming, hundreds have opened in recent years, Ms. Racho said. The less expensive ones, unable to hire foreigners, are often staffed with Indonesians teaching all subjects in English, if often imperfect English, she added.
Many children attending those schools end up speaking Indonesian poorly, experts said. Uchu Riza — who owns a private school that teaches both languages — said some Indonesians were willing to sacrifice Indonesian for a language with perceived higher status.
“Sometimes they look down on people who don’t speak English,” she said.
She added: “In some families, the grandchildren cannot speak with the grandmother because they don’t speak Bahasa Indonesia. That’s sad.”
Anna Surti Ariani, a psychologist who provides counseling at private schools and in her own practice, said some parents even displayed “a negative pride” that their children spoke poor Indonesian. Schools typically advise the parents to speak to their children in English at home even though the parents may be far from fluent in the language.
“Sometimes the parents even ask the baby sitters not to speak in Indonesian but in English,” Ms. Ariani said.
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It is a sight often seen in this city’s malls on weekends: Indonesian parents addressing their children in sometimes halting English, followed by nannies using what English words they know.
But Della Raymena Jovanka, 30, a mother of two preschoolers, has developed misgivings (担忧). Her son Fathiy, 4, attended an English play group and was enrolled in a kindergarten focusing on English; Ms. Jovanka allowed him to watch only English TV programs.
The result was that her son responded to his parents only in English and had difficulties with Indonesian. Ms. Jovanka was considering sending her son to a regular public school next year. But friends and relatives were pressing her to choose a private school so that her son could become fluent in English.
Asked whether she would rather have her son become fluent in English or Indonesian, Ms. Jovanka said, “To be honest, English. But this can become a big problem in his socialization. He’s Indonesian. He lives in Indonesia. If he can’t communicate with people, it’ll be a big problem.”
1. How do parents in the mall react to Paulina Sugiarto’s children’s fluent English? A) They are confused about the kids’ nationality. B) Many of them show admiration for it. C) They feel like making friends with Sugiarto. D) Most of them worry about Indonesian.
2. What do upper-middle-class people increasingly prefer for their children nowadays? A) Schools in developed countries like Australia. B) Schools teaching interpersonal communication skills. C) Public schools that focus on Indonesian. D) Private schools that teach mainly in English.
3. What happens as English spreads globally? A) It sometimes threats local languages. B) It drives many local people mad.
C) It improves local people’s living standards. D) It helps thriving bilingual education.
4. According to Mr. Suyanto, private schools in Indonesia _______. A) challenged the status of public schools B) helped promote the traditional culture C) could destroy the unity of the country D) placed heavy financial burdens on parents
5. What do we learn about last year’s Miss Indonesia? A) She was criticized in the media. C) She had difficulty with Indonesian.
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B) She was brought up in America. D) She came from a poor family.
6. Once on the island of Java, people using Dutch _______. A) were mainly intellectual persons B) were at the bottom of the social rank C) enjoyed popularity among local people D) had the highest status in the society
7. What happened when Suharto ruled Indonesia? A) English was allowed only in private schools. B) Indonesian was promoted and widespread. C) The influence of Bahasa Indonesian weakened. D) People witnessed the spread of social democracy.
8. According to Uchu Riza, a private school owner, Indonesian was _____________________________________ due to some perception.
9. Parents are advised by private schools to use English at home even if their English is not _____________________________________.
10. Ms. Jovanka’s friend and relatives were trying to persuade her to send her son to _____________________________________. Part III Listening Comprehension Section A
Directions: In this section, you will hear 8 short conversations and 2 long conversations. At the end of each conversation, one or more questions will be asked about what was said. Both the conversation and the questions will be spoken only once. After each question there will be a pause. During the pause, you must read the four choices marked A), B), C) and D), and decide which is the best answer. Then mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the centre.
11. A) He hasn’t been hard on her.
12. A) Go over the list.
13. A) They cater chiefly to tourists. B) They are busy all the year round. C) They stay closed until summer comes. D) They provide quality service to their customers.
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(35 minutes)
B) He always finds fault with her. D) He will change his attitude to her. B) Go for an outing.
D) List everything his mum needs.
C) He won’t revenge himself on her.
C) Go shopping for his mum.
14. A) The yard of their old house.
B) The room they are going to move into. C) The quality of the furniture they bought. D) The feeling they have of their neighborhood.
15. A) The man had the car repaired. B) The speakers’ car has to be replaced. C) The couple were involved in an accident. D) The speakers’ car was stolen and the man found it.
16. A) She bought the skirt on her birthday. B) It was a wedding gift from her friends. C) She thanked the man for buying her the skirt. D) Her boyfriend presented it to her as a gift.
17. A) The rent is too high.
18. A) All rooms are taken. C) There are only double rooms.
Questions 19 to 22 are based on the conversation you have just heard. 19. A) A cheap new car.
20. A) She is too old to see clearly.
21. A) It looks very new inside and outside. C) Many parts in the car need renewing.
22. A) $2,650 or so. B) $500 or less. C) Over $3,500. D) $10,000 or so.
Questions 23 to 25 are based on the conversation you have just heard. 23. A) She doesn’t have time to do exercise. B) She eats less but remains overweight.
C) She doesn’t eat fast foods but remains overweight. D) She doesn’t know whether the doctor can help her.
24. A) Try to eat less.
B) He doesn’t like the suburbs. D) It’s too expensive to hire taxies. B) There is just a single room. D) Many spare rooms are available.
C) He can’t afford the high taxes.
B) An extravagant new car.
C) An old Buick Century. D) A used car that’s a bargain.
B) She has been tired of the old car.
C) She is seriously ill. D) She has been hurt in an accident.
B) There is nothing wrong with the car. D) It was expensive when it was new.
B) Walk more quickly.
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