Test anxiety, which means individuals show excessive worry, nervousness and anxiety in examination contexts, is becoming a more and more common phenomenon. A moderate level of test anxiety will motivate students while...Test anxiety, which means individuals show excessive worry, nervousness and anxiety in examination contexts, is becoming a more and more common phenomenon. A moderate level of test anxiety will motivate students while a too high or too low level of test anxiety will influence students’ academic performance and their cognitive abilities. Most present researches are focused on secondary school students or on the final exam of a specific school. Few researches on college students and standard tests can be found. Therefore, the researcher took 255 college students as samples to investigate the test anxiety level of non-English majors, their attitudes towards different test tasks (ATDTT) and the correlation between them. The results of the research are as follows: Firstly, the students from non-English majors are at the lower of a moderate test anxiety level in CET-4 and there is no significant gender difference. Secondly, among the four sections in CET-4, students are most positive in writing, less positive in translation and reading, and the least positive in listening. Thirdly, students’ ATDTT in CET-4 are negatively correlated with total test anxiety, cognitive anxiety and emotional anxiety. The researcher hopes this research can offer some help to teachers and students in need.展开更多
This paper is to investigate whether the CET-4 writing section has positive effect in terms of Communicative Language Testing.The questionnaire survey method is adopted to carry out the research to collect data.It is ...This paper is to investigate whether the CET-4 writing section has positive effect in terms of Communicative Language Testing.The questionnaire survey method is adopted to carry out the research to collect data.It is concluded that currently the CET-4 writing section has certain harmful effect upon English learning of college non-English major students.Further reforms and improvement from the perspective of communicative language testing concerning the scoring criteria and the design of the task should be the focus of the future.展开更多
The paper discusses the ＂Writing Test＂ in College English Test - Band Four in two aspects. One is the design of the ＂Writing＂ form; the other is the scoring process. From the discussion the paper comes to a conclu...The paper discusses the ＂Writing Test＂ in College English Test - Band Four in two aspects. One is the design of the ＂Writing＂ form; the other is the scoring process. From the discussion the paper comes to a conclusion that the ＂Writing Test＂ in CET-4 should be reformed in two ways： the single style of the ＂Writing＂ structure should be changed to various styles in design, and the ＂global scoring＂ principle used in marking the writing should be changed to ＂local scoring＂. At last, the author suggests some ways of how to put the reforming into reality,展开更多
In order to assess college students'overall language proficiency,a new format,banked cloze,is included in the revised CET-4.Based on the previous studies on banked cloze in China,this paper discusses on how to con...In order to assess college students'overall language proficiency,a new format,banked cloze,is included in the revised CET-4.Based on the previous studies on banked cloze in China,this paper discusses on how to construct highly valid CET-4 banked cloze in line with the revised CET Syllabus(2006).展开更多
As one of the world well-known high-stakes tests, CET-4 （College English Test Band 4） changed from being generally accepted to being widely questioned in the past 25 years. In spite of a series of reforms of CET-4, ...As one of the world well-known high-stakes tests, CET-4 （College English Test Band 4） changed from being generally accepted to being widely questioned in the past 25 years. In spite of a series of reforms of CET-4, the negative impact of CET-4 remains intense. Three main reasons are probed into here. Firstly, the objective of CET-4 is ambiguous. Secondly, the test objective does not accord with teaching objective. Finally, test contents do not match well with the practical language use. To improve the present passive state of CET-4, some suggestions are given.展开更多
A full-scale composite floor plate was tested to investigate the flexural behavior and in-plane effects of the floor slab in a grillage of composite beams that reduces the tendency for longitudinal splitting of the co...A full-scale composite floor plate was tested to investigate the flexural behavior and in-plane effects of the floor slab in a grillage of composite beams that reduces the tendency for longitudinal splitting of the concrete slab along the line of the primary beams. This is important in cases where the steel decking is discontinuous when it is orientated parallel to the beams. In this case, it is important to demonstrate that the amount of transverse reinforcement required to transfer local forces from the shear connectors can be reduced relative to the requirements of Eurocode 4. The mechanism under study involved in-plane compression forces being developed in the slab due to the restraining action of the floor plate, which was held in position by the peripheral composite beams;while the secondary beams acted as transverse ties to resist the forces in the floor plate that would otherwise lead to splitting of the slab along the line of the primary beams. The tendency for cracking along the center line of the primary beam and at the peripheral beams was closely monitored. This is the first large floor plate test that has been carried out under laboratory conditions since the Cardington tests in the early 1990s, although those tests were not carried out to failure. This floor plate test was designed so that the longitudinal force transferred by the primary beams was relatively high (i.e., it was designed for full shear connection), but the transverse reinforcement was taken as the minimum of 0.2% of the concrete area. The test confirmed that the primary beams reached their plastic bending resistance despite the discontinuous decking and transverse reinforcement at the minimum percentage given in Eurocode 4. Based on this test, a reduction factor due to shear connectors at edge beams without U-bars is proposed.展开更多
This work aims at solving the problems of difficult dispersion,easy oxidation and high cost of nano carbon during application,carbon/magnesium aluminate spinel(C/MgAl_(2)O_(4))composite powders were prepared using MgC...This work aims at solving the problems of difficult dispersion,easy oxidation and high cost of nano carbon during application,carbon/magnesium aluminate spinel(C/MgAl_(2)O_(4))composite powders were prepared using MgC2O4·2H2O,MgO2,Al2O3 powder,and Al powder as raw materials by combustion synthesis.The results indicate that with the maximum MgC2O4·2H2O addition of 33.34 mass%,the prepared powder contains 1.17 mass%of carbon and carbon distributes among spinel grains.The MgAl_(2)O_(4)spinel shows both granular and rod-like morphologies.The granular MgAl_(2)O_(4)spinel is generated from mutual diffusion between MgO and Al2O3;while the rod-like MgAl_(2)O_(4)spinel is mainly formed by the vapor-solid growth mechanism from Mg vapor and Al2O3.展开更多
Four samples were chosen by systematic sampling from the range-finders between 1987 and 2003 to test the range-finders’ representativeness of the scoring criteria of CET-4 compositions. The samples were analyzed from...Four samples were chosen by systematic sampling from the range-finders between 1987 and 2003 to test the range-finders’ representativeness of the scoring criteria of CET-4 compositions. The samples were analyzed from the perspectives of transitivity, modality, thematic structure and cohesion. Fisher's Exact Test from the SAS system was used to compare two-sidedly the correct rate and the constituent ratio of these functional usages between two neighboring levels. Statistical results indicate that it is the quality, not the quantity of these functional usages that distinguishes two neighboring levels. The range-finders can basically represent the abstract scoring criteria as far as the four functional systems are concerned. However, the validity of CET-4 writing needs to be improved.展开更多
文摘Test anxiety, which means individuals show excessive worry, nervousness and anxiety in examination contexts, is becoming a more and more common phenomenon. A moderate level of test anxiety will motivate students while a too high or too low level of test anxiety will influence students’ academic performance and their cognitive abilities. Most present researches are focused on secondary school students or on the final exam of a specific school. Few researches on college students and standard tests can be found. Therefore, the researcher took 255 college students as samples to investigate the test anxiety level of non-English majors, their attitudes towards different test tasks (ATDTT) and the correlation between them. The results of the research are as follows: Firstly, the students from non-English majors are at the lower of a moderate test anxiety level in CET-4 and there is no significant gender difference. Secondly, among the four sections in CET-4, students are most positive in writing, less positive in translation and reading, and the least positive in listening. Thirdly, students’ ATDTT in CET-4 are negatively correlated with total test anxiety, cognitive anxiety and emotional anxiety. The researcher hopes this research can offer some help to teachers and students in need.
文摘This paper is to investigate whether the CET-4 writing section has positive effect in terms of Communicative Language Testing.The questionnaire survey method is adopted to carry out the research to collect data.It is concluded that currently the CET-4 writing section has certain harmful effect upon English learning of college non-English major students.Further reforms and improvement from the perspective of communicative language testing concerning the scoring criteria and the design of the task should be the focus of the future.
文摘The paper discusses the ＂Writing Test＂ in College English Test - Band Four in two aspects. One is the design of the ＂Writing＂ form; the other is the scoring process. From the discussion the paper comes to a conclusion that the ＂Writing Test＂ in CET-4 should be reformed in two ways： the single style of the ＂Writing＂ structure should be changed to various styles in design, and the ＂global scoring＂ principle used in marking the writing should be changed to ＂local scoring＂. At last, the author suggests some ways of how to put the reforming into reality,
文摘In order to assess college students'overall language proficiency,a new format,banked cloze,is included in the revised CET-4.Based on the previous studies on banked cloze in China,this paper discusses on how to construct highly valid CET-4 banked cloze in line with the revised CET Syllabus(2006).
文摘As one of the world well-known high-stakes tests, CET-4 （College English Test Band 4） changed from being generally accepted to being widely questioned in the past 25 years. In spite of a series of reforms of CET-4, the negative impact of CET-4 remains intense. Three main reasons are probed into here. Firstly, the objective of CET-4 is ambiguous. Secondly, the test objective does not accord with teaching objective. Finally, test contents do not match well with the practical language use. To improve the present passive state of CET-4, some suggestions are given.
基金part of a collaborative project between the Steel Construction Institute, the University of Stuttgart, the University of Luxembourg, Arcelor Mittal S.A., and the University of Bradford funded by the European Community’s Research Fund for Coal and Steel (RFSR-CT-2012-00030)
文摘A full-scale composite floor plate was tested to investigate the flexural behavior and in-plane effects of the floor slab in a grillage of composite beams that reduces the tendency for longitudinal splitting of the concrete slab along the line of the primary beams. This is important in cases where the steel decking is discontinuous when it is orientated parallel to the beams. In this case, it is important to demonstrate that the amount of transverse reinforcement required to transfer local forces from the shear connectors can be reduced relative to the requirements of Eurocode 4. The mechanism under study involved in-plane compression forces being developed in the slab due to the restraining action of the floor plate, which was held in position by the peripheral composite beams;while the secondary beams acted as transverse ties to resist the forces in the floor plate that would otherwise lead to splitting of the slab along the line of the primary beams. The tendency for cracking along the center line of the primary beam and at the peripheral beams was closely monitored. This is the first large floor plate test that has been carried out under laboratory conditions since the Cardington tests in the early 1990s, although those tests were not carried out to failure. This floor plate test was designed so that the longitudinal force transferred by the primary beams was relatively high (i.e., it was designed for full shear connection), but the transverse reinforcement was taken as the minimum of 0.2% of the concrete area. The test confirmed that the primary beams reached their plastic bending resistance despite the discontinuous decking and transverse reinforcement at the minimum percentage given in Eurocode 4. Based on this test, a reduction factor due to shear connectors at edge beams without U-bars is proposed.
文摘This work aims at solving the problems of difficult dispersion,easy oxidation and high cost of nano carbon during application,carbon/magnesium aluminate spinel(C/MgAl_(2)O_(4))composite powders were prepared using MgC2O4·2H2O,MgO2,Al2O3 powder,and Al powder as raw materials by combustion synthesis.The results indicate that with the maximum MgC2O4·2H2O addition of 33.34 mass%,the prepared powder contains 1.17 mass%of carbon and carbon distributes among spinel grains.The MgAl_(2)O_(4)spinel shows both granular and rod-like morphologies.The granular MgAl_(2)O_(4)spinel is generated from mutual diffusion between MgO and Al2O3;while the rod-like MgAl_(2)O_(4)spinel is mainly formed by the vapor-solid growth mechanism from Mg vapor and Al2O3.
基金This paper is one of the outcomes of the university project ( XB200349)
文摘Four samples were chosen by systematic sampling from the range-finders between 1987 and 2003 to test the range-finders’ representativeness of the scoring criteria of CET-4 compositions. The samples were analyzed from the perspectives of transitivity, modality, thematic structure and cohesion. Fisher's Exact Test from the SAS system was used to compare two-sidedly the correct rate and the constituent ratio of these functional usages between two neighboring levels. Statistical results indicate that it is the quality, not the quantity of these functional usages that distinguishes two neighboring levels. The range-finders can basically represent the abstract scoring criteria as far as the four functional systems are concerned. However, the validity of CET-4 writing needs to be improved.
