2020年12月12日英语六级考试真题及答案

责编：胡陆 2020-11-13

英语六级考试模式为“多题多卷，目的是希望使考试更加公平，更加合理。一个考场中就会出现三套不一样的四级试卷，难度水平都差不多，三套试卷都是随机发放。同一个考场里的听力是一样的，选项的顺序有可能不同。以下是为大家整理的2020年下半年全国大学英语六级考试真题及答案。

Part I Writing (30 minutes)

【第一套作文】Directions： For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write an essay on why students should be encouraged to de-velop effective communication skills. You should write at least 150 words but no more than 200 words.

范文：

Living in an age when competition is becoming increasingly severe, students are generally encouraged to develop effec-tive communication skills. These skills include both the man-

agement of body language and facial expressions while stu-dents are talking and the pace and emphasis of the speech flow.

The reasons why students should be encouraged to develop effective communication skills mainly lie in the following three respects. First of all, as a student, effective communi-cation skills make our thoughts and ideas more easily under-stood by those around us and our talent would be more

likely to been seen by others. Moreover, effective communi-cation skills give us the ability to fulfill tasks more efficient-ly and solve problems more effectively. Last but not least,knowing the secrets of effectively delivering what we would like to express helps us make more friends.

To conclude, developing effective communication skills can not only render us outstanding easily but also lead us to success undoubtedly. With these skills, we will definitely become the one we have been dreaming to be.

【第二套作文】Directions： For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write an essay on why students should be encouraged to de-velop the ability to meet challenges. You should write at least 150 words but no more than 200 words.

范文：

Living in a world where challenges exist everywhere, stu-dents are generally encouraged to develop the ability to meet diverse challenges. Cultivating this ability is no easy task, but once you own it, you will be more likely to achieve success.

The reasons why students should be encouraged to develop the ability to meet challenges mainly lie in the following three respects. First of all, as a student, the ability to meet challenges can give them a stronger inner mind, which is very indispensable for the growth of contemporary young-sters. Moreover, the ability, to meet challenges can make students better prepared for their future career. Last but not least, this ability can undoubtedly enhance students'efficiency to solve problems in their real lives.

To conclude, developing the ability to meet challenges can not only render us outstanding easily but also lead us to success eventually. With this ability, we will definitely become the one we have been dreaming to be.

【第三套作文】Directions：For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write an essay on why students should be encouraged to de-velop creativity. You should write at least 150 words but no more than 200 words.

范文：

Living in a time when science and technology has already been highly developed, students are gradually used to ac-cepting large numbers of structured and experience-based knowledge. By contrast, creativity seems relatively more precious because it is a quality so rare that most people would ignore its existence.

The reasons why students should be encouraged to develop creativity mainly lie in the following three respects. First of all, the ability to be creative can give them a more splendid inner. mind, which is very indispensable for the growth of contemporary youngsters. Moreover, creativity can stimu-late students' ”imagination, which people attach great im-portance to in the process of invention. Last but not least,this ability can undoubtedly enhance students ”efficiency to solve problems in their real lives.

In my point of view, developing creativity can not only render us outstanding easily but also lead us to success eventually. With this ability, we will definitely become the one we have been dreaming to be.

Passage One

Questions 46 to 50 are based on the following passage.

It is not controversial to say that an unhealthy diet causes bad health. Nor are the basic elements of healthy eating disputed. Obesity raises susceptibility to cancer, and Britain is the sixth most obese country on Earth. That is a public health emergency. But naming the problem is the easy part. No one disputes the costs in quality of life and depleted health budgets of an obese population, but the quest for solutions gets diverted by ideological arguments around responsibility and choice. And the water is muddied by lobbying from the industries that profit from consumption of obesity-inducing products.

Historical precedent suggests that science and politics can overcome resistance from businesses that pollute and poison but it takes time, and success often starts small. So it is heartening to note that a programme in Leeds has achieved a reduction in childhood obesity, becoming the first UK city to reverse a fattening trend. The best results were among younger children and in more deprived areas.When 28% of English children aged two to 15 are obese, a national shift on the scale achieved by Leeds would lengthen hundreds of thousands of lives. A significant factor in the Leeds experience appears to be a scheme called HENRY,which helps parents reward behaviours that preyent obesity in children.

Many members of parliament are uncomfortable even with their own govemment"s anti-obesity strategy,since it involves a“sugar tax" and a ban on the sale of energy drinks to under-16s. Bans and taxes can be blunt instruments, but their harshest critics can rarely suggest better methods.These critics just oppose regulation itself.

The relationship between poor health and inequality is too pronounced for govermments to be passive about large-scale intervention. People living in the most deprived areas are four times more prone to die from avoidable causes than counterparts in more affluent places. As the structural nature of public health problems becomes harder to ignore,the complaint about overprotective govenment loses potency.

In fact, the polarised debate over public health interventions should have been abandoned long ago.Govemment action works when individuals are motivated to respond. Individuals need govemments that expand access to good choices. The HENRY programme was delivered in part through children"s centres. Closing such centres and cutting council budgets doesn"t magically increase reserves of individual self-reliance. The function of a well-designed state intervention is not to deprive people of liberty but to build social capacity and infrastructure that helps people take responsibility for their wellbeing. The obesity crisis will not have a solution devised by leit or right ideology- -but experience indicates that the private sector needs the incentive of regulation before it starls taling public health emergencies seriously.

46. Why is the obesity problem in Britain so difficult to solve?

A) Goverment health budgets are depleted.

B) People disagree as to who should do what.

C) Individuals are not ready to take their responsibilties.

D) Industry lobbying makes it hard to get healthy foods.

47. What can we learmn from the past experience in tacking public health emergencies?

A) Govemments have a role to play.

B) Public health is a scientifc issue.

C) Priority should be given to deprived regions.

D) Businesses" responsility should be stressed.

48. What does the author imply about some critics of bans and taxes concerning unhealthy drinks?

A) They are not aware of the consequences of obesity.

B) They have not come up with anything more constructive.

C) They are uncomfortable with parliament"s anti obesity debate.

D) They have their own motives in opposing govermment regulation.

49. Why does the author stress the relationship between poor health and inequality?

A) To demonstrate the dilemma of people living in deprived areas.

B) To bring to light the root cause of widespread obesity in Britain.

C) To highlight the area deserving the most attention from the public.

D) To justify govermment intervention in solving the obesity problem.

50. When will govermment action be effective?

A) When the polarised debate is abandoned.

B) When ideological differences are resolved.

C) When individuals have the incentive to act accordingly.

D) When the private sector realises the severity of the crisis.

Passage Two

Questions 51 to 55 are based on the following passage.

Home to virgin reefs, rare sharks and vast numbers of exotic fish, the Coral Sea is a unique haven of biodiversity off the northeastem coast of Australia. If a proposal by the Australian govemment goes ahead, the region will also become the world"s largest marine protected area, with restrictions or bans on fishing, mining and marine farming.

The Coral Sea reserve would cover almost 990 000 square kilometres and stretch as far as 1100 kilometres from the coast. Unveiled recently by environment minister Tony Burke，the proposal would be the last in a series of proposed marine reserves around Australia"s coast.

But the scheme is attracting criticism from scientists and conservation groups, who argue that the govemment hasn"t gone far enough in protecting the Coral Sea, or in other marine reserves in the coastal network.Hugh Possingham,director of the Centre of Excellence for Environmental Decisions at the University of Queensland, points out that little more than half of the Coral Sea reserve is proposed as“no take" area, in which all fishing would be banned. The world"s largest existing marine reserve,established last year by the British govemment in the Indian Ocean, spans 554 000 km2 and is a no-take zone throughout. An alliance of campaigning conversation groups argues that more of the Coral Sea should receive this level of protection.

“I would like to have seen more protection for coral reefs," says Tery Hughes, director of the Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies at James Cook University in Queensland.“More than 20 of them would be outside the no-take area and vulnerable to catch- and-release fshing” .

As Nature went to press, the Australian govemment had not responded to specifc criticisms of the plan. But Robin Beaman, a marine geologist at James Cook University, says that the reserve does“broadly protect the range of habitats”in the sea.“I can testify to the huge effort that govemment agencies and other organisations have put into trying to understand the ecological values of this vast area," he says. .

Reserves proposed earlier this year for Australia"s southwester and northwesterm coastal regions have also been criticised for failing to give habitats adequate protection. In August,173 marine scientists signed an open letter to the govemment saying they were“greatly concemed" that the proposals for the southwestem region had not been based on the“ core science principles”of reserves-the protected regions were not, for instance , representative of all the habitats in the region, they said.

Critics say that the southwestem reserve offers the greatest protection to the offishore areas where commercial opportunities are fewest and where there is lttle threat to the environment,a contention also levelled at the Coral Sea plan.

51. What do we learn from the passage about the Coral Sea?

A) It is exceptionally rich in marine life.

B) It is the biggest marine protected area.

C) It remains largely undisturbed by humans.

D) It is a unique haven of endangered species.

52. What does the Australian govemment plan to do according to Tony Burke?

A) Make a new proposal to protect the Coral Sea.

B) Revise its conservation plan owing to criticisms.

C) Upgrade the established reserves to protect marine life.

D) Complete the series of marine reserves around its coast.

53. What is scientists" argument about the Coral Sea proposal?

A) The govemment has not done enough for marine protection.

B) It will not improve the marine reserves along Australia"s coast.

C) The govemment has not consulted them in drawing up the proposal.

D) It is not based on suffcient investigations into the ecological system.

54. What does marine geologist Robin Beaman say about the Coral Sea plan?

A) It can compare with the British govemment"s effort in the Indian Ocean.

B) It will result in the establishment of the world"s largest marine reserve.

C) It will ensure the sustainability of the fishing industry around the coast.

D) It is a tremendous joint effort to protect the range of marine habitats.

55. What do critics think of the Coral Sea plan?

A) It will do more harm than good to the environment.

B) It will adversely affect Australia"s fishing industry.

C) It will protect regions that actually require lttle protection.

D) It will win lttle support from environmental organisations.

Conversation 1

M: Good morning, safe house insurance. My name is Paul. How can I help you today?

W: Morning. I wouldn't say that it's good from where I am standing. This is Miss Wilson, and this is the third time I've called this week since receiving your letter about our insurance claim. (1)I'm getting a litte fed up with my calls about my claim being completely disregarded

M: Miss Wilson, thank you for calling back. Can 1 take some details to help me look at your claim?

W: It's Miss May Wilson, a 15 south sea road in Cornwall.And the details are that our village was extensively flooded 2 monthsago. (2)The entire ground floor of our cottage was submerged in water. And five of us have been living in a caravan ever since. You people are still withholding the money we are entitled to over a bizarre, technical detail. And it's not acceptable,Paul.

M:Miss Wilson, according to the notes on your account, (3)the bizarre.technical detail that you mentioned refers to the fact that

you hadn't paid house insurance the month before the incident.

W:That money left our account and wow that you should be paying out. You are suddenly saying that you didn't receive it on time. I'm really skeptical about this claim.

M:The contract docs say that any miss payment in a ycar will affect the tcrms and conditions of the insurance contract and may affect claims. Of course, I can pass you on to my manager to tlk to you more about this.

W:I've already spoken to him and you can tell him I'm furious now. And that your company has a lawsuit on its hands.(4) You

will be hearing from my lawyer. good bye.

Questions 1 to 4 are based on the conversation you have just heard.

Qucstion I: What is the woman complaining about?

Question 2: What is the problem the woman's family encountered?

Question 3: What has caused the so called bizarre, technical detail according to the man?

Question 4: What does the woman say she will do at the end of the conversation?

Conversation 2

W: (5) How do you feel about the future of artificial intelligence? Personally. I feel quite optimistic about it.

M: (5) AI2 I'm not so optimistic actually. In fact it'. something we should be concerned about.

W: Well, it will help us humans understand ourselves better and when we have a better understanding of ourselves, we can improve the world .

M: Well, one thing is for sure, technology is evolving faster than our ability to understand it, and in the future AI will make jobs kind of pointless.

W: (6) I think artificial intelligence will actually help create new kinds of jobs. which would require less of our time and allow us to be centered on creative tasks.

M: I doubt that very much. Probably the last job that will be writing AI sofware and then eventually AI will just write his own software.

W: At that time, we are going to have a lot of jobs which nobody will want to do. So we won't need artificial itelligence for the robots to take care of the old guys like us.

M: I don't know. (7) There's a risk that human civilization could be replaced by a superior type of digital life. AI will be able to completely simulate a person in every way possible. In fact. some people think we're in a simulation right now.

W: That's impossible. Humans can't even make a mosquito. Computers only have chips, people have brains, and thats where the wisdom comes from.

M: (8) Once its fully developed, AI will become tired of trying to communicate with humans as we would be much slower thinkers in comparison.

W: I'm not so sure. A computer is a computer and a computer is just a toy.

M: Computers can easily communicate incredibly fast, so the computer will just get impatient talking to humans. I'll be barely getting any information out.

W: Well,I believe there's a benevolent future with AI I also think you watch too many science fiction films.

Questions 5 to 8 are based on the conversation you have just heard.

Q5 What do we leam about the speakers from the conversation?

Q6 What will new kinds of jobs be like according to the woman?

Q7 What is the risk the man anticipates?

Q8 What is the man's concern about AI technology?

Section B

Directions: In this section, you will hear two passages. Al the end of each passuge, you will hear three or four questions. Both the passage and the questions will be spoken only once. After you hear a question, you must choose the best answer from the four choices marked A)，B)，C) and D). Then mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 1 with a single line through the centre.

Passage One

To achieve financial security. How much you save is always more important. Then the amount you earn or how shrewdly you invest(9) If you're under 30 years old. you goal should be to save 20% of your monthly income after tax deductions.This is irespective of how much you eam. Approximately 50% should be reserved for essentials, like food and accommodation.The remaining 30% is for recreation and entertainment. But for many young people, i'll be difficult to designate such a large

proportion of their income for savings. (10) If you find it hard to save any money at all start by cutting all unnecessaryspending.allocate a tiny amount of 1 or 2% for savings. and gradually increase that amount. (11)Always keep that 20% goal in mind.prevent yourself from becoming complacent. It can be challenging to stick to such a strict plan. But if you adopt the right mindset.you should be able to make it work for you. So what should you be doing with the moncy that you are saving? Some must be kept easily accessible. In case you need some cash in an emergency, the largest proportion should be invested in retirement plans,either for your employer, all privately, you can keep some money for high risk, but potentally lucrative investments. Dividends can be reinvested or used to purchase something you like. By following this plan, you should hopefully be able to enjoy your life now, and still be financially secure in the future.

Questions, 9 to 11 are based on the passage you have just heard.

Q 9. What are people under 30 advised to do to achieve financial security?

Q10. What should people do if they find it difficult to follow the speaker's advice on their financial plan?

Q 1l. What does the speaker think is important for achieving financial security?

Passage Two

I work in advertising and I like to keep up with current trends, mainly because I'm aware that we live in an image obsessed world.

(12)However, when I first started my job. occasionally I'd catcha glimpse of myself in the lifts and find myself thinking that 1 looked a total mess Was I being held back by my choice of clothing? The short answer is“Yes",especially when clients are quick to judge you on your style rather than your work.(13) But no one can be unique with her outfit every day.I mean that's why uniforms were invented. So here's what I did.I created my own uniform. To do this,I chose an appropriate outfit.Then I bought multiple items of the same style in different shades.

Now,I never wory about what I'm wearing in the morning Even ifI do get a bit tired of just wearing the same classic pieces.(14)Overall. when it comes to work. you have to ask yourself with looking smarter can enhance my ability to do my job.

For some, this question may not be an issue at all,especially if you work remotely and rarely see your colleagues or clients face to face. But if your job involves interacting with other people, the answer to this is often“yes". (15) So rather than fighting the systcm.I think we should just do whatever hclps us 10 achieve our goals at work.If that mcans playing it safc with your image.then let's face it. It's probably worth it。

Questions 12 to 15 are based on the passage you have just heard.

Q 12. What do we learn about the speaker when she first started her job?

Q 13. Why were uniforms invented according to the speaker?

Q 14. What does the speakers say about looking smarter?

Q 15. What does the speaker advise people to do in an image obsessed world?

Section C

Recording One

Did you know that Americans have approximately 3 times the amount of space we had 50 years ago? Therefore, you'd think would have sufficient room for all of our possessions. On the contrary, the personal storage business is now a growing industry.We've got triple the space, but we've become such enthusiastic consumers that we require even more. (16) This phenomenon has resulted in significant credit card debt, cnormous cnvironmcntal footprints. and perhaps not coincidentally our happincss levels have failed to increase over the same half century.

I'm here to suggest an alternative. They're having less might actually be a preferable decision. Many of us have experienced at some stage, the pleasure of possessing less. (17)Ipropose that less stuff and less space can not only help you economize.but also simplify your life. I recently started an innovative project to discover some creative solutions that offered me everything I required. By purchasing an apartment. There was 40 square meters instead of 60. I immediately saved S200,000. Smaller space leads to reduced utility bills and also a smaller carbon footprint, because it's designed around an edited collection of possessions,limited to my favorite stuff. I'm really excited to live there.

How can we live more basically? Firstly, we must briefly cut the unnecessary objects out of our lives to stem consumption.We should think bcforc wc buy and ask oursclves: Will it truly makc me happier? Obviously, we should posscss somc grcat stuff but we want belongings that we 're going to love for years. Secondly,we require space effciency.We want appliances that are designed for use most of the time, not for occasional use. Why own a six burner when you really use even three bumers?

Finally,we need multifunctional spaccs and housewarcs.I combincd a movable wall with transforming furmiturc to gct more out of my limited space.Consider my coffee table.It increases in size to accommodate ten. My office is tucked away,easily hidden. My bed simply pops out of the wall. For gas, I can relocate the movable wall and utilize the foldable guest beds I installed.I'm not saying we should all live in tiny apartments, but consider the benefits of an edited life.When you return home and walk through your front door, take a moment to ask yoursclves. Could I do with a lttle life editing? Would that give me more freedom

and more time?

Question 16 to 18 are based on the recording you have just heard.

Question 16.What has prevented American's happincss levels from increasing?

Question 17. What things should we possess according to the speaker?

Recording Two

Now, believe it or not, (19) people sometimes lie in order to maintain a good, honest reputation, even if it hurts them to do so. At least. this is what a team of scicntists is suggcsting with evidence to prove it.

Picture this scenario- you often drive for work and can be compensated for up to 400 miles per month. Most people at your company drive about 300 miles each month. But this month you drove 400 miles. How many miles do you think you'd claim in your cxpcnsc report? The scicntists askcd this cxact qucstion as part of thc study we're discussing today. With surprising results,they found that 12% of respondents reported the distance they drove as less than the actual figure, giving an average answer of 384 miles. In other words, they lied about the number of miles, even though they would forfeit money they were owed.The researchers believe this was to seem honest with the assumption being that others would be suspicious of a high expense claim.

But why would people fabricate numbers to their own detriment? (20) The researchers explained that many people care a great deal about their reputation and how they'll be judged by others. If they care enough, they 're concerned about appearing honest and not losing the respect of others- maybe greater than their desire to actually be honest. The researchers assert that the findings suggest that when people obtain very favorable outcomes, they anticipate other people's suspicious reactions and prefer lying and appearing honest to telling the truth and appearing as selfish liars.

So why is this research important? Well, experts generally agree there are two main types of lie selfish lies and lies that are meant to benefit others. The first, as you may predict,is for selfish gain, such as submitting a fraudulent claim to an insurance company, while the second involves lying to help others or not offend others. For example, elling a friend whose outfit you don't like that they look great. But the researchers are suggesting a third type of lying:lying to maintain a good reputation.

Now this hypothesis is new, and some skceptics arguc that this isn't a whole new catcgory of lie. (21) But the findings seem intuitive to me After all, one of the main motivations for lying is to increase our worth in the eyes of others. So it seems highly likely that people will lie to seem honest.

Questions 19 to 21 are based on the recording you have just heard.

Question 19: What did a team of scientists find in their study?

Question 20: why would people fabricate numbers to their own detriment according to the researchers?

Question 21: What does the speaker think of the researchers findings?

Recording Three

(22) Why do old people dislike new music? As I've grown older, I often hear people my age say things like, "They just don't make good music like they used to." (22) Why docs this happcn? Luckily. psychology can give us some insights into this puzzlc.Musical taste begins crystallized as carly as age 13 or 14. By the time we're in our early 20s, these tastes get locked into place pretty firmly.

(23) In fact, studics havc found that by the time we tum 33. most of us have stoppcd listening to new music. Mcanwhile,

popular songs released when you in the early teens are likely to remain quite popular among your age group for the rest of your life.There could be a biological explanation for this. As there's evidence that the brain's ability to make subtle distinctions between different chords, rhythms, and melodies deteriorate rates with age, so to older people, newer, less familiar songs might all sound the same.

But there may be some simpler reasons for older people's aversion to new music.(24) One of the most rescarched laws of social psychology is something called the "“mere exposure effect",which, in essence. means that the more we're exposed to something. the more we tend to like it. This happens with people we know, the advertisements we see,and the songs we listen to.

When you're in your early teens, you probably spend a fair amount of time listening to music or watching music videos.Your favoritc songs and artists become familiar, comforting parts of your routine.For many pcoplc over 30, job and family obligations increase. So there's less time to spend discovering new music. Instead, many will simply listen to old familiar favorites from that period of their lives when they had more free time.

Of course, those teen years weren't necessarily carefree.They're famously confusing, which is why so many TV shows and movies revolve around high school turmoil. Psychology rescarch has shown that (25) the emotions that we experience as teens scem more intense than those that come later. And we also know that intensc cmotions are associated with stronger memorics and preferences. Both of these might explain wby the songs we listen to during this period become so memorable and beloved. So. there's nothing wrong with your parents because they don't like your music. Rather, it's all part of the natural order of things.

Questions 22 to 25 are based on the recording you have just heard.

Question 22. What does the speaker mainly discuss in this tlk?

Question 23. What have studies found about most people by the time they turn 33?

Question 24. What do we learm from one of the most researched laws of social psychology?

Question 25. What might explain the fact that songs people listen to in their teen years are memorable and beloved?

Part Ⅲ Reading Comprehension (40 minutes)

Section A

Directions：In this section, there is a passage with ten blanks. You are required to select one word for each blank from a list of choices given in a word bank following the passage. Read the passage through carngfully before making your choices.Each choice in the bank is identified by a letter. Please mark the corresponding letter for each item on Ansuer Sheet 2 with a single line through the centre. You may not use any of the words in the bank more than once.

Overall, men are more likely than women to make excuses. Several studies suggest that men feel the need to appear competent in all 26______，while women worry only about the skills in which they"ve invested 27______ . Ask a man and a woman to go diving for the first time, and the woman is likely to jump in, while the man is likely to say he"s not feeling too well.

Ironically, it is often success that leads people to flirt with failure. Praise won for 28______ a skill suddenly puts one in the position of having everything to lose. Rather than putting their reputation on the line again, many successful people develop a handicap

drinking,29______,depression- -that allows them to keep their status no matter what the future brings. An advertising executive 30______ for depression shortly after winning an award put it this way:“ Without my depression, I"d be a failure now;with it, I"m a success‘on hold’”

In fact, the people most likely to become chronic excuse makers are those 31______ with success.Such people are so afraid of being 32______ a failure at anything that they constantly develop one handicap or another in order to explain away failure.

Though self-handicapping can be an effective way of coping with performance anxiety now and then, in the end, researchers say, it will lead to 33______. In the long run, excuse makers fail to live up to their true 34______ and lose the status they care so much about. And despite their protests to the 35______ they have only themselves to blame.

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 ome of the paragraphs. Identify the paragraph from xwhich the information is derived. You may choose a paragraph more than once.Fach paragraph is marked with a letter. Answer the questioms by marking thecorresponding letter om Ansuer Sheet 2.

Six Potential Bain Benefits of Bilingual Education

A) Brains, brains, brains. People are fascinated by brain research. And yet it can be hard to point to places where our education system is really making use of the latest neuroscience findings. But there is one happy link where research is meeting practice: bilingual education.“In the last 20 years or so, there"s been a virtual explosion of research on bilingualism ,says Judith Kroll, a professor at the University of Califonia, Riverside.

B) Again and again, researchers have found,“bilingualism is an experience that shapes our brain for life," in the words of Gigi Luk, an associate professor at Harvard"s Graduate School of Education.At the same time, one of the hottest trends in public schooling is what"s often called dual-language or two-way immersion programs.

C) Traditional programs for English-language leamers, or ELLs, focus on assimilating students into English as quickdy as possible. Dual-language classrooms, by contrast, provide instruction across subjects to both English natives and English leamers, in both English and a target language.The goal is functional bilingualism and biliteracy for all students by middle school. New York City ,North Carolina, Delaware, Utah, Oregon and Washington state are among the places expanding dual-language classrooms.

D) The trend fies in the face of some of the culture wars of two decades ago , when advocates insisted on“English first” education. Most famously, Califomnia passed Proposition 227 in 1998. It was intended to sharply reduce the amount of time that English-language leamers spent in bilingual settings. Proposition 58，passed by California voters on November 8, largely reversed that decision,paving the way for a huge expansion of bilingual education in the state that has the largest population of English-language leamers.

E) Some of the insistence on Englih-first was founded on research produced decades ago, in which bilingual students underperformned monolingual English speakers and had lower IQ scores. Today"s scholars, like Elen Bialystok at York University in Toronto, say that research was “deeply flawed. ”“ Earlier research looked at socially disadvantaged groups, ”agrees Antonella Sorace at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland.“This has been completely contradicted by recent research"”that compares groups more similar to each other.

F) So what does recent research say about the potential benefts of bilingual education? It tuns out that, in many ways, the real trick to speaking two languages consists in managing not to speak one of those languages at a given moment- -which is fundametally a feat of paying attention. Saying “Goodbye" to mom and then“Guten tag" to your teacher, or managing to ask for a crayola roja instead of a red crayon, requires skills called “ inhibition”and “task switching.” These skills are subsets of an ability called executive function.

G) People who speak two languages often outperform monolinguals on general measures of executive function.“ Bilinguals can pay focused attention without being distracted and also improve in the ability to switch from one task to another,”says Sorace.

H) Do these same advantages beneft a child who begins learning a second language in kindergarten instead of as a baby? We don"t yet know. Patterns of language learning and language. use are complex. But Gigi Luk at Harvard cites at least one brain-imaging study on adolescents that shows similar changes in brain structure when compared with those who are bilingual from bith, even when they didn"t begin practicing a second language in eamest before late childhood.

I) Young children being raised bilingual have to follow social cues to fngure out which language to use with which person and in what setting. As a result, says Sorace，bilingual children as young as age 3 have demonstrated a head start on tests of perspective-taking and theory of mind- -both of which are fundamental social and emotional skills.

J) About 10 percent of students in the Portland, Oregon public schools are assigned by lottery to dua]-language classrooms that offer instruction in Spanish, Japanese or Mandarin, alongside English.Jennifer Steele at American University conducted a four-year, randomized trial and found that these dual-language students outperforned their peers in English-reading skills by a full school-year"s worth of learning by the end of middle school. Because the effects are found in reading, not in math or science where there were few differences, Steele suggests that learning two languages makes students more aware of how language works in general.

K) The research of Gigi Luk at Harvard offers a slightly different explanation. She has recently done a small study looking at a group of 100 fourth-graders in Massachusetts who had similar reading scores on a standard test, but very different language experiences. Some were foreign-language dominant and others were English natives. Here"s what"s interesting. The students who were dominant in a foreign language weren"t yet comfortably bilingual; they were just starting to leam English.Therefore, by definition, they had a much weaker English vocabulary than the native speakers.Yet they were just as good at interpreting a text. “ This is very surprising," Luk says.“You would expect the reading comprehension performance to mirror the vocabulary- -it"s a cormerstone of comprehension.*

L) How did the foreign-language dominant speakers manage this feat? Well, Luk found, they also scored higher on tests of executive functioning. So, even though they didn"t have huge mental dictionaries to draw on, they may have been great puzzle- solvers, taling into account higher-level concepts such as whether a single sentence made sense within an overall story line. They got to the same results as the monolinguals, by a different path.

M) American public school classrooms as a whole are becoming more segregated by race and class.Dual-language programs can be an exception. Because they are composed of native English speakers deliberately placed together with recent immigrants， they tend to be more ethnically and economically balanced. And there is some evidence that this helps kids of all backgrounds gain comfort with diversity and different cultures.

N) Several of the researchers also pointed out that, in bilingual education, non-English- dominant students and their families tend to feel that their home language is heard and valued,compared with a classroom where the home language is left at the door in favor of English. This can improve students" sense of belonging and increase parents" involvement in their children"s education,including behaviors like reading to children. “ Many parents fear their language is an obstacle,a problem, and if they abandon it their child will integrate better," says Antonella Sorace of the University of Edinburgh.“We tell them they"re not doing their child a favor by giving up their language.”

O) One theme that was striking in speaking to all these researchers was just how strongly they advocated for dual-language classrooms. Thomas and Collier have advised many school systems on how to expand their dual-language programs, and Sorace runs “ Bilingualism Matters," a intermational network of researchers who promote bilingual education projects. This type 0 advocacy among scientists is unusual; even more so because the“bilingual advantage hypothesis" is being challenged once again.

P) A review of studies published last year found that cognitive advantages failed to appear in 83 percent of published studies , though in a separate analysis , the sum of effects was still signifcantly positive.One potential explanation offered by the researchers is that advantages that are measurable in the very young and very old tend to fade when testing young adults at the peak of their cognitive powers. And, they countered that no negative effects of bilingual education have been found.So,even if the advantages are small, they are still worth it. Not to mention one obvious, outstanding fact:“ Bilingual children can speak two languages! " "

36. A study found that there are similar changes in brain structure between those who are bilingual from birth and those who start leaming a second language later.

37. Unlike traditional monolingual prograns, bilingual classrooms aim at developing students" ability to use two languages by middle school.

38. A study showed that dual-language students did significantly better than their peers in reading English texts.

39. About twenty years ago, bilingual practice was strongly discouraged, especially in California.

10. Ethnically and economically balanced bilingual classooms are found to be helpful for kids to get used to social and cultural diversity.

41. Researchers now claim that earlier research on bilingual education was seriously flawed.

42. According to a researcher , dual-language experiences exert a lifelong influence on one"s brain.

43. Advocates of bilingual education argued that it produces positive effects though they may be limited.

44. Bilingual speakers often do better than monolinguals in completing certain tasks because they can concentrate better on what they are doing.

45. When their native language is used, parents can become more involved in their children"s education.