2021年9月2020英语六级真题及答案

2020年9月英语六级真题及答案

2020年上半年第二批次大学英语六级考试安排在9月19日下午15：00-17：

25举行，以下是2020年9月英语六级真题及参考答案完整版。

PartIWriting(30minutes)

Directions:Forthispart,youareallowed30minutestowriteanessayonthe

sayingWhatworthdoingktworthdoingwell.Youshouldwriteatleastwordsbut

nomorethan200words.

PartII

ListeningComprehension(30minutes)

SectionA

Directions:Inthissection,youwillheartOolongcomversations.Attheendof

each

conversation,youwillhearfourquestions.Boththeconversationandthe

questionswillbespokenonlyonce.Afteryouhearaquestion,youmust

choosethebestanswerfromthefourchoicesmarnkedA),B),C)andD).Then

markthecorrespondingletteronAnsuerSheet1withasinglelinethroughthe

centre.

Questions1to4arebasedontheconversationyouhavejustheard.

1.A)Shecandevoteallherlifetopursuingherpassion.

B)Heraccumulatedexpertisehelpshertoachievehergoals.

C)ShecanspreadheracademicideasonaweeklyTVshow.

D)Herresearchfindingsarewidelyacclaimedintheworld.

2.A)ProvisionofguidancefornuclearlabsinEurope.

B)TouringtheglobetoattendscienceTVshows.

C)OverseeingtworesearchgroupsatOxford.

D)Scienceeducationandscientificresearch.

3.A)Abetterunderstandingofasubject.

B)Astrongerwilltomeetchallenges.

C)Abroaderknowledgeofrelatedfelds.

D)Acloserrelationshipwithyoungpeople.

4.A)Byapplyingthelatestresearchmethods.

B)Bymakingfulluseoftheexistingdata.

C)Bybuildinguponpreviousdiscoveries.

D)Byutilizingmorepowerfulcomputers.

Questions5to8arebasedontheconversationyouhavejustheard.

5.A)Theycanpredictfutureevents.

C)Theyhaveculturalconnotations.

B)Theyhavenospecialmeanings.

D)Theycannotbeeasilyexplained.

6.A)Itwascanceledduetobadweather.

B)Sheoversleptandmissedthefight.

C)Shedreamedofaplanecraash.

D)Itwaspostponedtothefollowingday.

7.A)Theycanbeaffectedbypeople'schildhoodexperiences.

B)Theymaysometimesseemridiculoustoarationalmind.

C)Theyusuallyresultfrompeople'sunpleasantmemories.

D)Theycanhaveanimpactasgreatasrationalthinking.

8.A)Theycallforscientifcmethodstointerpret.

B)Theymirrortheirlong-cherishedwishes.

C)Theyreflecttheircomplicatedemotions.

D)Theyareoftenrelatedtoirrationalfeelings.

SectionB

Directions:Inthissection,youwillheartuoopassages.Attheendofeach

passage,youwillhearthreeorfourquestions.Boththepassageandthe

questionswilbespokenonlyonce.Afteryouhearaquestion,youmustchoose

thebestanswerfromthefourchoicesmarkedA),B),C)andD).Thenmarkthe

correspondingletteronAnsuerSheet1withasinglelinethroughthecentre.

Questions9to11arebasedonthepa8sageyouhavejustheard.

9.A)Radiowaves.

B)Soundwaves.

C)Robots.

D)Satellites.

10.A)Itmaybefreezingfastbeneaththeglacier.

B)Itmayhavemicro-organismslivinginit.

C)Itmayhavecertainraremineralsinit.

D)Itmaybeasdeepasfourkilometers.

11.A)Helpunderstandlifeinfreezingconditions.

B)Helpfindnewsourcesoffreshwater

C)Provideinformationaboutotherplanets.

D)Shedlightonpossiblelifeinouterspace.

Questions12to15arebasedonthepassageyouhavejustheard.

12.A)HefoundtherehadbeenIttleresearchontheirlanguage.

B)HewastryingtopreservethelanguagesoftheIndiantribes.

C)Hiscontactwithasocialworkerhadgreatlyarousedhisinterestinthetribe.

D)HismeetingwithGonzalezhadmadehimeagertoleammoreaboutthe

tribe.

13.A)HetaughtCopelandtospeaktheTarahumaraslanguage.

B)HepersuadedtheTarahumarastoacceptCopeland'sgifts.

C)Herecommendedoneofhisbestfriendsasaninterpreter.

D)HeactedasanintermediarybetweenCopelandandthevillagers.

14.A)Unpredictable.

B)Unjustifhable.

C)Laborious.

D)Tedious.

15.A)Theirappreciationofhelpfromtheoutsiders.

B)Theirsenseofsharingandcaring.

C)Theirreadinesstoadapttotechnology.

D)Theirbeliefincreatingwealthforthemselves.

SectionC

Directions:Inthissection,youwillhearthreerecondingsofleturesortalks

followedbythreeorfourquestions.Therecordingswillbeplayedonlyonce.

Afleryouhearaquestion,youmustchoosethebestansuerfromthefour

choicesmarkedA),B),C)andD).Thenmarktthecorrespondingletteron

AnswerSheet1withasinglelinethroughthecentre.

Questions16to18arebasedontherecordingyouhavejustheard.

16.A)Theytendtobesilencedintosubmission.

B)Theyfindithardtodefendthemselves.

C)Theywillfeelproudofbeingpioneers.

D)Theywillfeelsomewhatencouraged.

17.A)Onewhoadvocatesviolenceineffectingchange.

B)Onewhocravesforrelentlesstransformations.

C)Onewhoactsintheinterestsoftheoppressed.

D)Onewhorebelsagainsttheexistingsocalorder.

18.A)Theytriedtoeffectsocialchangebyforce.

B)Theydisruptedthenation'ssocialstability.

C)Theyservedasadrivingforceforprogress.

D)Theydidmoreharmthangoodtohumanity.>

Questions19to21arebasedontherecordingyouhavejustheard.

19.A)Fewofuscanignorechangesinourimmediateenvironment.

B)Itisimpossibleforustobeimumunefromoutsideinfluence.

C)Fewofuscanremainunawareofwhathappensaroundus.

D)Itisimportantforustokeepintouchwithourownworld.

20.A)Makeuphismindtostartalloveragain.

B)Stopmakingunfairjudgementsofothers.

C)Trytofindamoreexcitingjobsomewhereelse.

D)Recognisethenegativeimpactofhiscoworkers.

21.A)Theyarequitesusceptibletosuicide.

C)Theysufferagreatdealfromillhealth.

B)Theyimprovepeople'squalityoflife.

D)Theyhelppeoplesolvementalproblems.

Questions22to25arebasedontherecordingyouhavejustheard.

22.A)Fewpeoplecanidentifyitstexture.

C)Itsrealvalueisopentointerpretation.

B)Fewpeoplecandescribeitprecisely.

D)Itsimportanceisoftenover-estimated.

23.A)Ithasneverseenanychange.

C)Itisawell-protectedgovernmentsecret.

B)Ithasmuch如odowithcolor.

D)Itisasubjectofstudybymanyforgers.

24.A)PeoplehadIttlefaithinpapermoney.

C)Itpredictedtheirvaluewouldincrease.

B)Theycouldlastlongerincirculation.

D)Theyweremoredifficulttocounterfeit.

25.A)Thestabilzationofthedollarvalue.

C)AgoldstandardforAmericancurrency.

B)Theissuingofgovernmentsecurities.

D)AsteadyappreciationoftheU.S.dollar.

PartinReadingComprehension(40minutes)

SectionA

Directions：Inthissection,thereisapassagewithtenblanks.Youarerequired

toselectonewordforeachblankfromalistofchoicesgiveninawordbank

followingthepassage.Readthepassagethroughcarngfullybeforemaking

yourchoices.Eachchoiceinthebankisidentifiedbyaletter.Pleasemarkthe

correspondingletterforeachitemonAnsuerSheet2withasinglelinethrough

thecentre.Youmaynotuseanyofthewordsinthebankmorethanonce.

Overall,menaremorelikelythanwomentomakeexcuses.Severalstudies

suggestthatmenfeeltheneedtoappearcompetentinall26,while

womenworryonlyabouttheskillsinwhichthey'veinvested27.Aska

manandawomantogodivingforthefirsttime,andthewomanislikelyto

jumpin,whilethemanislikelytosayhe'snotfeelingtoowell.

Ironically,itisoftensuccessthatleadspeopletoflirtwithfailure.Praisewon

for28askillsuddenlyputsoneinthepositionofhavingeverythingto

lose.Ratherthanputtingtheirreputationonthelineagain,manysuccessful

peopledevelopahandicap

drinking,29Repression--thatallowsthemtokeeptheirstatusnomatter

whatthefuturebrings.Anadvertisingexecutive30fordepression

shortlyafterwinninganawardputitthisway:"Withoutmydepression,I'dbea

failurenowjwithit,I'masuccessor)hold'"

Infact,thepeoplemostlikelytobecomechronicexcusemakersarethose

31withsuccess.Suchpeoplearesoafraidofbeing32afailure

atanythingthattheyconstantlydeveloponehandicaporanotherinorderto

explainawayfailure.

Thoughself-handicappingcanbeaneffectivewayofcopingwithperformance

anxietynowandthen,intheend,researcherssay,itwillleadto33.In

thelongrun,excusemakersfailtoliveuptotheirtrue34andlosethe

statustheycaresomuchabout.Anddespitetheirproteststothe35

theyhaveonlythemselvestoblame.

A)contraryI)momentum

B)fatigueJ)obsessed

C)heavilyK)potential

D)heavingL)realms

E)hospitalizedM)reciprocal

F)labeledN)min

G)legacies0)viciously

H)mastering

SectionB

Directions:Inthissection,youaregoingtoreadapassagewithtenstatements

attachedtoit.Eachstatementcontainsinformationgiveninomeofthe

paragraphs.Identifytheparagraphfromxwhichtheinformationisderived.You

maychooseaparagraphmorethanonce.Fachparagraphismarkedwitha

letter.AnswerthequestionsbymarkingthecorrespondingletteromAnsuer

Sheet2.

SixPotentialBainBenefitsofBilingualEducation

A)Brains,brains,brains.Peoplearefascinatedbybrainresearch.Andyetit

canbehardtopointtoplaceswhereoureducationsystemisreallymakinguse

ofthelatestneurosciencefindings.Butthereisonehappylinkwhereresearch

ismeetingpractice:bilingualeducation.'lnthelast20yearsorso,there's

beenavirtualexplosionofresearchonbilingualism,saysJudithKroll,a

professorattheUniversityofCalifonia,Riverside.

B)Againandagain,researchershavefound,"bilingualismisanexperience

thatshapesourbrainforlife,"inthewordsofGigiLuk,anassociateprofessor

atHarvard'sGraduateSchoolofEducation.Atthesametime,oneofthe

hottesttrendsinpublicschoolingiswhat'softencalleddual-languageor

two-wayimmersionprograms.

C)TraditionalprogramsforEnglish-languagelearners,orELLs,focuson

assimilatingstudentsintoEnglishasquickdyaspossible.Dual-language

classrooms,bycontrast,provideinstructionacrosssubjectstobothEnglish

nativesandEnglishlearners,inbothEnglishandatargetlanguage.Thegoalis

functionalbilingualismandbiliteracyforallstudentsbymiddleschool.New

YorkCity,NorthCarolina,Delaware,Utah,OregonandWashingtonstateare

amongtheplacesexpandingdual-languageclassrooms.

D)Thetrendtiesinthefaceofsomeoftheculturewarsoftwodecadesago,

whenadvocatesinsistedon"Englishfirst"education.Mostfamously,

CalifomniapassedProposition227in1998.Itwasintendedtosharplyreduce

theamountoftimethatEnglish-languagelearnersspentinbilingualsettings.

Proposition58,passedbyCaliforniavotersonNovember8,largelyreversed

thatdecision,pavingthewayforahugeexpansionofbilingualeducationinthe

statethathasthelargestpopulationofEnglish-languagelearners.

E)SomeoftheinsistenceonEnglih-firstwasfoundedonresearchproduced

decadesago,inwhichbilingualstudentsunderperformnedmonolingual

EnglishspeakersandhadlowerIQscores.Today'sscholars,likeElen

BialystokatYorkUniversityinToronto,saythatresearchwas"deeply

flawed.",1'Earlierresearchlookedatsociallydisadvantagedgroups,"agrees

AntonellaSoraceattheUniversityofEdinburghinScotland."Thishasbeen

completelycontradictedbyrecentresearch'nthatcomparesgroupsmore

similartoeachother.

F)Sowhatdoesrecentresearchsayaboutthepotentialbeneftsofbilingual

education?Ittunsoutthat,inmanyways,therealtricktospeakingtwo

languagesconsistsinmanagingnottospeakoneofthoselanguagesata

givenmoment--whichisfundametallyafeatofpayingattention.Saying

"Goodbye"tomomandthen"Gutentag"toyourteacher,ormanagingtoask

foracrayolarojainsteadofaredcrayon,requiresskillscalled"inhibition"and

"taskswitching."Theseskillsaresubsetsofanabilitycalledexecutivefunction.

G)Peoplewhospeaktwolanguagesoftenoutperformmonolingualson

generalmeasuresofexecutivefunction."Bilingualscanpayfocusedattention

withoutbeingdistractedandalsoimproveintheabilitytoswitchfromonetask

toanother,"saysSorace.

H)Dothesesameadvantagesbeneftachildwhobeginslearningasecond

languageinkindergarteninsteadofasababy?Wedon'tyetknow.Patternsof

languagelearningandlanguage,usearecomplex.ButGigiLukatHarvard

citesatleastonebrain-imagingstudyonadolescentsthatshowssimilar

changesinbrainstructurewhencomparedwiththosewhoarebilingualfrom

bith,evenwhentheydidn'tbeginpracticingasecondlanguageinearnest

beforelatechildhood.

I)Youngchildrenbeingraisedbilingualhavetofollowsocialcuestofngureout

whichlanguagetousewithwhichpersonandinwhatsetting.Asaresult,says

Sorace,bilingualchildrenasyoungasage3havedemonstratedaheadstart

ontestsofperspective-takingandtheoryofmind--bothofwhichare

fundamentalsocialandemotionalskills.

J)About10percentofstudentsinthePortland,Oregonpublicschoolsare

assignedbylotterytodua]-languageclassroomsthatofferinstructionin

Spanish,JapaneseorMandarin,alongsideEnglish.JenniferSteeleat

AmericanUniversityconductedafour-year,randomizedtrialandfoundthat

thesedual-languagestudentsoutperfornedtheirpeersinEnglish-readingskills

byafullschool-year'sworthoflearningbytheendofmiddleschool.Because

theeffectsarefoundinreading,notinmathorsciencewheretherewerefew

differences,Steelesuggeststhatlearningtwolanguagesmakesstudents

moreawareofhowlanguageworksingeneral.

K)TheresearchofGigiLukatHarvardoffersaslightlydifferentexplanation.

Shehasrecentlydoneasmallstudylookingatagroupof100fourth-gradersin

Massachusettswhohadsimilarreadingscoresonastandardtest,butvery

differentlanguageexperiences.Somewereforeign-languagedominantand

otherswereEnglishnatives.Here'swhat'sinteresting.Thestudentswhowere

dominantinaforeignlanguageweren'tyetcomfortablybilingual;theywere

juststartingtolearnEnglish.Therefore,bydefinition,theyhadamuchweaker

Englishvocabularythanthenativespeakers.Yettheywerejustasgoodat

interpretingatext."Thisisverysurprising,"Luksays."Youwouldexpectthe

readingcomprehensionperformancetomirrorthevocabulary--it'sa

cormerstoneofcomprehension.*

L)Howdidtheforeign-languagedominantspeakersmanagethisfeat?Well,

Lukfound,theyalsoscoredhigherontestsofexecutivefunctioning.So,even

thoughtheydidn'thavehugementaldictionariestodrawon,theymayhave

beengreatpuzzle-solvers,talingintoaccounthigher-levelconceptssuchas

whetherasinglesentencemadesensewithinanoverallstoryline.Theygotto

thesameresultsasthemonolinguals,byadifferentpath.

M)Americanpublicschoolclassroomsasawholearebecomingmore

segregatedbyraceandclass.Dual-languageprogramscanbeanexception.

BecausetheyarecomposedofnativeEnglishspeakersdeliberatelyplaced

togetherwithrecentimmigrants,theytendtobemoreethnicallyand

economicallybalanced.Andthereissomeevidencethatthishelpskidsofall

backgroundsgaincomfortwithdiversityanddifferentcultures.

N)Severaloftheresearchersalsopointedoutthat,inbilingualeducation,

non-English-dominantstudentsandtheirfamiliestendtofeelthattheirhome

languageisheardandvalued,comparedwithaclassroomwherethehome

languageisleftatthedoorinfavorofEnglish.Thiscanimprovestudents'

senseofbelongingandincreaseparents'involvementintheirchildren's

education,includingbehaviorslikereadingtochildren.*'Manyparentsfear

theirlanguageisanobstaclesproblem,andiftheyabandonittheirchildwill

integratebetter,"saysAntonellaSoraceoftheUniversityofEdinburgh."Wetell

themthey'renotdoingtheirchildafavorbygivinguptheirlanguage."

O)Onethemethatwasstrikinginspeakingtoalltheseresearcherswasjust

howstronglytheyadvocatedfordual-languageclassrooms.Thomasand

Collierhaveadvisedmanyschoolsystemsonhowtoexpandtheir

dual-languageprograms,andSoraceruns"BilingualismMatters,"a

intermationalnetworkofresearcherswhopromotebilingualeducationprojects.

Thistype0advocacyamongscientistsisunusual;evenmoresobecause

the"bilingualadvantagehypothesis"isbeingchallengedonceagain.

P)Areviewofstudiespublishedlastyearfoundthatcognitiveadvantages

failedtoappearin83percentofpublishedstudies,thoughinaseparate

analysis,thesumofeffectswasstillsignifcantlypositive.Onepotential

explanationofferedbytheresearchersisthatadvantagesthataremeasurable

intheveryyoungandveryoldtendtofadewhentestingyoungadultsatthe

peakoftheircognitivepowers.And,theycounteredthatnonegativeeffectsof

bilingualeducationhavebeenfound.So,eveniftheadvantagesaresmall,they

arestillworthit.Nottomentiononeobvious,outstandingfact:"Bilingual

childrencanspeaktwolanguages!''

36.Astudyfoundthattherearesimilarchangesinbrainstructurebetween

thosewhoarebilingualfrombirthandthosewhostartlearningasecond

languagelater.

37.Unliketraditionalmonolingualprograns,bilingualclassroomsaimat

developingstudents'abilitytousetwolanguagesbymiddleschool.

38.Astudyshowedthatdual-languagestudentsdidsignificantlybetterthan

theirpeersinreadingEnglishtexts.

39.Abouttwentyyearsago,bilingualpracticewasstronglydiscouraged,

especiallyinCalifornia.

10.Ethnicallyandeconomicallybalancedbilingualclassoomsarefoundtobe

helpfulforkidstogetusedtosocialandculturaldiversity.

41.Researchersnowclaimthatearlierresearchonbilingualeducationwas

seriouslyflawed.

42.Accordingtoaresearcher,dual-languageexperiencesexertalifelong

influenceonone'sbrain.

43.Advocatesofbilingualeducationarguedthatitproducespositiveeffects

thoughtheymaybelimited.

44.Bilingualspeakersoftendobetterthanmonolingualsincompletingcertain

tasksbecausetheycanconcentratebetteronwhattheyaredoing.

45.Whentheirnativelanguageisused,parentscanbecomemoreinvolvedin

theirchildren'seducation.

PassageOne

Questions46to50arebasedonthefollowingpassage.

Itisnotcontroversialtosaythatanunhealthydietcausesbadhealth.Norare

thebasicelementsofhealthyeatingdisputed.Obesityraisessusceptibilityto

cancer,andBritainisthesixthmostobesecountryonEarth.Thatisapublic

healthemergency.Butnamingtheproblemistheeasypart.Noonedisputes

thecostsinqualityoflifeanddepletedhealthbudgetsofanobesepopulation,

butthequestforsolutionsgetsdivertedbyideologicalargumentsaround

responsibilityandchoice.Andthewaterismuddiedbylobbyingfromthe

industriesthatprofitfromconsumptionofobesity-inducingproducts.

Historicalprecedentsuggeststhatscienceandpoliticscanovercome

resistancefrombusinessesthatpolluteandpoisonbutittakestime,and

successoftenstartssmall.Soitishearteningtonotethataprogrammein

Leedshasachievedareductioninchildhoodobesity,becomingthefirstUK

citytoreverseafatteningtrend.Thebestresultswereamongyoungerchildren

andinmoredeprivedareas.When28%ofEnglishchildrenagedtwoto15are

obese,anationalshiftonthescaleachievedbyLeedswouldlengthen

hundredsofthousandsoflives.AsignificantfactorintheLeedsexperience

appearstobeaschemecalledHENRY,whichhelpsparentsreward

behavioursthatpreyentobesityinchildren.

Manymembersofparliamentareuncomfortableevenwiththeirown

government'santi-obesitystrategy,sinceitinvolvesa'*sugartax"andabanon

thesaleofenergydrinkstounder-16s.Bansandtaxescanbeblunt

instruments,buttheirharshestcriticscanrarelysuggestbettermethods.These

criticsjustopposeregulationitself.

Therelationshipbetweenpoorhealthandinequalityistoopronouncedfor

governmentstobepassiveaboutlarge-scaleintervention.Peoplelivinginthe

mostdeprivedareasarefourtimesmorepronetodiefromavoidablecauses

thancounterpartsinmoreaffluentplaces.Asthestructuralnatureofpublic

healthproblemsbecomeshardertoignore,thecomplaintaboutoverprotective

govenmentlosespotency.

Infact,thepolariseddebateoverpublichealthinterventionsshouldhavebeen

abandonedlongago.Governmentactionworkswhenindividualsaremotivated

torespond.Individualsneedgovernmentsthatexpandaccesstogoodchoices.

TheHENRYprogrammewasdeliveredinpartthroughchildren'scentres.

Closingsuchcentresandcuttingcouncilbudgetsdoesn'tmagicallyincrease

reservesofindividualself-reliance.Thefunctionofawell-designedstate

interventionisnottodeprivepeopleoflibertybuttobuildsocialcapacityand

infrastructurethathelpspeopletakeresponsibilityfortheirwellbeing.The

obesitycrisiswillnothaveasolutiondevisedbyleitorrightideology--but

experienceindicatesthattheprivatesectorneedstheincentiveofregulation

beforeitstarlstalingpublichealthemergenciesseriously.

46.WhyistheobesityprobleminBritainsodifficulttosolve?

A)Govermenthealthbudgetsaredepleted.

B)Peopledisagreeastowhoshoulddowhat.

C)Individualsarenotreadytotaketheirresponsibilties.

D)Industrylobbyingmakesithardtogethealthyfoods.

47.Whatcanwelearmnfromthepastexperienceintackingpublichealth

emergencies?

A)Governmentshavearoletoplay.

B)Publichealthisascientifcissue.

C)Priorityshouldbegiventodeprivedregions.

D)Businesses'responsilityshouldbestressed.

48.Whatdoestheauthorimplyaboutsomecriticsofbansandtaxes

concerningunhealthydrinks?

A)Theyarenotawareoftheconsequencesofobesity.

B)Theyhavenotcomeupwithanythingmoreconstructive.

C)Theyareuncomfortablewithparliament'santiobesitydebate.

D)Theyhavetheirownmotivesinopposinggovernmentregulation.

49.Whydoestheauthorstresstherelationshipbetweenpoorhealthand

inequality?

A)Todemonstratethedilemmaofpeoplelivingindeprivedareas.

B)TobringtolighttherootcauseofwidespreadobesityinBritain.

C)Tohighlighttheareadeservingthemostattentionfromthepublic.

D)Tojustifygovernmentinterventioninsolvingtheobesityproblem.

50.Whenwillgovernmentactionbeeffective?

A)Whenthepolariseddebateisabandoned.

B)Whenideologicaldifferencesareresolved.

C)Whenindividualshavetheincentivetoactaccordingly.

D)Whentheprivatesectorrealisestheseverityofthecrisis.

PassageTwo

Questions51to55arebasedonthefollowingpassage.

Hometovirginreefs,raresharksandvastnumbersofexoticfish,theCoral

SeaisauniquehavenofbiodiversityoffthenortheasterncoastofAustralia.If

aproposalbytheAustraliangovernmentgoesahead,theregionwillalso

becometheworld'slargestmarineprotectedarea,withrestrictionsorbanson

fishing,miningandmarinefarming.

TheCoralSeareservewouldcoveralmost990000squarekilometresand

stretchasfaras1100kilometresfromthecoast.Unveiledrecentlyby

environmentministerTonyBurke,theproposalwouldbethelastinaseriesof

proposedmarinereservesaroundAustralia'scoast.

Buttheschemeisattractingcriticismfromscientistsandconservationgroups,

whoarguethatthegovernmenthasn'tgonefarenoughinprotectingtheCoral

Sea,orinothermarinereservesinthecoastalnetwork.Hugh

Possingham,directoroftheCentreofExcellenceforEnvironmentalDecisions

attheUniversityofQueensland,pointsoutthatlittlemorethanhalfoftheCoral

Seareserveisproposedas"notake"area,inwhichallfishingwouldbebanned.

Theworld'slargestexistingmarinereserve,establishedlastyearbytheBritish

governmentintheIndianOcean,spans554000km2andisano-takezone

throughout.Anallianceofcampaigningconversationgroupsarguesthatmore

oftheCoralSeashouldreceivethislevelofprotection.

"Iwouldliketohaveseenmoreprotectionforcoralreefs,"saysTeryHughes,

directoroftheCentreofExcellenceforCoralReefStudiesatJamesCook

UniversityinQueensland."Morethan20ofthemwouldbeoutsidetheno-take

areaandvulnerabletocatch-and-releasefshing".

AsNaturewenttopress,theAustraliangovernmenthadnotrespondedto

specifccriticismsoftheplan.ButRobinBeaman,amarinegeologistatJames

CookUniversity,saysthatthereservedoes"broadlyprotecttherangeof

habitats'lnthesea."lcantestifytothehugeeffortthatgove