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Unit Eight

　

　

Click the button to listen to the text

　

　

Ever thought about cheating on a test? Of course
not. But some students are not quite so honest.

　


HONESTY : IS IT GOING OUT OF STYLE?

　

Stacia Robbins



According to a recent poll, 61 percent of American high school students
have admitted to cheating on exams at least once. It can be argued such a
response may not mean much. After all, most students have been faced with
the temptation to peek at a neighbor's test paper. And students can be
hard on themselves in judging such behavior. However, there are other
indications that high school cheating may be on the rise.

More and more states are requiring students to pass competency tests
in order to receive their high school diplomas. And many educators fear
that an increase in the use of state exams will lead to a corresponding
rise in cheating. A case in point is students in New York State who faced
criminal misdemeanor charges for possessing and selling advance copies of
state Regents examinations.

Cheating is now considered to be a major problem in colleges and uni-
versities. Several professors say they've dropped the traditional term
paper requirement because many students buy prewritten term papers, and
they can't track down all the cheaters anymore.

Colleges and universities across the nation have decided to do more
than talk about the rise in student cheating. For instance, the Department
of Psychology at the University of Maryland launched a campaign to stop
one form of cheating. As 409 students filed out of their exam, they found
all but one exit blocked. Proctors asked each student to produce an ID card
with an attached photo. Students who said they'd left theirs in the dorm or
at home had a mug shot taken. The purpose of the campaign was to catch
"ringers, " students who take tests for other students.

The majority of students at the University of Maryland applauded the
campaign. The campus newspaper editorial said, " Like police arresting
speeders, the intent is not to catch everyone but rather to catch enough to
spread the word. "

We frequently hear about "the good old days, " when Americans were
better, happier, and more honest. But were they more honest? Maybe yes, a
long time ago when life was very different from what it is today.

School children used to know the story of how Abraham Lincoln walked
five miles to return a penny he'd overcharged a customer. It's the kind of
story we think of as myth. But in the case of Lincoln, the story is true...
unlike the story of George Washington and the cherry tree. Washington's
first biographer invented the tale of little George saying to his father,
"I cannot tell a lie. I did it with my ax. " What is important in both
stories, however, is that honesty was seen as an important part of the
American character.

And these are just two stories out of many. Students in the last centu-
ry usually didn't read "fun" stories. They read stories that taught moral
values. Such stories pointed out quite clearly that children who lied
cheated, or stole came to bad ends.

Parents may have further reinforced those values. It's difficult to
know. We do know that children didn't hear their parents talk of cheating
the government on income taxes-there weren't any.

A clue as to why Americans may have been more honest in the past lies
in the Abe Lincoln story. Lincoln knew his customer. They both lived in a
small town. Would a check-out person at a large supermarket return money
to a customer? It's less likely. On the other hand, would overnight guests
at an inn run by a husband and wife, steal towels? It's less likely.

Perhaps this tells us that people need to know one another to be at
their honest best.
The vast majority of Americans still believe that honesty is an important
part of the American character. For that reason, there are numerous
watch-dog committees at all levels of society. Although signs of dishonesty
in school, business, and government seem much more numerous in recent
years than in the past, could it be that we are getting better at revealing
such dishonesty?

There is some evidence that dishonesty may ebb and flow. When times
are hard, incidents of theft and cheating usually go up. And when times get
better such incidents tend to go down.
Cheating in school also tends to ebb and flow. But it doesn't seem
linked to the economy.

Many educators feel that as students gain confidence in themselves and
their abilities, they are less likely to cheat. Surprisingly, some efforts
to prevent cheating may actually encourage cheating - a person may feel
"they don't trust me anyway," and be tempted to" beat the system." Distrust
can be contagious. But, so can trust
　

　

　

Click the button to listen to the pronunciations of new words

　

　

　

New Words

　

honesty n.
freedom from deceit, cheating, etc.诚实

style n.
fashion 时髦

poll n.
survey of public opinion by putting questions

　
to a representative selection of

　
persons 民意测验

admit v.
state or agree to the truth of; confess

　
承认,供认

admission n.
　

temptation n.
the act of tempting or being tempted 引诱,

　
诱惑

peek vi.
look ( at sth. ) quickly, esp. when one

should not 偷看

behavio(u)r n.
way of behaving 行为

behave v.
　

indication n.
sign or suggestion 迹象

competency n.
ability; being competent 能力 ; 胜任

diploma n.
official paper showing that a person has

　
successfully finished a course of study

　
or passed an examination 文凭

corresponding a.
matching 相应的

criminal a,
of crime

misdemeano(u)r n.
crime that is less serious than, for

　
example, stealing or murder 轻罪

charge n.
accusation 指控

possess vt.
have, own 占有, 拥有

advance a.
made available before the date of general

　
publication or release 预先的

regent n.
member of a governing board (学校董事会的)

　
董事

drop vt.
give up; discontinue 放弃 ; 革除

traditional a.
of or according to tradition 传统的

tradition n.
　

requirement n.
sth. required; sth. demanded as a condition

　
要求 ; 必要条件

prewritten a.
written beforehand; written in advance

psychology n.
science of the mind 心理学

psychological a.
　

launch vt.
start, set going 发起; 发动

campaign n.
series of planned activities for some

　
special purpose 运动

file vi
march or move in a line 排成纵队行进

exit n.
way out of a place 出口 ( 处 )

proctor n.
监考人

ID card n.
identity card 身份证

dorm n.
(short for) dormitory 宿舍

mug n.
the face or mouth

shot n.
a single photograph

mug shot n.
(sl.) photograph of a person's face, used

　
for purposes of identification 面部照片

ringer n.
any person who pretends to be another 冒

　
名顶替者

applaud vt.
praise esp. by striking one's hands

　
together 拍手称赞

campus n.
university; the grounds of a university,

　
college; or school 大学 ; 校园

editorial n.
leading article 社论

arrest vt.
seize (sb. ) in the name of the law 逮捕

speeder n.
person who drives an automobile at a

　
purpose; intention.

frequently ad.
at short intervals, often 频繁地

frequent a.
　

overcharge vt.
charge too much 对…要价太高

customer n.
person who buys goods from a shop, esp.

　
regularly 顾客

myth n.
神话

unlike prep.
not like, different from

cherry n.
樱桃

biographer n
person who writes about another person's

　
life 传记作家

ax(e) n.
斧子

character n.
mental or moral qualities that make one

　
person, race, etc. different from others

　
性格, 品质

moral a.
concerning principles of right or wrong

　
道德的

reinforce vt.
encourage or strengthen 加强

tax n.
税

clue n.
sth. that helps to find an answer to a

　
question 线索

check-out n.
desk where one pays the bill of the goods

　
one has chosen 结帐处

supermarket n.
large shop where one serves oneself with

　
food and goods 超级市场

overnight a.
for or during the night 住一夜的;一整夜的

inn n.
small hotel 小旅馆, 客栈

towel n.
毛巾

vast a.
very big

numerous a.
many

watch-dog a.
organized or acting as a watchful guar-

　
dian, esp. against unlawful practice 起

　
监督作用的

dishonesty n.
the quality of being dishonest

reveal vt.
make known 揭露

evidence n.
sign or proof 证据

ebb vi.
(of the tide) flow back from the land to

　
the sea; grow less; become weak or faint

　
落潮 ; 低落 ,衰退

flow vi.
(of the tide) come in; rise; run or spread

　
smoothly (潮)涨 ; 上升 ; 流

incident n.
event; happening 事件

theft n.
( the act of , an instance of ) stealing

tend vi .
have a tendency 易于 , 往往会

link vt.
join or connect 连接;联系

economy n.
经济

anyway ad.
at all; in any case 究竟;无论如何

tempt vt.
attract (sb.) to do sth. wrong or foolish

　
引诱

system n.
体制 ; 制度

systematic a.
distrust n.

distrust n.
lack of trust ; mistrust 不信任 , 怀疑

contagious a.
tending to spread easily from person to

　
person 传染的


　

　

Phrases & Expressions

　

out of style
no longer fashionable 过时的, 不再流行的

according to
as stated or shown by; in a way that agrees with


按照，根据

(be) faced with
面对

be bard on
对…过分严厉

on the rise
increasing steadily 在增长 ; 在加剧

a case in point
a very good example 恰当的例子

all but
all except 除了…都

( be) different from
unlike, not the same as 与…不同

think of ...as
regard as

in the case of
就…来说 , 至于

come to
arrive at a particular state or position 变成(某


种状态)

lie in
exist in 在于

on the other hand
from the opposed point of view 另一方面,反过来说

at one's hest
in as good a state as possible 处于最佳状态

go up
rise ; increase 上升 ; 增加

go down
fall; decrease 下降 ; 减少


　
　
Proper Names
　
Stacia Robbins
斯泰茜亚·罗宾斯

Maryland
马里兰(美国州名)

Abe
艾贝 ( Abraham 的昵称)


　
　

　

　

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