Unit Eight 
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
5 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 exarns will lead to a corresponding
10 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
15 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
20 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.
25 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
30 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 Linooln 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...
35 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.
40 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
45 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
50 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 impor-
55 tant 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?
60 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.
65 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!
New Words
honesty / n. freedom from deceit, cheating, etc.诚实
style / n. fashion 时髦
poll / n. suivey of public opinion by putting ques-
tions 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
puhlication 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
psychologzy / n. science of the mind 心理学
psychological / a.
latmch / 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
rpose;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
Iife 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 wroxag
道德的
reinforce / vt. encourage or strengthen 加强
tax n.
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. lack of trust ; mistnist 不信任 , 怀疑
contagious / a. tending to spread easily from person to
person 传染的
Phrases & Expres,sions
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) f~ed 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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