unit8honestyisitgoingoutofstyle课文翻译大学英语二

UNIT 8 Honesty: Is It Going Out of Style?

Stacia Robbins

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

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 my 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 universities. 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 century 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 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 as 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!

以往考虑过考试中的做弊吗？当然没有。但一些学生并不那么诚实......

诚实：它将离开时尚？

斯泰茜娅?罗宾斯

按照最近的一次民意测验，61%的美国高中学生承认在考试时至少做弊一次。它被争论如此一个反馈并不意味着多少。毕竟，最多的学生已经面对窥视邻近考试卷的诱惑。并且学生几乎不能自主地判断如此的行为。不管怎样，有其他的显示高中做弊行为可能是在上升。

越来越多的州要求学生通过能力测试为了接收他们的高中文凭。许多教育者担心在州测试的习惯中的一个增长将导致做弊行为的相应增长。一个适合的例子是纽约州的学生受到犯有轻罪的指控，即拥用并出售州董事考试的高级拷贝。

做弊现在被认为是大专院校的主要问题。几名教授说他们已经放弃了传统的答题纸的需求因为许多学生购买事先写好的答题纸，并且他们不能搜寻到更多的做弊者。

这个国家的大专院校已经决定不只是光谈论学生做弊的上升还要采取行动。例如，迈阿密大学的心理学系发动了一场停止做弊形成的运动。当409名学生列队离开他们的考场时，他们发现除了一个以外所有的出口都被锁住了。监考人要求每个学生出示一张附有照片的ID卡。那些说将ID卡留在宿舍或家里的学生被拍了面部照片。这个运动的目的是要抓那些来为别人考试的"替考人"学生。

迈阿密大学的大多数学生赞成这个运动。这所大学的报纸社论说，"像警察逮捕违法超速驾驶者一样，这个目的不是要抓每一个人而是能够概括这个词的人。"

我们经常听到"过去的好时代"的话，那里美国人更好，更幸福，更诚实。但是他们更诚实吗？也许是吧，长时间以前生活是很不同于今天的样子的。

学校的孩子习惯于知道亚伯拉罕?林肯怎样走了5公里返还一便士因为他对一位顾客要价高了些。这是我们知道的像神话一样好的故事。但在林肯的情形中，这个故事是真实的......不像乔治?华盛顿与樱桃树的故事那样。华盛顿的第一位传记作者杜撰了乔治对他父亲说，"我不能告诉一个谎话，我要用斧头来对待它。"的故事。在这两个故事中什么是重要的，不论如何，诚实被看做美国人个性的重要部分。

这些只是许多故事之外的两个故事。在上个世纪里的学生通常不读"娱乐"故事。他们阅读讲有关道德价值的故事。这些故事相当清晰地指出说谎、欺骗或偷窃的孩子的结局都是糟糕的。

父母可能会进一步鼓励这些价值。要想知道是困难的。我们知道孩子不听他们的父母谈论在税收上欺骗政府——没有任何东西。

关于为什么过去时代的美国人更诚实的一个线索就是亚伯拉罕?林肯的故事。林肯认识他的顾客。他们都生活在一个小镇子里。大超市里的结帐员会返还钱给一名顾客？它是更少有可能性。就其他方面而言，在一家夫妻经营的小店里过夜的客人会偷毛巾？它是更少有可能性。

可能这告诉我们人们需要相互知道是最诚实的。

美国人的绝大部分仍然相信诚实是一个美国人个性的重要部分。因为这一点，有大量的

监督委员会分散在社会的各个层面。比起过去的岁月最近几年在学校、商业和政府中的不诚实现象显得更多，但这也可能是因为我们在揭露不诚实行为方面做得更好。

有证据表明不诚实会时高时落。当时代是困难的时偷盗和欺骗事件会上升。当时代变得更好如此事件会趋于下降。

学校中的做弊也呈现出或高或落。但它并不显示出与经济有关。

许多教育者感到当学生获得自信对于自己的能力，他们是更少会做弊。奇怪的是，一些防止做弊的努力实际上在鼓励做弊——一个人可能会感到"他们怎么也不信任我，"并且试图"冲击这个制度"。不信任会被传染。但，信任也能够传染！