                 UNIT 8
  
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 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 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! 

NEW WORDS

    honesty
n.  freedom from deceit, cheating, etc. ʵ
    style 
n.  fashion ʱ
    poll
n.  survey of public opinion by putting questions to a representative selection of persons 
    admit
v.  state or agree to the truth of; confess  ϣ
    admission
n.  
    temptation
n.  the act of tempting or being tempted  գջ
    peek 
vi. look (at sth.) quickly, esp. when one should not  ͵
    behavio(u)r 
n.  way of behaving Ϊ
    behave
v.  
    indication
n.  sign or suggestion 
    
    competency
n.  ability; being competent ʤ 
    diploma 
n.  official paper showing that a person has successfully finished a course of study or passed an examination ƾ
    corresponding
a.  matching Ӧ
    criminal 
a.  of crime
    misdemeano(u)r
n.  crime that is less serious than, for example, stealing of murder 
    charge
n.  accusation ָ
    possess
n.  have, own ռУӵ
    advance
a.  made available before the date of general publication or release Ԥȵ
    regent
n.  member of a governing board ѧУ»ģ
    drop
vt. give up; discontinue 
    traditional
a.  of or according to tradition ͳ
    tradition
n.  
    requirement 
n.  sth. required; sth. demanded as a condition Ҫ󣻱Ҫ
    prewritten
a.  written beforehand; written in advance 
    psychology
n.  science of the mind ѧ
    psychological
a.  
    launch
vt. start, set going 𣻷
    campaign
n.  series of planned activities for some special purpose ˶
    file
vi. march or move in a line ųݶн
    exit
n.  way out of a place ڣ
    proctor
n.  ٿ
    ID card
n.  identity card ֤
    dorm
n.  (short for) dormitory 
    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 沿Ƭ
    ringer
n.  any person who pretends to be another ð
    applaud
vt. praise esp. by striking one's hands to gether ֳ
    campus 
n.  university; the grounds of a university, college, or school ѧУ԰
    editorial
n.  leading article 
    arrest
vt. seize (sb.) in the name of the law 
    speeder
n.  person who drives an automobile at a higher speed than is lawful Υټʻ
    intent
n.  purpose; intention 
    frequently
ad. at short intervals, often Ƶ
    overcharge
vt. charge too much ...Ҫ̫
    customer
n.  person who buys goods from a shop, esp. regularly ˿
    myth
n.  
    unlike
prep. not like, different from 
    cherry
n.  ӣ
    biographer
n.  person who writes about another person's life 
    ax(e)
n.  
    character
n.  mental or moral qualities that make one person, race, etc. different from others ԸƷ
    moral
a.  concerning principles of right of wrong  µ
    reinforce
vt. encourage of strengthen ǿ
    tax
n.  ˰˰
    clue
n.  sth. that helps to find an answer to a question 
    check-out
n.  desk where one pays the bill of the goods one has chosen ʴ
    supermarket
n.  large shop where one serves oneself with food and goods г
    overnight
a.  for or during the night סһҹģһҹ
    inn
n.  small hotel Сùݣջ
    towel
n.  ë
    vast
a.  very big 
    numerous 
a.  many
    watch-dog
a.  organized or acting as a watchful guardian, esp. against unlawful practice ලõ
    dishonesty
n.  the quality of being dishonest 
    reveal
vt. make known ¶
    evidence
n.  sign or proof ֤
    ebb
vi. (of the tide) flow back from the land to the sea; grow less; become weak or faint 䳱䣬˥
    flow
vi. (of the tide) come in; rise; run or spread smoothly ǣ
    incident
n.  event; happening ¼
    theft
n.  (the act of, an instance of) stealing 
    tend
vi. have a tendency ڣ
    link
vt. join or connect ӣϵ
    economy
n.    
    anyway
ad. at all; in any case 
    tempt
vt. attract (sb.) to do sth. wrong or foolish 
    system
n.  ƣƶ
    systematic
a.
    distrust
n.  lack of trust; mistrust Σ
    contagious
a.  tending to spread easily from person to person Ⱦ
    
PHEASES & EXPRESSIONS

    out of style
    no longer fashionable ʱģ
    according to 
    as stated or shown by; in a way that agrees with գ
    (be) faced with
    
    be hard on
    ...
    on the rise
    increasing steadily ;ڼӾ
    a case in point
    a very good example  ǡ
    all but 
    all except ...
    (be) different from
    unlike, not the same as  ...ͬ
    think of ... as
    regard as 
    in the case of 
    ...˵,
    come to 
    arrive at a particular state or position (ĳ״̬)
    lie in
    exist in 
    on the other hand
    from the opposed point of view һ,˵
    at one's best
    in as good a state as possible ״̬
    go up 
    rise; increase ;
    go down
    fall; decrease ½;

PROPER NAMES

    Stacia Robbins
    ˹̩.ޱ˹
    Maryland
    ()
    Abe
    (Abrahamǳ)
    Abe
