U7当诚实消失时

When honesty disappears

当诚实消失时

1 "Is anybody truly honest?" As numerous accounts of cheating, lying, and fraud crowd our newspaper pages and TV news, it seems that honesty is a rapidly vanishing value. And the reports indicate that, around the globe, corruption and dishonesty are so widespread that the health and well-being of society are at risk. These reports include stories such as the students who faced criminal charges for selling in advance copies of a university final exam, a student who was expelled when he turned in a term paper with the purchase receipt for it still inside the pages, and a clerk who ran his own Christmas cards through the office postage meter and was found out when he sent one of the cards to the company treasurer! We have all read or heard accounts such as these, not to mention the stories of dishonesty amongst all layers of society as exemplified by consumers who steal and politicians who demand bribes. Travelers ripped off so many towels last year that it cost a major hotel chain $3 million to replace them. Especially troubling are the reports that dishonesty is increasing amongst student populations around the world.

“有真正诚实的人吗？”我们的报纸版面和电视新闻充斥着不计其数的有关欺骗、说谎和诈骗的报道，诚实似乎已经成为正在迅速消失的价值观。而且这些报道表明，全球范围内腐败和不诚实现象蔓延范围之广已经危及到了社会的安康。这些报道中包括诸如此类的故事：学生因考试前贩卖大学期末考题而面临犯罪指控；一名学生因提交买来的、还夹着收据的学期论文而被勒令退学；一名职员用公司的邮资机来邮寄自己的圣诞贺卡，他在寄了一张贺卡给公司的财务主管后被发现！我们都读过或听过类似的事情，更别说社会各层面存在的种种不诚实行为，如偷窃东西的顾和索取贿赂的政客。去年一年，一家大型连锁酒店的大量毛巾被游客偷走，酒店因此花费了300万美元来添置新毛巾。尤其令人担忧的是，世界范围内有关学生不诚实行为的报道越来越多。

2 But are these reports truly accurate or do they exaggerate the situation? Should we be alarmed by these accounts of falling standards of principles and morality? The assumption is that student dishonesty is more extensive now than it was 20, 50, 100 years ago. If so, what's behind it? If this is indeed the case, it's deeply troubling as today's students are tomorrow's leaders! It's possible that the desire to cheat is no greater than in the past. However, the critical importance of having a university degree may have increased the pressure to cheat in academic environments. Undoubtedly, modern technology facilitates the means and opportunities to cheat. The demanding task of writing term papers has always been a source of tense nerves and frustration, if not the ultimate homework nightmare. But now, with Internet access, illegal resources are just a few links away.

不过这些报道确实是真实的还是言过其实了呢？我们该不该因这些关于行为准则和道德水准下降的报道而感到不安呢？人们认定现在学生中的不诚实现象比20年、50年或100年前更为广泛。如果是这样，其背后的原因是什么呢？如果情况确实属实，那就令人十分担心了，因为今天的学生就是未来的领袖！也许现在学生骗人的欲望并不比从前大。然而，由于大学学位至关重要，这可能给学生带来更大的压力，使他们在学术上造假。毫无疑问，现代科技使人更容易获得造假的方法和机会。写学期论文这一艰巨的任务即便不是最可怕的作业，也一直是导致学生神经紧张和沮丧的原因之一。但是现在，网络唾手可得，点击几下鼠标就能找到非法的资源。

3 Modern students who want to fake a term paper don't have to browse long. They only have to locate the appropriate website, purchase or order online papers, or even download them for free. One web service offers "highest quality papers at the lowest possible prices", only $5.95 per page. Busy, cost-conscious students will find other "low-priced" term papers on websites that promise consumers "You will be happy and successful." Some people worry that the Internet, once hailed as the ultimate learning tool, could become the best aid yet for cheating.

现在的学生如果想要伪造学期论文的话不必在网上浏览太长时间。他们只需要找到合适的网址，然后购买或订购网上论文，或者甚至免费下载论文。一个网络服务站提供“质量最高、价格最低的论文”，每页只需5.95美元。忙碌的、注重节约成本的学生还会找到其他出售“低价”论文的网站，这些网站向顾客许诺“你会既开心又成功。”有些人担心，曾经被奉为最棒的学习工具的互联网会成为作弊者最得力的帮手。

4 To cope with the growing plague of cheating, universities around the world now use anti-plagiarism software and have very strict cheating and plagiarism policies. If students are caught plagiarizing or cheating in any way, they will be immediately expelled from school. Some college faculty decided to do more than talk about rising student cheating. Professors at a major university launched a campaign to try to eliminate one form of cheating. As 409 students filed out of their Introduction to Psychology exam, they found all but one exit blocked. Test monitors asked each student to produce an ID card with an attached photo. If they provided a satisfactory ID, they were fine. If they had left their ID at home, the officials confronted them and took their picture. The purpose of the campaign was to reveal hired cheaters, students who take tests for other students. The majority of students at the university applauded the new strategy.

为解决作弊泛滥的问题，世界各地的大学现在都在使用反抄袭软件，并且针对作弊和抄袭行为有严厉的惩罚政策。如果学生被抓到以任何方式抄袭或作弊，他们就会立刻被勒令退学。一些大学的教师不再只是谈论日益增多的学生作弊行为，他们决定采取行动。一所重点大学的教授发起一项运动，努力消除一种作弊行为。当409名学生排队离开“心理学入门”考试的考场时，他们发现除了一个出口以外，其他所有的考场出口都被堵上了。考官们要求学生出示带有照片的身份证件。如果他们能够提供令人满意的身份证件，他们就可以离开。如果他们把证件落在家里了，考官们就会当面质问他们，并拍下他们的照片。这项运动的目的就是要揭露那些雇来的作弊者，即替其他学生考试的学生。这所大学的大部分学生都对这个新举措拍手称快。

5 With awareness of increasing dishonesty in today's society, it's sometimes implied that in "the good old days" people were better, happier, and more honest. Were they more honest? Maybe yes, maybe no. Long ago, all American schoolchildren knew the historical story of how Abraham Lincoln walked five miles to return a penny he had overcharged a customer. It's the kind of story that we think of as myth. But in the case of Lincoln, the story is true.

随着人们意识到当今社会的不诚实行为日益增多，有时这就暗示着在“过去的好时光”里，人们更好、更快乐、更诚实。过去的人更诚实吗？也许是，也许不是。很久以前，所有的美国学童都知道亚伯拉罕•林肯步行5英里去归还他多收顾客的一便士的历史故事。这是那种我们认为是杜撰出来的故事。但是，发生在林肯身上的这个故事的确是真实的。

6 Like the Lincoln tale, every society has stories stressing the absolute value of honesty. It is these stories that students need to remember when temptation induces them to cheat. Whether discovered or not, dishonesty has an undesirable effect on anyone who practices it. Equally importantly, the ill effects are not confined to the dishonest person alone. Without trust, ordered societies would descend into chaos. It's important that we do what we say we will do, pay when we say we will, and create words that are our own. Perhaps the most important lesson our schools can teach is that we must trust each other. When honesty disappears, the affirmative, durable bonds of trust are eliminated and we all lose. The future of our society depends on mutual trust.

就像林肯的故事一样，每个社会都有强调诚实的绝对价值的故事。这些故事正是学生在受到作弊的诱惑时需要记住的。不管是否会被发现，不诚实都会给任何一个作弊者带来不利影响。同样重要的是，作弊不仅仅只给作弊者带来负面影响。没有诚信，有序的社会就会陷入混乱。我们承诺要做的事就一定要做，我们承诺要付出的就一定要付出，自己的东西一定要自己写，这些都是很重要的。也许我们的学校要教给学生的最重要的一课就是大家要彼此信任。当诚实消失时，信任这一积极的、持久的纽带就会消失，我们都会迷失。我们社会的未来依赖于我们彼此间的相互信任。