为什么一些国家要在考试期间关闭网络呢？

Digital dishonesty
电子化手段作弊

Why some countries are turning off the internet on exam days
为什么一些国家要在考试期间关闭网络呢？

With so many students cheating electronically, governments are taking drastic steps
鉴于大量学生使用电子化手段作弊，多国政府正采取极端措施应对。

Jul 5th 2018 | NOUAKCHOTT
2018年7月5日 努瓦克肖特

AS LONG as there have been exams, students have found ways to cheat. Today the correct answers are just a few taps away on a smartphone. So countries have come up with new ways to stop the funny business. Some use metal detectors, surveillance cameras, mobile-phone jammers and even drones. Others have taken a more drastic step.
据英国《经济学人》网站7月5日的消息：只要有考试，学生就有应对考试的作弊手段。如今，只需在智能手机上点击几下，正确答案就能出现。因此，许多国家已想出新举措来制止这种不端行为。有的国家使用金属探测器，监视器，手机干扰器甚至无人机监控。还有的国家采取更极端的措施。

Cheating in high-school leaving exams got so bad in Mauritania and Algeria that this year the authorities turned off the internet for the entire country. Algeria did so for at least an hour during tests (which last about a week); Mauritania cut access from morning until evening on exam days. Other countries, such as Iraq, Uzbekistan and Ethiopia, have for years been shutting down the internet during exam time.
在毛里塔尼亚和阿尔及利，高中毕业考试中的作弊现象尤其严重，以至于两国政府不得不关闭整个国家的网络。阿尔及利亚的举措是：在考试期间，至少关闭网络一小时（此举持续大约一周）；毛里塔尼亚是在考试的几天内从早到晚关闭网络。伊拉克，乌兹别克斯坦和埃塞尔比亚等国在考试期间关闭网络的举措已持续多年。

In each country students are under enormous pressure to do well in the tests, which often determine whether they can continue their education at a good university. A splendid grade may mean a scholarship abroad. But high marks are rare. In Algeria only around half of students passed the exams in recent years. In Mauritania the rate is much lower.
要在考试中取得好成绩，每个国家的学生都会背负巨大压力，因为这些考试往往决定着他们是能否能在重点大学继续深造。优异的成绩意味着学生能够获取出国深造的奖学金。但考取高分者是凤毛麟角。近年来，阿尔及利亚只有大约一半的学生通过考试。毛里塔尼亚的升学率相对更低。

Teachers try to help--in their own way. For a fee some will provide answers on WhatsApp, a messaging service, says Sidi, a recent high-school graduate in Nouakchott, the capital of Mauritania. After Algeria’s tests were posted early on Facebook in 2016 the government blocked it during exam periods. Dishonest boys have a harder time than girls, who often aren’t checked and sometimes hide earphones under their veils.
教师会尝试按照他们自己的方式去帮助学生。毛里塔尼亚首都努瓦克肖特的一位刚毕业的高中生西迪（Sidi）表示，一些人会有偿在即时通讯软件WhatsAPP上公布答案。2016年，阿尔及利亚的考卷被人提前发布在Facebook网站上。随后，阿尔及利亚政府便在考试期间屏蔽了Facebook网站。男孩比女孩更难作弊，因为女孩往往不用接受考前检查，有时可以将耳机藏在头巾内。

Turning off the internet is expensive. Darrell West of the Brookings Institution, a think-tank, estimates that in 2015-16 internet shutdowns ordered by governments—whether to stop cheating or stifle dissent—cost countries at least $2.4bn. For that kind of money, countries could even improve their schools.
关闭网络的代价是巨大的。美国智库布鲁金斯学会的的达瑞尔•韦斯特（Darrell West）估计，在2015-2016年，政府下令关闭网络的举措--无论是防止作弊还是扼杀异见--已造成全球多国总计损失至少24亿美元。这些国家甚至本可以用这笔钱财改善它们国内的学校。（译：曹亚蒙）

https://www.economist.com/news/middle-east-and-africa/21745544-so-many-students-cheating-electronically-governments-are-taking-drastic