Why Do So Many Teens Cheat？“ 前仆后繼”作弊為哪般

越來越多的青少年成為轟轟烈烈的作弊大軍中的一員，他們對作弊這一似乎“無傷大雅”的行為也越來越不以為然。虛榮心、壓力和競爭都能誘使人選擇作弊，但是畢竟作弊是不對的，作弊反映了一個人錯誤的價值觀，你能頂住壓力和誘惑嗎？

During my first chemistry test at my new high school， I was surprised to find the guy sitting next to me glancing over at my paper. It took me a moment to realize what he was doing.

"No， he's not cheating，" I thought. "He's so smart."

But on the second test there was no denying it. He was clearly looking at my paper. He wasn't the only cheater. After the first test， a girl in my class discussed it with me in the gym locker room1）.

"Did you hear papers rustling during the test？" Anne asked me.

"No."

"Oh， thank goodness！ I had my notebook open under my desk and I was so nervous when the teacher was walking around the room，" she said.

Naively， I asked why she did it. Anne looked at me curiously and wrinkled her brow as she just shrugged it off2）. Cheating—a typical activity that teenagers engage in. No need to dwell on3） it.

I， on the other hand， was shocked and appalled4）. What offended me most， though， was Anne's indifference.

I soon learned that Anne's view on cheating was not unique. The student union vice president at my high school was forced to resign last fall after she was caught cheating on a chemistry test.

For many students， what was controversial was that she had to resign， not that she cheated. While riding the school's escalator， I overheard a student saying he thought the decision was unjust. "I bet that if you ask anyone in this school， they'll tell you that they've cheated before，" he said.

His thinking seems to be that if the majority does something， no matter how dishonest it is， it should be accepted.

Why do so many teenagers cheat？ According to a sophomore I spoke with， many students fear that "their parents， friends， or teachers will be disappointed" if their grades don't measure up5）. Many also worry about the effect their grades will have on their college acceptance or ability to get scholarships.

Others are simply worried about passing the class and graduating on time. As a friend of mine put it， "Almost all the people I know and have known through school didn't care about 'remaining on top'. They just wanted to pass and get out of school."

And others feel the pressure to cheat because， to them， grades are indicators of success， accomplishment， and character. They think that by getting high grades， students show the world they can measure up to an ideal.endprint

One sophomore6） told me he sometimes cheats because he doesn't want "to be looked upon as a below-average or unintelligent individual" by doing poorly on a test.

Competition is another reason why some students cheat. For overachievers， every digit and grade counts.

In schools like the one I go to， where grades in the 90s are common， many may feel the need to cheat to keep themselves one step ahead. As the guy who cheated in chemistry explained， "In a competitive academic environment， one needs to take every advantage they can get."

People I barely knew casually asked me what my transcript7） average was， oblivious to a little something called manners. The obsession over grades even made people resentful towards the highest scorer on a test. But it was the amount of cheating that bothered me the most.

Many students who don't cheat all the time feel that it is "OK" to cheat in certain situations， although how they determine that is complex.

Some people believe that when a test really counts， students won't cheat because the consequences of getting caught are too high. One friend doesn't cheat on major exams like the SAT or "major subject tests" because of this.

Students might also cheat in a class that isn't being taught well， out of spite8）， or in a class that they view as too easy， uninteresting， or unimportant to bother studying for. Others cheat on the subject that is hardest for them.

Even though I still think cheating is wrong， I too am starting to feel the pressure to take the cheater's way out9）. The demands of high school and being a teenager are so overwhelming at times that I don't get to study for a science or history quiz. Cheating becomes the more appealing option when the other choice is to fail.

我剛轉來這所高中，在第一次化學考試中，我驚訝地發現坐在我旁邊的家伙竟然在偷看我的試卷。我過了一會兒才意識到他在干什么。

“不，他不是在作弊，”我心里想，“他那么聰明。”

但是到第二場考試的時候，這一點就毋庸置疑了。他明擺著就是在看我的試卷。他并不是唯一的作弊者。第一場考試過后，我們班的一個女孩在體育館的更衣室里跟我討論起了作弊。

“考試的時候你聽到翻動紙頁的沙沙聲了嗎？”安妮問我。

“沒有。”

“哦，謝天謝地！我把筆記本敞開，放在桌子下面了，老師在教室里走來走去的時候，我都緊張死了。”她說。

我天真地問她為什么要這么做。安妮好奇地看著我，皺了皺眉頭，便將此事一帶而過。作弊——一個典型的青少年學生參與的活動。沒有必要去細究。

但是另一方面，我又感到震驚，且對此深惡痛絕。可是，最讓我憤怒的是安妮的不以為意。

不久我就發現，安妮對作弊的看法并不是唯一的。去年秋天，我們高中的學生會副主席化學考試作弊被抓到之后被迫辭職了。

對于很多學生來說，備受爭議的是她必須辭職這件事兒，而不是她作弊的事兒。我在學校乘自動扶梯時，無意間聽到一個學生說他認為這個決定不公平。“我敢打賭，要是你去問這所學校里的任何一個人，他們都會告訴你他們曾經作過弊。”他這么說道。

他的想法似乎是，如果大多數的人都做某一件事，那么無論這樣做是多么不誠實，都應該被接受。

為什么會有如此多的青少年作弊呢？據一位和我有過交談的高二同學說，許多學生害怕如果他們的分數不夠令人滿意，“會讓他們的父母、朋友或者老師們失望”。很多學生還擔心他們的成績會影響到大學錄取以及獲得獎學金的資格。endprint

另外有些學生只是擔心不能順利結課、按時畢業。正如我的一個朋友說的那樣：“幾乎所有我在學校里認識的人，包括現在的和以前的，都不在乎能不能‘名列前茅。他們只是想通過考試，然后離開學校。”

還有一些學生是迫于壓力而作弊，因為對他們來說，分數意味著成功、成就和名聲。他們認為學生們可以通過考高分向世界證明他們可以稱得上一個完美典范。

一個高二的學生告訴我，他有時候作弊是因為他不想因為考得不好而“被人看成是低能兒或是笨蛋”。

與同學競爭是一些學生作弊的又一原因。對于優等生而言，每一個分數、每一個評級都很重要。

在像我上的這種學校里，考90多分很普遍，很多學生可能會覺得有必要作弊讓自己考得比別人好一點兒。正如在化學考試中作弊的那個男孩辯解的那樣：“在一個競爭激烈的學習環境中，人們需要充分利用可利用的一切有利條件。”

連我幾乎不認識的人都隨隨便便地問我平均成績是多少，一點都不知道什么叫禮貌。過分看重分數甚至讓人對考試考得最好的同學心懷憎恨。但是最讓我擔心的還是作弊行為的數量。

很多在考試中不是每次都作弊的學生認為，在某些特定的情況下是可以作弊的，然而他們如何界定這種情況卻很復雜。

有些人認為當一場考試真的非常重要的時候，學生們就不會作弊了，因為這時作弊被抓的后果太嚴重了。我的一個朋友就是因為這個原因，從不在一些重大考試中作弊，比如SAT（美國高考）或者“主修課目的考試”。

學生們也可能在一些教得不好的課程的考試中出于怨恨而作弊，或者對于他們認為太過簡單、十分無趣的、不重要而懶得去學的課程，考試時他們也可能會作弊。其他學生都是在對他們來說最難的科目上作弊。

盡管我仍舊認為作弊是不對的，但我也開始感覺到壓力，要走作弊這條路。有時候，高中的要求和作為一個青少年本身要做到的讓人難以應付，以至于我都顧不上為科學或歷史測驗而學習了。當不作弊就只能掛科的時候，作弊就成了更加吸引人的選擇。

1. locker room： （學校、工作場所或體育俱樂部內設有大量加鎖小柜的）衣物間，更衣室

2. shrug sth. off： （對某事）置之不理；視作等閑

3. dwell on： 詳述

4. appalled [??p??ld] adj. 感到震驚的，感到厭惡的

5. measure up： 符合（標準）；達到（期望）

6. sophomore [?s?f?m??（r）] n. （大學或高中的）二年級學生

7. transcript [?tr?nskr?pt] n. 學生成績單

8. out of spite： 出于怨恨

9. take ... way out： 采取……解決辦法endprint