ESL之日常生活 04 Cheating on a Test

04 Cheating on a Test

GLOSSARY

cheat sheet – a secret piece of paper with information written on it that will helpa student do well on a test* Michelle is selling cheat sheets to the other students for the chemistry exam.  Ifthe teacher finds out, she’ll be in a lot of trouble.

to get away with (something) – to be able to do something bad without gettingin trouble* She got away with having a big party last weekend, but only because shecleaned the house really well before her parents came home.

to flunk – to fail a class; to not pass a class; to receive a failing grade* Fyodor flunked his biology class because he received only 20 points on the finalexam.

risk – the possibility of something bad happening* There’s always a risk of death with any surgery, even if it’s a very commonsurgery.

to suspend (someone) – not to allow someone go to classes or work for aperiod of time as punishment for something that he or she did* When Fernando hit Sun-Yee at school, he was suspended for a week.

to expel (someone) – to not allow someone go to classes or work ever again as punishment for something that he or she did* The principal told us that we could be expelled for bringing a gun to school.

final grade – a letter of A (the best), B, C, D, or F (the worst) that shows howwell one did in a course* I got a D on the first assignment, but if I do well on the rest of the assignments and exams, I can still get a good final grade.

on the line – at risk; in danger* Johanna’s job is on the line if she doesn’t make at least $100,000 in sales this month.

an automatic F – a failing grade received as punishment for something that onedid* In Mr. Haftl’s class, students get an automatic F if they don’t give him theirassignments on the day that he asks for them.

to steal – to secretly take something that is not one’s own* When Peter was a little boy, he once stole money from his mother’s purse tobuy candy.

to plagiarize – to copy another person’s writing and say that it is one’s own* If you want to use someone else’s words in your essay, you have to put them inquotation marks (“ ”).  Otherwise, you’re plagiarizing.

there’s no telling – a phrase meaning, “nobody knows,” or  “it’s impossible toknow”

* There’s no telling what her parents will do when they find out that she didn’t goto school today.

to find out – to discover; to become aware of something; to learn something* How did you find out that this employee was lying about her experience?

to copy off (one’s) test – to secretly write down the answers that anotherstudent has written on his or her own test* Why do you let Jeannette copy off your test? to keep a close eye on (someone) – to watch someone carefully, especially tosee if they are doing something wrong or if they are in danger* Please keep a close eye on Wes.  He hasn’t been feeling well today, and if hegets worse, I want you to take him to the doctor.

to get caught – to have someone else discover that one is doing something bad* Ellery and his friends got caught smoking behind the school.

summer school – classes during the summer months (June, July, and August)when most other students are on vacation* Celina has to go to summer school because she didn’t do very well in herFrench class last year.

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS1. Why is Oscar worried about Elena cheating on the test? a) Because he thinks cheating is wrong.

b) Because it isn’t fair to the other students.

c) Because she might get caught.

2. How is Elena going to cheat?

a) She’ll plagiarize an important assignment.

b) She’ll steal a copy of the test.

c) She’ll make a cheat sheet______________WHAT ELSE DOES IT MEAN?

to get away with The phrase “to get away with,” in this podcast, means to be able to do somethingbad or something wrong without getting in trouble: “Maribeth thought she couldget away with speeding in her car because she didn’t see any police officers inthe area.”  A similar phrase, “to get away from it all,” means to relax by taking ashort vacation and forgetting about work or school: “After taking four exams inone week, the students decided to go to the beach for the weekend to get away from it all.”  The phrase “to get away from (something)” means to leave a place: “Icouldn’t get away from the office until almost 9:00 p.m. last night.”  Also, peoplecan shout, “Get away from there!” to warn someone to move because there is danger where he or she is standing, or if he or she does not belong there and is not welcomed.

to suspendIn this podcast, the verb “to suspend (someone)” means to not let someone go toclasses or work for a period of time as punishment for something that he or shedid: “Brock was suspended for 14 days when he put frogs in the school’s bathrooms.”  The same verb can also mean to hang something above an area orabove something else: “The heavy lamp is suspended from the ceiling with avery strong piece of metal.”  The verb “to suspend” can mean to stop somethingfor a period of time: “The company had to suspend its work for two weeks whenall of the employees were sick at the same time.”  “To suspend” can also mean tomake something happen later than originally planned: “The museum’s openingday has been suspended until September.”

CULTURE NOTEIn the United States, people are taught that they should not “plagiarize.” “Plagiarism” happens when someone copies another person’s writing or ideas and uses them as if they were his or her own.

People often want to use another person’s ideas or words in your own writing.  Inthe U.S., this is okay if you “attribute” those ideas or words to the original author,meaning that you make it clear whom the ideas and words belong to.  If you takeanother person’s ideas and put them in your essay without showing where thoseideas came from, your essay has “unattributed ideas,” or plagiarism.  But if youattribute those ideas to the original writer, perhaps by saying, “As Mr. Jacksonwrote in his book….,” then it isn’t considered plagiarism.

When you want to use someone else’s exact words in your essay, you mustplace those words in quotation marks (“ ”) with information about the person whofirst wrote those words.  For example, you could write, “According to MarieSanclair, ‘Learning a second language is one of life’s most rewardingexperiences.’”  Because your essay names Marie Sanclair, this isn’t plagiarism. But if you use her words without quotation marks, it is plagiarism because thewords appear to be your own when they aren’t.

In American schools and universities, students who plagiarize are “punished” andreceive bad or failing grades for their work.  Teachers and professors takeplagiarism very seriously and consider it a major act of dishonesty.  Studentsmust be very careful to attribute other people’s work when they use it in their ownwriting. ______________Comprehension Questions Correct Answers:  1 – c; 2 – c

COMPLETE TRANSCRIPTWelcome to English as a Second Language Podcast number 250: Cheating on aTest.

This is English as a Second Language Podcast episode 250.  I'm your host, Dr.

Jeff McQuillan, coming to you from the Center for Educational Development inbeautiful Los Angeles, California. If you enjoy our podcast and want to improve your English even more, you canget a Learning Guide for each episode of the podcast that includes all of thevocabulary, the definitions, cultural notes and a complete transcript of this episode.  Go to our website at eslpod.com for more information.

This episode is called “Cheating on a Test,” and it's going to be a conversationbetween two students, one of whom wants to cheat, or to do something that is not allowed, in order to get a better grade on a test in school.  Let's get started.

[start of story]

Oscar:  What are you doing?  Elena:  I’m getting ready for the test.

Oscar:  By writing the answers on a cheat sheet?  You’re not going to get away with that. Elena:  I got a “D” on the last test and I have to do better on this one.  If I don’tget at least a “B,” I’m going to flunk this class. Oscar:  You’re taking a big risk.  You could get suspended or expelled!

Elena:  I know, but my final grade is on the line.  And plus, I think that the worstthat could happen is that I get an automatic “F” on the test.  It’s not like I’mstealing a copy of the test or plagiarizing on an important assignment.

Oscar:  Still, there’s no telling what Mr. McQuillan will do to you if he finds out.  I’dlet you copy off my test if I thought we could get away with it, but he always keeps a close eye on us during tests.  That’s why I think you’re going to getcaught.  

Elena:  It’s not like I have any choice, do I?  It’s either cheating or going tosummer school.

Oscar:  I still think it’s a bad idea.

Elena:  Then, just don’t think about it.  Let me worry about it, okay?

[end of story]

This dialogue between Oscar and Elena begins with Oscar asking Elena, “Whatare you doing,” and he asks that question using an intonation - using his voice -to suggest that she's doing something wrong.  He says, “What are you doing?”

Elena says, “I’m getting ready for a test,” and Oscar says you're getting ready “By writing the answers on a cheat sheet.”  To cheat, “cheat,” means to do somethingthat is against the rules, usually to improve or increase your performance atsomething.  In school, to cheat means, for example, to look at someone else's answers and put them down as your answers - that would give you a betterperformance and a better grade on your test.

A cheat sheet, as a noun, is a piece of paper that students will bring with them toan examination - to a test - that has information on it that will help them do betteron the test.  Of course, the teacher doesn't see the piece of paper - the cheatsheet.

Oscar says to Elena, “You’re not going to get away with that” - with cheating.  Toget away with something means to be able to do something bad without gettingin trouble.  So, you do something that is wrong, but nobody knows it.  Oscar is saying that Elena is not going to get away with cheating.

Elena then tries to give a reason why she is doing this - why she is trying tocheat.  She says, “I got a 'D' on the last test and I have to do better on this one.” The grading scale in the United States and in some other countries begins with“A,” that's the best score you can get on an exam, “B,” “C,” “D,” and then finally “F” if you fail the exam, that's the worst score.  That's the score I usually got inschool!

Elena says that she got a “D,” which is not a good score, on her last test - on herprevious test - and she has to do better on this test.  If she doesn't “get at least a'B,'“ she says.  “I’m going to flunk this class.”  The verb to flunk, “flunk,” means tofail a class - not to pass the class - to get a low grade and get no credit for the class that you have taken.  That's to flunk.  We would say, “I flunked the class,”

or, “I flunked this semester” - I did not get passing grades.

Oscar says to Elena that she's “taking a big risk.”  A risk, “risk,” is a possibility that something bad will happen.  If you like to gamble, for example, go to Las Vega or to a casino and spend money, you are risking your money.  There's apossibility that you will lose your money.  In fact, you will definitely lose yourmoney at most casinos!

Oscar says, “You could get suspended or expelled!”  He's saying that Elenacould get suspended or expelled.  To suspend, “suspend,” someone means notto allow someone - a student - to go to their classes for a certain period of timeas a punishment for something they did wrong.  So, if a student cheats on a testand the teacher finds out about it, the teacher could have the student suspendedfor a week, meaning they would not be able to go back to class for one week. That doesn't seem like a punishment to me, but that is a very common thing thatis done in American schools for students who either cheat or who causeproblems – cause trouble in the school.

To be expelled, “expelled,” (the verb is to expel, “expel”) means to not allowsomeone to go to their classes at all, as a punishment.  Usually it means toremove someone from the school so they no longer are a student at that school. If you bring a gun to your school, in most cities of the United States you willprobably be expelled.  And yes, students sometimes bring guns to school.  Ithappened once at a school I was teaching at.  It wasn't me who brought the gun;it was a student, of course!

I should mention that the expression to get away with and to suspend have someadditional meanings, which we talk about on the Learning Guide for this episode.

Elena says that she knows she is taking a big risk, but her “final grade is on theline.”  Her final grade is the grade that you get at the end of course; it's what youget for the entire class.  When we say something is on the line, “line,” we meanthat it is in danger - that it is at risk.  Some people may say, “My neck is on theline,” meaning my future is at risk - that I am in danger of something badhappening to me.

Elena then says, “And plus,” meaning in addition, “I think that the worst that couldhappen” to me “is that I get an automatic “F” on the test.”  An automatic “F” is afailing grade that a student receives as punishment for something that they did,such as cheating.  So, she would get an “F” on the test.

Elena says, “It’s not like I’m stealing a copy of the test or plagiarizing on animportant assignment.”  To steal, “steal,” means to secretly take something thatdoes not belong to you - to take it from someone else.  Elena says that she's not“stealing a copy of the test” - she's not getting the test from the teacher's desk before the test is given, for example; that would be one way of cheating. Another way of cheating in school is to plagiarize, “plagiarize,” means to copy another person's writing for your paper - for your assignment - and say that it's your writing.  So, you're taking someone else's writing and saying that it's yours. This is a problem in many schools, and in universities sometimes.

Oscar says that “there’s no telling what Mr. McQuillan will do to you if he finds out.”  There's no telling is an expression which means nobody knows or it's impossible to know.  So, “there's no telling” - no one knows - “what Mr. McQuillanwill do if he finds out.”  To find out (two words) means to discover - to becomeaware of something - to realize something or to learn about something.  Well, weall know Mr. McQuillan is a very mean teacher, someone who will get very angry if he sees someone cheating.

He says, “I’d let you copy off my test if I thought we could get away with it, buthe” - Mr. McQuillan - “always keeps a close eye on us during tests.”  Oscar is suggesting here that he would cheat, too - he would help Elena cheat - if hecould get away with it - if they could do it without anyone noticing.  So, we think that Oscar is an honest person, but we find out now that he is not any morehonest than Elena, apparently. He says, “I’d let you copy off my test.”  To copy off someone's test the means tosecretly write down the answers that the other student has written.  So, you aresitting next to someone who is really smart, say Dr. Tse, and you don't know theanswers, so you look at her test and you write down what she writes down onyour test.  That's to copy off someone's test.

Mr. McQuillan, unfortunately for Oscar and Elena, “always keeps a close eye on”

the students “during tests.”  To keep a close eye on someone is an expressionthat means to watch someone very carefully, especially to make sure that they are not doing anything wrong - anything bad.

Oscar says that he thinks Elena is “going to get caught.”  To get caught means tohave someone else discover that you are doing something bad or somethingwrong.  The verb can also be used to catch.  For example, “Mr. McQuillan is going to catch you,” meaning he's going to find out that you're doing somethingwrong.

Elena says that she doesn't have any choice.  She says, “It’s not like I have any choice, do I,” meaning I don't have any other option.  She either has to cheat or,she says, she's “going to summer school.”  Summer school is when schools haveclasses during the summer months - June, July and August - when otherstudents are on vacation.  In the US, the schools open in September and they close, usually, in May or the first week of June.  So, in the summertime students have a vacation.  Well, if you don't do very well in school - if you flunk a class -you may have to take the class again during the summer, and that's what wewould call summer school.

Now let's listen to the dialogue again, this time at a normal speed.

[start of story]

Oscar:  What are you doing?  Elena:  I’m getting ready for the test.

Oscar:  By writing the answers on a cheat sheet?  You’re not going to get away with that. Elena:  I got a “D” on the last test and I have to do better on this one.  If I don’tget at least a “B,” I’m going to flunk this class. Oscar:  You’re taking a big risk.  You could get suspended or expelled!

Elena:  I know, but my final grade is on the line.  And plus, I think that the worstthat could happen is that I get an automatic “F” on the test.  It’s not like I’mstealing a copy of the test or plagiarizing on an important assignment.

Oscar:  Still, there’s no telling what Mr. McQuillan will do to you if he finds out.  I’dlet you copy off my test if I thought we could get away with it, but he always keeps a close eye on us during tests.  That’s why I think you’re going to getcaught. Elena:  It’s not like I have any choice, do I?  It’s either cheating or going tosummer school.

Oscar:  I still think it’s a bad idea.

Elena:  Then, just don’t think about it.  Let me worry about it, okay?

[end of story]

The script for today's podcast was written by Dr. Lucy Tse.

From Los Angeles, California, I'm Jeff McQuillan.  Thanks for listening.  We'll seeyou next time on ESL Podcast.

English as a Second Language Podcast is written and produced by Dr. Lucy Tse,hosted by Dr. Jeff McQuillan.  This podcast is copyright 2007.