【今日英語】Faking it 掏錢購論文

　　A BBC investigation has highlighted the growing problem of an industry where students can tryto deceive teachers by paying to have theircoursework written for them.

　　Tucked away in the windows of newsagentsacross London, in amongst the postcards advertising music lessons and childcare, there are some offering to write essays.

　　The essays are described as "model" assignments that students can use to guide them in their course of study.

 

But according to the BBC's Reeta Chakrabarti, privately some of these firms are saying the work can be passed off by students as their own.

　　A reporter, posing as a student, spoke to six companies on the phone and when he asked if he could hand in the work provided to his tutor as if it was his own, all the firms clearly said that he could. Our undercover student also learned about smartly-dressed men standing outside campuses touting for business, especially towards the end of term, when the pressure on students is the greatest.

　　Universities are well set up to detect more traditional forms of plagiarism where extracts of someone else's work are used. But according to the Birmingham City University's professor Robert Clarke, this is much harder to identify in a bespoke essay, original but written by someone else. He thinks this should concern us all and asks: "Would you want to be treated by a nurse who's cheated on her assignment?"

　　There are serious implications for any student found to be buying an essay in this way. A student can be stripped of their degree or thrown out of university.

　　This form of cheating is not a crime, although there are some inacademic circles who think it should be. And the offence is the student's.

　　The phenomenon affects universities in many parts of the world. Earlier this year, Harvard University officials said that dozens of its students were being investigated for allegedly helping each other cheat in an exam.

　　Up to 125 students in one undergraduate course are suspected of sharing answers or plagiarising.

　　Quiz 攷試

　　1. Look at the article. What two places might students find offers of essay-writing on their behalf?

　　2. Where is it most difficult to detect cheating?

　　3. Is the following statement true, false or not given?Colleges always place the blame for cheating on the people who sold the essays.

　　Look at the article. What word means the practice of copying other people's work and pretending it to be your own?

　　What adverb in the text is used to refer to something that is heard around but hasn't been witnessed?

　　Glossary 辭匯表

　　· to deceive誘騙

　　· the coursework功課，做業

　　· tucked away隱蔽的、躲正正在一邊的

　　· a newsagent報亭

　　· an essay一篇做文

　　· to pass off当作

　　· to pose as混充

　　· undercover便衣，臥底

　　· smartly-dressed穿著時髦得體的

　　· to tout for business招攬逝世意

　　· the end of term壆期終

　　· to detect檢測

　　· plagiarism(名詞)抄襲

　　· bespoke定制的

　　· to cheat詐騙

　　· to be stripped of被取消資歷

　　· to be thrown out被開革了

　　· academic circles教朮界

　　· an offence一項犯罪止動

　　· allegedly据稱

　　· to plagiarise(動詞)抄襲