节目资讯
刊物:空中英语教室
日期:2013-12-06
难易度:Medium
关键字:peer, cheat sheet, justify, authority, take matters into your own hands
Well, what would you do if you know that someone in your class cheated on a
test?
Would you tell the teacher or would you keep it to yourself?
That's what our friends Nick and Angela are talking about today.
Nick saw someone peering at a cheat sheet under his desk during their history
test.
And he thinks he should tell their teacher Mr. Brown.
Angela doesn't feel the same way.
She thinks maybe this guy just didn't have time to study.
Well, we're going to continue this conversation now.
To Tell or Not to Tell.
You and I were busy this week, too, but we still made time to study.
If someone else didn't, that doesn't justify cheating.
It seems to me that this is really none of our business.
After all, his cheating doesn't affect our grades on the test.
Maybe not directly, but it will affect the class ranks.
It's not fair to hard-working students if someone else gets a high rank by
cheating.
True. But I really feel that we shouldn't take matters into our own hands.
What if he wasn't cheating?
Well, I'm just going to report what I saw to someone in authority.
The teacher can take care of it.
Nick and Angela both seem to have pretty strong opinions about what to do in
this situation.
Now Angela just had her line saying that maybe the student didn't have time to
study.
So Nick, it is your line now.
Yes. And Nick says:
You and I were busy this week, too, but we still made time to study.
What do you think about that, Carolyn?
Angela says that he didn't have time to study.
Nick says that, well, of course he could just make time to study.
Ah, I think that is a very good point, Gabe.
And let's compare those two: to have time or to make time.
Well, we all know that there are only 24 hours in a day, so it's difficult to
have time to do everything.
But if something is really important to you, then you will make time to get it
done.
Exactly, and so that is the difference.
Sometimes people say: I just... I don't have time.
Well, really if something is important, then you can make time.
Whether it's something fun or something serious like studying for a test, you
can make time for things if you really want to do them most of the time.
And of course it's very important to study for a test.
You should make time for that.
That's right.
It is very important to make time for things that are worthwhile.
So make time to spend with your family, and make time to study and finish all of
your work.
Uh, Nick, I think you still have some more there to read.
Yes, of course, we still made time to study.
If someone else did it, that doesn't justify cheating.
And I want to talk about this word "justify" from our Word Bank.
If you justify something, that means you did something and now you're giving a
reason for it.
Usually maybe you did something you shouldn't have done, and now you have to
give a reason for doing that thing.
Or if someone disagrees with something that you've done, then you need to be
able to justify your actions, to defend why you did something.
So right now it sounds like Nick is trying to justify why he wants to talk to
their teacher.
And what kinds of things do you justify in life?
Well, maybe sometimes you need to justify your behavior.
Something you did seems kind of mean to somebody else.
You need to justify why you did something.
Or I think of a phrase: The ends justifies the means.
Sometimes people think that if it turns out OK in the end, it doesn't matter
what you did to get that result.
How do you feel about that, Carolyn?
Well, I would disagree with that.
I think that the means or the way you get something done is very important.
If you go about doing something in an unethical or a bad way, even if the end
result is good, it's still not good.
Exactly. OK.
Well, cheating, of course, I think we can all agree cheating is not good.
What can you do or say to justify cheating?
OK, Angela, it is your line.
Yes. Thank you.
Angela says: It seems to me that this is really none of our business.
Wait a minute. Wait a minute.
It seems to me like we should talk about that phrase.
The first phrase there in that sentence: it seems to me.
Of course this is a conversation.
And this is a good phrase to know in a conversation especially when maybe two
people might disagree about something.
That's right.
So Angela is stating that her opinion is different.
She has a different point of view.
And she says it seems to me that that is not quite right, so.
You might say: It seems to me that you need to make more time to study.
Mmhm.
It seems to me like maybe this guy needs to justify his actions in class.
OK. Well, it seems to me like uh, you need to continue.
Ah, yes. Thank you.
After all, his cheating doesn't affect our grades on the test.
Maybe not directly, but it will affect the class ranks.
It's not fair to hard-working students if someone else gets a high rank by
cheating.
Hmm, true. But I really feel that we shouldn't take matters into our own hands.
Wait a minute, taking matters into your own hands?
That's also a good phrase to know.
That means you decide to do something and not tell somebody else to take care of
it.
That's right.
And Angela makes another point.
What if he wasn't cheating?
Hmm, that is a good question, a very good question.
And what does Nick say?
Well, I'm just going to report what I saw to someone in authority.
I think he's doing the right thing.
Let's take a look at this word from our Word Bank: authority.
If you have authority, that means you are in control or on top of other people.
That's right.
So you have the control or the power in a situation.
So at schools the principal would have the most authority, but teachers also
have authority in their classrooms.
Uh, let's see, Nick, would you like to finish your line?
Ah, yes. The teacher can take care of it.
OK, so he's not going to take matters into his own hands.
He'll let the teacher take care of it.
All right. Mr. Brown, I'm sure, will make the right decision.
Right now it's time for us to enjoy a review skit, and then join Michelle in the
Language Lab.
Oh, I'm so glad that test is over.
Me, too. I don't like tests.
Nobody does, especially history test.
There's too much to remember.
Yeah.
You know, I saw something during the test.
What did you see?
I saw a guy peering at a paper under his desk.
During the test?
Yes. I think it was a cheat sheet.
A cheat sheet!
What are you going to do?
Well, I'm going to tell the teacher.
You are?
But maybe he was busy and didn't have time to study.
Well, that doesn't justify cheating.
We were busy, too, and we made time to study.
Yeah. But this is none of our business.
It doesn't affect our grades.
But it could affect class ranks.
It's not fair for hard-working students like us if someone gets a high rank by
cheating.
True. But you shouldn't take matters into your own hands.
What if he wasn't cheating?
Well, I'm just going to report what I saw.
Then the teacher can take care of it.
Fine, whatever.
But I have a different point of view.
Yeah. I can see that.
OK.
(Chinese).
Now I'll give the time back to our teachers.
Well, at the end of our lesson here today, we talked about reporting things to
people in authority.
Nick just wants to let the teacher take care of things.
Well, what other things should you report to someone in authority?
Gabe?
That's a good question.
The first thing I think about is maybe a bag or some kind of item that someone
left in a public place,
especially these days that could be dangerous in certain cities.
And so you should report those things to someone in authority.
Maybe tell a police officer or someone like that.
That is very good advice, Gabe.
Well, we will continue learning from this conversation tomorrow.
And we will see you then right here on Studio Classroom.
See you later.