評論
打印
A clue as to why Americans may have been more honest in the past lies in the Abe Lincoln story. Lincoln knew his customer. They both lived in a small town. Would a check-out person at a large supermarket return money to a customer? It's less likely. On the other hand, would overnight guests at an inn run by a husband and wife, steal towels? It's less likely.
林肯的故事中提供了一個線索，說明為什么過去的美國人也許是比較誠實的。這就是林肯認識他的顧客。他們都住在同一個小鎮上。一家大的超級市場的結賬員會把多收的錢還給顧客嗎？可能性較小。反之，在一家夫妻經營的小旅館過夜的客人會偷毛巾嗎？可能性也不大。
Perhaps this tells us that people need to know one another to be at their honest best.
也許這就告訴我們，人們需要相互了解才能達到最誠實的境界。
The vast majority of Americans still believe that honesty is an important part of the American character. For that reason, there are numerous watchdog committees at all levels of society. Although signs of dishonesty in school, business, and government seem much more numerous in recent years than in the past, could it be that we are getting better at revealing such dishonesty?
絕大多數美國人仍然認為誠實是美國人性格的一個重要組成部分。因此，在社會各級都有許多監督委員會。雖然學校、商界和政府中的作弊和欺詐行為近年來似乎比過去多了許多，但這會不會是由于我們越來越善于揭露這類不誠實行為的緣故呢？
There is some evidence that dishonesty may ebb and flow. When times are hard, incidents of theft and cheating usually go up. And when times get better such incidents tend to go down.
有某些證據表明，欺詐行為可消可長，有起有伏。當時世艱難時，偷竊和欺騙事件通常便會增多。當形勢好轉時，這類事件往往就會減少。
Cheating in school also tends to ebb and flow. But it doesn't seem linked to the economy.
學校中的作弊現象也往往有漲有落。但它似乎跟經濟沒有什么聯系。
Many educators feel that as students gain confidence in themselves and their abilities, they are less likely to cheat. Surprisingly, some efforts to prevent cheating may actually encourage cheating — a person may feel "they don't trust me anyway," and be tempted to "beat the system." Distrust can be contagious. But, so can trust!
許多教育學家認為，當學生對自己和自己的能力有了信心以后，他們就不大可能作弊了。令人驚奇的是，某些防止作弊的努力可能反而促使學生作弊——一個人可能會感到“他們反正不信任我”，于是便很想“擊敗這個制度”。不信任可以有傳染性。但是，信任也可以有傳染性。
