It is an article about cheating phenomenon in university. I have read through the former eight paragraphs, for my part, there are many new words and phrases are(去掉ARE?) worthy to analyze.
In the(去掉THE) first paragraph, the author contrasts the scholastic cheating with the American eating patterns so as to emphasize how the cheating behavior alive and flourishing in campus. Subsequently, the phrase -“get a handle on” draws my attention, it means gain understanding or control of something.(為啥好多THE?迷糊了)
The following paragraph reveals us the attitude of majority university students towards the cheating behavior, from the sentence “but no” and “and no”. it is no difficulty to see they are not willing(unwilling) to talk about this topic.
In the first sentence of paragraph three, “one” refers to “a difficult picture” and “that shatters the myths about who cheats and why” is its attribute clause. The word “shatter” here means “damage or destroy(a person’ beliefs, hopes, confidence, etc)”. I am not familiar with the phrase “take root”, actually it means (an idea, belief, or custom) become established.
The paragraph four is mainly about how to cut down on cheating opportunity in school. And psychologists believe to develop enough self-esteem is a good way to overcome the urge to cheat.
The paragraph five quote the opinion of Patrick L. Daly who is an retirement middle school teacher in order to reveals us the reality that many parents are abdicating the responsibility to let their children see cheating as dishonest. Here “abdicate” means “fail to fulfill or undertake (a responsibility or duty). And the meaning of the word shoplifting is “the action of stealing goods from a shop while pretending to be a customer.”
The paragraph six indicates the inconsistency imposed by parents has puzzled their children. On the one hand, these parents are anger with their children’s cheating phenomenon on (ON?)the exam, but on the other hand, the folks themselves always cheating on expense accounts or income taxes. They are failing to keep the same principles, course of action, etc. here an “expense account” is an economic term which means “an account of business expenditures for which an employee will be reimbursed.
In the paragraph seven, the writer is(去掉IS) anxious for the most gifted students, actually they are the worse offenders because they have the values that will do anything is must to realize their dream. Here “gifted” is a adjective means “having exceptional talent or natural ability.
The paragraph eight shows many people place more emphasize on growing problem of cheating on campus and list kinds of cheating manners. A “crib sheet” means “a piece of paper on which a list of answers or information used dishonestly by a student during an examination. And the word “hacker” arrests my attention, it means a person skilled in the use of a computer, especially (加THE)one who gains access to computer system to steal information or money.