Listening exercise
The Infinite Mind: Cheating
Current program featured at: http://www.theinfinitemind.com/
Previous programs archived at: http://www.theinfinitemind.com/mindprgm.htm

Direct audio link to the listening passage for this assignment: http://lcmedia.com/rafiles/tim294.ram
If you have trouble playing this RealOne file, click here.
You need only listen to the first few segments of the program, i.e. only as far as the vocabulary words go.

Vocabulary:

major
underwriting
to provide
John D. & Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation
National Institute of Mental Health
Nonprofit Finance Fund
Dr. Fred Goodwin

medical school
"the pockmarked landscape"
"the steep-sided hollows"
undergraduates
The New York Times
to crib from
to afford to do
honest
to get ahead
spouse
biologically
predisposed to + V
species
a little "Peyton Place" link 2
monkey
cucumber
rocks
cage
to refuse
basically
to participate
experiment
ultimate
anthem
spurned lovers
commentator
John Hockenberry
to explore

to be on the rise
contemporary society
attitudes
more...than ever
permissive
reasons
guests
to focus on
to deserve
additional emphasis
for some time now
elite
educational institutions
to become suffused with
moral relativism
reluctance
to acknowledge
absolutes
behavior
just plain wrong
to stem from
perception
uncomfortably close to
religion
dogma
fuzzy thinking
consequences
punishment
Psychology 101 (a beginning course in psychology at a university)
consistently
to reward
to decry
all-too-common habit
to look the other way
when it comes to
to plagiarize; plagiarism
other forms of
what's going on...
public arena
to send a destructive message
equally
on a grand scale
clever enough
to pay off handsomely
to consider
celebrated
case
Stephen Glass
to be caught
to fabricate
articles
The New Republic
magazine
to be fired
media culture
celebrity
to make money
example
disgraced
writer
Jayson Blair
to come out
force
to undermine
ethnical
moral
tendency
to erect
elaborate rules and laws
in order to codify
to enforce
implicit
legal
ethical
breaches of ethics
frequent
efforts
fresh look, ideas

among
rampant
to admit to
to speak out
Mary Reed Ervin
freshman
Duke University
senior
Virginia
to catch s.o. cheating
despite the consequences
AP (= advanced placement)
take-home test
lunchroom
guys
multiple choice
to split in half
to transfer to
answer sheet
obvious
shocked
to be amazed
openly
upset
respect
trust
immediately
to take advantage of
who did what
eventually
I got to the point of saying
scenario
he goes (= says)
to turn yourself in
I gather (= guess)
to get online
Instant Messaging
incident
to accuse
to play the act
kinda
to bash s.o.
handful of seniors
to shun
to be talked about
scary
situation
party
to be attacked
normal senior routine
to be close to
to back s.o.
to stick up for s.o.
to exclude oneself
fault
support
to hang out
totally
to bring s.o. along
uncomfortable
bad guy
to come to an understanding
to take of oneself
constantly
competitive
survival
graduation
Senior of the Year
to be nominated by
peers
supportive of

to buy term papers off the Internet
technology
tech-savvy
to figure out
to catch

inspiration
facing a
science test
digital watch
inconspicuous
to store and recall
to type in
periodic table
Au
gold
to look over s.o.'s shoulder
pagers
to go high-tech
cell phones
academic paper
Term Paper Blues.com
to chase down
arms race
to struggle
to stay one step ahead
to disguise his voice
in general
pragmatic
ethical
tools
to expect
good grades
good college
to represent the reality
homework
test-taker
to feel guilty
what if...
like.. you know....and stuff...
to outsmart
to get away with
to plug mathematical formulas
calculator
expulsion
academic
teenagers
pilots
flight school
training exams
medical students
surgery
prescription
to copy from
sophisticated
means
Andrea Goodwin
Office of Student Conduct
University of Maryland
to face
scandal
to post
bulletin board
to text-message
to work with s.o.
'sting' operation
to neatly nab
to be expelled
permanent
XF (academic dishonesty)
extremely
remorseful
tears
embarrassed
a sobering experience
Lou Bloomfield
physics
University of Virginia
"copyfind"
to root out
in a row
independently
typically
phrases
snowflakes
free of charge
thousands
to download
turnitin.com
to offer
University of Pennsylvania
Michelle Goldfarb
director
to investigate
to shell out...to buy
obvious
Whoa!
to transport
era
consensus
formal honor codes
official
codes of conduct
severe
Ivy League
moderate
failing the class
suspension
system
to exercise some discretion
compassion
judgment
to redeem oneself
faculty
to be willing to
to refer cases
'off with their heads'
stricter
automatically
political science
board
academic integrity
ceiling
building contractor
architect
engineer
abstract example
earthquake
devastating
loss of life
to depend on
trustworthiness
to get hurt

Listening comprehension questions:
1. What is 'Peyton Place'?
2. How do attitudes towards cheating seem to have changed from previously?
3. What is 'moral relativism', and why, according to the speaker, do some people seem to shy away from acknowledging moral absolutes?
4. Although cheating may be punished on an individual level, how can cheating ultimately be profitable?
5. Briefly summarize the Jayson Blair case.
6. If you had been in a situation like that of Mary Reed Ervin, what would you have done upon discovering that your classmates were cheating?
7. How would you treat someone who did what Ervin did? Would there be a difference if you were and if you were not one of the cheaters who was caught?
8. How did Ervin's classmates tacitly demonstrate support for Ervin?
9. Describe two ways a student can use technology to cheat.
10. How do most students react when they are caught for cheating?
11. Describe two ways a teacher can use technology to catch student cheating.
12. What does the speaker mean: '...even in your own writing against your own writing'?
13. Research suggests that what kinds of schools have fewer problems with cheating?
14. How can cheating hurt other people?
15. Have you cheated in your schoolwork or on a test? Tell about it, and how you felt about it then, and now.

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