"Nobody wants to cheat"
I've cheated in school when I thought that I could get away with1 it. I'm not proud of it and I don't usually feel very good about myself afterward， but sometimes it's the only way possible to survive in a pressure cooker2. My parents are really set on3 my getting good grades. They study my report card the same way they scrutinize4 the newspaper's stock market page. And they make me feel that I've got to live up to5 their expectations6.
I can't remember my mother or father ever asking me about what I actually learned in school or if I enjoyed a particular subject. Instead， it's always been， " How are you doing in geometry7？" or " How'd your English teacher like your paper？"
It's hard to disappoint them. When my grades even begin to drop at all， I feel as though I've failed. It's an awful feeling.
Some teachers are really rough. They'll give tests containing at least one or two questions on materials we've never even covered8 in class. It's not always possible to come out ahead.
I don't think that most teachers understand how much we're expected to produce. Or even what good grades and our class rank can mean to us. If you want to get into a really good college， you've got to have a top academic record. Without that， all the extracurricular9 activities you may have engaged in can mean nothing.
But often it's like each teacher acts as if his is the only subject we have. They think nothing of piling on10 our homework or giving surprise quizzes11. Sometimes we have to take two or three tests in different subjects on the same day. I'd like to see a lot of adults I know preparing for that.
When the work load becomes too difficult， some kids may resort to12 cheating. If you have three or four subjects to study for， you're not going to be able to devote enough time to each subject in order to be well prepared for each class.
Nevertheless，you're still expected to ace13 everything.And you'll usually end up cheating in the classes you are least prepared for.Those usually turn out to be the subjects you don't like or tend to do poorly in.It may be the only way left to live up to your parents' expectations and compete with the top students in the class.
Everybody knows that if you cheat， it's crucial14 not to get caught. Few things can cause more of an uproar15. Once my older brother got caught cheating on a math final. My parents acted as though he'd committed a federal offense16. The assistant principal called them to school， but although the incident sparked17 several conferences， I don't think that anybody ever really understood what my brother was going through18. We're just supposed to perform exceptionally as well as always act honestly， but how many adults can actually live up to the standards they set for us？
My father has gotten countless traffic tickets19 for parking in no- parking zones or for not coming to a full stop at stop signs. And you're always hearing about people who don't file their income tax honestly. Sometimes they're even admired for their cunning in cheating the IRS20. How about all the corruption in government？ Successful adults often accept dishonesty in order to achieve their business goals. Are kids the only ones who are supposed to be perfect？
Most of my friends have cheated on tests in school at one time or another.The kids who never cheat are usually either afraid of getting caught or just don't know how to do it safely. Nobody wants to cheat. But if it's a choice of being honest or of getting a grade， most kids will try for the A.That may sound wrong， but we didn't make the rules， we're just trying to get by.
谁也不想作弊
我在学校作过弊，当时我想大概不会被发现。对此我并不感到骄傲，而且事后我对自己也总是不太满意，但有时，在压力重重之下为了求生存，这是惟一的办法。我父母总是要求我能得好分数。他们审查我的成绩报告，就像仔细看报纸上的股票市场版一样认真。他们让我觉得，我必须达到他们对我的期望才行。
我不记得我妈妈还是爸爸曾否问过我在学校到底学到了什么，或我是否喜欢某个课程。他们总是问我："你的几何课怎么样？"或者"你的英语老师对你写的论文如何评价？"
令他们失望是不好受的。我的分数哪怕刚有点下降，我就会觉得好像自己已经失败了，那种感觉非常可怕。
有些老师非常严厉。他们的测验至少都有一两个我们在课堂的课本中从未学过的问题。在班上名列前茅并非一件易事。
我想多数老师不明白别人期望我们付出多少。甚至高分和在班里的排名对我们意味着什么，他们也不明白。要是你想进入一所真正不错的大学，你的学习成绩就得是数一数二的。没有这个，你所参加的所有课外活动都会无济于事。
但每个老师的做法往往是，似乎我们只上他这一门课。他们给我们留一大堆作业，或搞突击测试，对此他们觉得没有什么。有时我们在一天当中得考两三门课程。我倒想看看我认识的一些成人面对这么多的测试是如何准备的。
学习负担变得太重了，有些学生就可能采取作弊的办法。假若你得学习三四门课，便不可能为每一门课的课前准备都花上足够的时间。
尽管如此，人们还是希望你在所有功课上都得到好成绩。于是你往往就在准备不足的课目上采取作弊手段。这些课通常是你不喜欢的或是学得不好的课程。作弊可能是你达到你父母的期望并和班上的高材生竞争的惟一手段。
人人都知道，要是作弊的话，至关重要的是绝不能被抓住。什么事也不如作弊那样能引起轩然大波。有一次我哥哥在数学期末考试作弊时被抓住了。我父母当时的表现就像我哥哥犯了弥天大罪似的。校长助理把他们叫到学校，虽然由于那件事召开了几次会，但我觉得没有人真正能明白我哥哥遭受了怎样的折磨。人们要求我们表现出色，而且还要永远诚实，但有多少成年人能真正达到他们为我们设定的标准？
我爸爸因把车停在不许停车的地方或看到红灯没有停车而多次受到交通惩罚。你也总会听说有人在填写其收入所得税时作假。他们在欺骗国内收入署中表现出的滑头甚至还得到人们的赞赏。还有政府中所有的腐败呢？成功的成年人为了达到他们生意上的目的，经常也采取不诚实的做法。难道只有小孩子才应该完美无缺吗？
我的大多数朋友在学校测验时都作过一两次弊。从来没有作过弊的学生，通常要么害怕被抓住，要么就是不知道怎样才能安全地作弊。谁也不想作弊。但若是在诚实和高分二者之间选择，多数孩子将选择得一个A.这听起来可能不正确，然而规则并不是我们制定的，我们只是想尽力对付过去而已。
注释：
1.get away with做成（某坏事而未被发觉）
2.pressure cooker（情绪或社会环境的）压力重重
3.set on促使，鼓励
4.scrutinize vt.仔细观察，细看，细阅
5.live up to不辜负（期望），符合
6.expectation n.期望
7.geometry n.几何（学）
8.cover vt.包括，涉及，论及
9.extracurricular adj.课外的
10.pile on堆积，罗列
11.quiz quizzesn.考查，测验
12.resort vi.凭借，采用
13.ace vt.在…中得好成绩，对…取得绝对优势
14.crucial adj.关键性的，至关重要的
15.uproar n.骚乱，吵闹，喧嚣
16.offence n.犯罪行为，罪行，犯错
17.spark vt.触发
18.go through遭受，经受，经历（苦难等）
19.traffic ticket交通违章通知单
20.IRS abbr.Internal Revenue Service （美国）国内收入署
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