Writing for unit 4 2
The word “precautions” in the first line of paragraph 9 means “something you do in order to prevent something dangerous or unpleasant from happening”. And here the word refers to the methods which used to stop or decrease cheating by the school. For example, devotes almost an entire issue of common sense, its new student paper, to the growing problem of cheating on campus. Also in this sentence the word “paper” means a scholarly article describing the results of observations or stating hypotheses.
From the 10th paragraph, we can get the author’s viewpoint: the cheating may be the human nature or a habit developing with the students’ growing. The reason why does cheating become a habit is that the parents and teachers just notice and ignore their moral development.
“Bother about” in this paragraph means “be worried about”, and “anyway” here seems refers to various ways of cheating. “Lose” in the next line means lose success, a “nursery schooler” is a child who goes to a nursery school, a school for children who are not old enough to attend kindergarten. The sentence “what if the cheating on games turns into cheating on test?” means “what can we do if the cheating on games turns into cheating on test.” The meaning of “get concerned” is worried about and “lay/put a guilt trip on” means “make someone feel guilty”. In the sentence, “it is…too much a part of human nature” means “cheating is so natural”, or “it is such a significant part of human nature”.
The word “outspoken” has two meanings: one is given to expressing yourself freely or insistently, the other one is characterized by directness in manner or speech; without subtlety or evasion. “I wouldn’t be comfortable with” can express like “I don’t agree with”. Here “an honor code” and “chairman of the honor committee” refer to the fact that some colleges and universities in the U.S operate on what is called “the honor system”. A “grammar school” in America is an elementary school for children aged between 5 and 12 or 14. The expression “on the threshold of” means at the beginning of a new and important event or development.
Paragraph 13 has two sentences. The first sentence is a little long, but not very difficult. From the sentence, you can get the advantage of open-book exams: let students know how to apply concepts.
The expression “come up with” means to bring forth, discover, or produce.
An “elusive goal” is one that is difficult to achieve. Here “elusive” means “difficult to find, catch or achieve.
