READING REPORT 27


School cheating scandal divides New Hampshire community
Source: http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/09/19/america/19cheating.php
Date of publication: September 19,2007

Vocabulary: 1- Loom: to appear eminent and usually threatening.
2- Hatch: to devise or originate, especially in secret.
3- Acing: to triumph over; defeat.
4- Sentry: a guard, especially a soldier posted to prevent the passage of unauthorized persons.
5- Misdemeanor: an offense less serious than a felony.
6- Dub: to give a nickname.
7- Draconian: exceedingly harsh; very severe.
8- Lookout: one who keeps watch.
9- Relay: to pass or send along.
10- Allege: to assert to be true, usually without offering proof.

Main Ideas: - High school students from New Hampshire are expected to have good grades in order to be accepted in prestigious universities.
- The high expectations provoked that students steal exams from a teacher’s filing cabinet.
- The school authorities notified the police and they brought criminal charges against nine students.
- These accusations can bring as consequence the loss of a chance of attending college or securing employment.
- This case have divided the community in those who think the students are guilty and those who question the intense competitiveness that forces students to cheat.
- Parents are frighten because their 17 year- old sons made a mistake and for this they can face a prison sentence.

Personal Reaction: Nowadays students live under a great pressure not only from their parents but also from society. Teenagers must accomplish many things at the same time in order to keep their family happy and to get a position in society. The tension that this can bring takes students to do whatever to fulfill the wishes of other people. In the case of the kids from New Hampshire, who are expected to keep good grades, where pushed to do something that can cause to lose everything that they have achieved so far. This a situation we can see at every school not only in the United States but also here, teenagers are facing an age where they are very vulnerable and they tend to do what others said no matter the consequences.