「经济学人」“高考”防作弊有“妙招”？这些国家实行全国断网...
阿尔及利亚(Algeria)政府宣布，在上月底开始的高中毕业考试期间，全国范围内每天中断社交网络连接一小时，以防止有人通过社交网络公布考题和答案。
据报道，为了防止考试作弊，伊拉克、毛里塔尼亚(Mauritania)、乌兹别克斯坦(Uzbekistan)和埃塞尔比亚(Ethiopia)等国都曾封锁了互联网的接入。
「经济学人」对此进行了相关报道。
Digital dishonesty
Why some countries are turning off the internet on exam days
AS LONG as there have been exams, students have found ways to cheat. Today the correct answers are just a few taps away on a smartphone. So countries have come up with new ways to stop the funny business. Some use metal detectors[金属探测器], surveillance cameras[监控摄像头], mobile-phone jammers[手机干扰/屏蔽器] and even drones[无人机]. Others have taken a more drastic[1] step.
[1]drastic: If you have to take drastic action in order to solve a problem, you have to do something extreme to solve it. 极端的
Drastic measures are needed to clean up the profession.
需要采取极端的措施来整顿这个行业。
Cheating in high-school leaving exams got so bad in Mauritania[毛里塔尼亚] and Algeria[阿尔及利亚] that this year the authorities turned off the internet for the entire country. Algeria did so for at least an hour during tests (which last about a week); Mauritania cut access from morning until evening on exam days. Other countries, such as Iraq, Uzbekistan[乌兹别克斯坦] and Ethiopia[埃塞俄比亚], have for years been shutting down the internet during exam time.
[2]这里几个短语都表达了“断网”：turn off the internet / shut down the internet / cut access
In each country students are under enormous pressure to do well in the tests, which often determine whether they can continue their education at a good university. A splendid grade may mean a scholarship abroad. But high marks are rare. In Algeria only around half of students passed the exams in recent years. In Mauritania the rate is much lower.
p.s. 和China不是一样吗?!?
▼中国高考了解一下▼
Teachers try to help—in their own way. For a fee some will provide answers on WhatsApp, a messaging service, says Sidi, a recent high-school graduate in Nouakchott, the capital of Mauritania. After Algeria's tests were posted early on Facebook in 2016 the government blocked it during exam periods. Dishonest boys have a harder time than girls, who often aren't checked and sometimes hide earphones under their veils[4].
[4]veil: A veil is a piece of thin soft cloth that women sometimes wear over their heads and that can also cover their face. 面纱
之前推过的一篇「飞纱」(Flying Veil)的文章还记得吗？>>>美国脱口秀节目安利中国网红“飞纱”婚礼 现场相当惊艳...
Turning off the internet is expensive. Darrell West of the Brookings Institution, a think-tank, estimates that in 2015-16 internet shutdowns ordered by governments—whether to stop cheating or stifle[5] dissent[6]—cost countries at least $2.4bn. For that kind of money, countries could even improve their schools.
[5]stifle ['staɪf(ə)l] to stop something from happening or developing 抑止，阻止，压制
rules and regulations that stifle innovation
压制创新的规章制度
[6]dissent: refusal to agree with an official decision or accepted opinion 〔对官方决定或公认观点的〕异议，意见分歧
These voices of dissent grew louder.
这些反对的呼声日益高涨。
This article appeared in the Middle East and Africa section of the print edition under the headline "How to stop students from cheating" (Jul 5th 2018)
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