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More than eighteen hundred South Korean school students are suspected of taking part in an organised cheating operation during university entrance exams. The police say many of the students used mobile phones to send and receive answers to exam questions.
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1. How did the police find out that these actions were being carried out?
2. What special name are the brightest students known by?
3. What was the main purpose of these brightest students?
4. How many students have been found related to this cheating operation?
5. How many exams have been cancelled?
Say if the following statements are true or false:
6. People in Korea are obsessed with education.
7. Students were allowed to carry their mobile phones as long as they didn't use them during the exam.
8. This cheating system was improvised by some bright students during the exam.
9. The exam consists of multiple choice questions.
10. This cheating has only taken part in a small area of the country.
11. Exam monitors have always been careful in exams to avoid cheating.
This is the tapescript of the story. Read it and try to fill in the gaps with the exact words or expressions you have just heard. If you don't remember the exact words, try to use a synonym that fits in the context. As clues, you have the definitions. Alternatively, if you find it very difficult, you can listen to the tape again.
The revelations of mass cheating have (1) ……………….. a nation where education is an obsession - and entry to a good university can (2) ………………... Acting on (3) ……………….. - the police tried to (4) ……………….. a hall where students were taking the college entrance exam last month. They were blocked by teachers but later (5) ……………….. mobile phones that had been (6) ……………….. into the room - and uncovered what they said was an elaborate (7) ……………….. system. The brightest students known as "players" finished their multiple choice papers quickly then (8) ……………….. the answers by text message to younger students outside the hall. They (9) ……………….. the information to others who paid up to a thousand dollars to take part.
The police have since inspected hundreds of thousands of text messages sent at the time of the exam. They say more than eighteen hundred students appear to have been (10) ……………….. in similar (11) ……………….. across the country. The education ministry has already cancelled the exam results of more than two hundred cheaters. Some are calling for tough penalties. They've condemned (12) ……………….. by exam monitors who are accused of not taking cheating seriously enough in the past. Others are calling for (13) ……………….. the entire exam system - saying it puts students under (14) ……………………… .
1. ………………..
shocked and stunned
2. ………………..
guarantee that you will get a good job in the future
3. ………………..
a piece of information given to the police about something illegal that is going to happen
4. ………………..
a surprise attack by a small armed force.
5. ………………..
seized by or as if by authority
6. ………………..
imported or exported without paying lawful customs charges or duties.
brought or taken out illicitly or by stealth.
7. ………………..
Violating rules deliberately, as in a game
8. ………………..
ejected (a player), as from a soccer game, especially for a flagrant violation of the rules
9. ………………..
sent on to a subsequent destination or address.
10. ………………..
engaged as a participant
11. ………………..
clever but illegal plans, usually to make money
12. ………………..
relaxed attitudes, not strict
13. ………………..
a complete change
14. ………………..
pressure that is too strong to be reasonable
Once you've answered these questions, press the link "SOLUTIONS" and check the answers.