VOA慢速：如何避免抄袭

Defining Plagiarism, How to Avoid It

CET-4听力语速/五级（CET-4）适中/972词/9分6秒

刘立军 供稿

Part I. QUESTIONS

Listen to the news and choose the best answer to each question you hear.

Q1. What does plagiarism mean in academic writing?

A. Paraphrasing another person's writing.

B. Quoting too little from a source.

C. Copying someone’s work without giving credit.

D. Using too many citations in a paper.

Q2. Who recently resigned from Harvard University because of plagiarism issues?

A. A student who failed a class for copying work.

B. The leader of Harvard University.

C. An associate professor at the University of Kentucky.

D. A psychology professor at the University of Memphis.

Q3. Which of the following can be considered as fair use under American copyright law?

A. Reporting news using copyrighted materials.

B. Selling pirated movies online.

C. Copying software for personal use without permission.

D. Replicating an entire book for educational purposes.

Q4. What should students do if they use parts of copyrighted work in their academic writing?

A. Provide credit through detailed illustrations.

B. Get written permission from the original creators.

C. Make sure they transform the content completely.

D. Give credit with proper citation.

Q5. Why might professors suspect a student of plagiarizing if English is not their first language?

A. Because non-native speakers are more likely to copy text.

B. Due to a recognizable change in writing style and wording.

C. Because students with different first languages cannot write well.

D. Non-native speakers are not allowed to use complex vocabulary.

Q6. What action may Harvard University take against students found plagiarizing?

A. Lower their grade or fail them in that class.

B. Only give a verbal warning and no further consequences.

C. Provide them with special tutoring to improve.

D. Increase their grade to encourage better behavior.

Q7. How did D. Stephen Voss describe the part that Claudine Gay allegedly plagiarized from his paper?

A. It was a major component of his own work.

B. It made her research important and valuable.

C. It was trivial and inconsequential.

D. It was copied word-for-word and vastly significant.

Q8. What issue did Roger Kreuz bring up in his email to VOA about plagiarism?

A. He believes plagiarism is a minor offense that requires no further discussion.

B. He suggests that the definition of plagiarism does not depend on individual opinions.

C. He confirmed that his book fully supports Claudine Gay's actions.

D. He indicates that university students are given more chances to correct plagiarism.

Q9. According to the passage, why might university faculty members receive less scrutiny for plagiarism than students?

A. They are considered more careful with their citations by administrators.

B. Their work is generally not important enough to warrant attention.

C. Faculty members do not need to follow any plagiarism policies.

D. Students are always expected to set higher standards for themselves.

Q10. What is the main idea presented in the text regarding plagiarism?

A. Plagiarism is an act that is taken lightly in academic circles.

B. Computer programs and AI tools are ineffective in detecting plagiarism.

C. All universities have clear policies about plagiarism and enforce them strictly.

D. There is a possible double standard in how plagiarism is treated between students and faculty.

Part II. TRANSCRIPT

It has become easy for students to find and copy published material. But copying another person's writing without giving them credit can get students and other scholars into big trouble. (Q1) Copying another person's writing without crediting them is called plagiarism.

plagiarism n. 抄袭；剽窃

(Q2) Recently, the leader of Harvard University stepped down over problems related to the use of other peoples' work in her writing.

American copyright law protects original works of authorship including books, movies, music, images and artworks. The protection extends to computer software and the design of buildings and structures.

The owner can sell a copyright or permit others to use it because it is property and property ownership is protected by law in the U.S.

The idea is that copyright helps society. If people can gain from their own creations, called their intellectual property, then more people will want to create original works.

(Q3) The law, however, permits the unlicensed use of copyrighted works under what is called fair use. Fair use can include criticism, comment, news reporting, education and research. However, there are some limitations.

（Q4）In education, students can include small parts of copyrighted work in their writing and research. But they must provide credit to the original creators through a citation which gives details about the source.

Many universities, including Harvard University, even urge students to give credit to sources of ideas when they come from discussions with professors or other students. Harvard even warns students about copying themselves. That is, they cannot hand in the same work for more than one class without the permission of their instructors.

A failure to do so is considered plagiarizing.

How can professors know if a student is plagiarizing?

Just as it is easy to copy, it is also easy for professors to know if a student has plagiarized.

First, there are computer programs and artificial intelligence, or AI, tools that compare students' papers to large databases of published writing. The programs can identify whether students have copied published writing. Second, (Q5) if English is not a student's first language, a professor might recognize a change in wording and writing style. This could bring more attention to the student's paper.

Plagiarism is punished in different ways. (Q6) Professors could simply warn a student not to do it again, lower their grade, or they might fail the student in that class. In more extreme cases, a student may be temporarily banned or expelled from school.

Tools to avoid plagiarism

There are free tools to make citations easier for students and to avoid plagiarism. Zotero is a free, open-source program that helps organize all the research a student may use. For example, it can automatically create citations and combine them into a list. The Purdue Online Writing Lab, or Purdue OWL for short, is another free resource.

Many universities also have writing centers where students can learn the citation rules. And another way for students to learn how to avoid plagiarism is to read published papers and pay careful attention to how information is presented. Students should observe when and how citations are used. This can help them learn the rules of citations.

In educational, or academic, writing, it is better to cite too much than too little.

A possible double standard

Harvard's Claudine Gay resigned this month after several accusations of plagiarism in her academic work.

Gay's academic writing got attention after she was strongly criticized for her answers to a Congressional committee related to freedom of speech. Critics found several cases of possible plagiarism in her 1997 doctoral paper. Harvard's governing board first supported Gay, saying a review of her scholarly work turned up "a few instances of inadequate citation" but no evidence of research wrongdoing.

doctoral adj. 博士（学位）的

There has been debate among academics over whether her conduct amounted to academic dishonesty. D. Stephen Voss is an associate professor of political science at the University of Kentucky. He knew Gay when they were graduate students at Harvard. A paper he co-wrote in the 1990s was one Gay is accused of plagiarizing from.

(Q7) He said in an interview with the New Yorker magazine that Gay did plagiarize from him. But what she copied from his paper was "trivial" and "inconsequential."

trivial adj. 不重要的；琐碎的；微不足道的

inconsequential adj. 不重要的；微不足道的；细琐的

What Gay used from his paper "did not take an idea of any significance from my work." He added: "the bit she used from us was not in any way a major component of what made her research important or valuable."

Roger Kreuz is a psychology professor at the University of Memphis who is writing a book on the history and psychology of plagiarism. (Q8) He told VOA in an email that if plagiarism is defined as taking words from another person's work, "the opinion of (Voss) doesn't really matter."

Kreuz wrote in the online publication, The Conversation, that university students and professors might face different requirements when it comes to plagiarism. Kreuz wrote that professors suspected of plagiarism may be given the benefit of the doubt by their schools. They may also be given the chance to make corrections to their published work.

Kreuz added that university leaders think that faculty members know what plagiarism is and how to avoid it. (Q9) If a problem arises, administrators might think they were just being careless with their citations or use of quotation marks.

Students, on the other hand, must follow university policies on academic behavior. Harvard, for example, warns that students may be forced to leave the college if they plagiarize. Work written by students is more likely to be closely examined and put through tools that identify plagiarism than faculty work.

(Q10) Many students consider this a double standard.

Kreuz wrote in an opinion piece in The Boston Globe that university plagiarism policies for faculty are unclear.

How "can academics set or enforce policies for faculty when the concept is so ill-defined?" he asked.

I'm Dan Novak. And I'm Gena Bennett.

Part III. KEY

Q1. C. 细节题。文章中提到：“Copying another person's writing without crediting them is called plagiarism.” 意为：“采用别人写作的内容而不注明出处被称为抄袭。” 因此答案为C。

Q2. B. 细节题。文章中提到：“Recently, the leader of Harvard University stepped down over problems related to the use of other peoples' work in her writing.” 意为：“最近，哈佛大学的领导因在其写作中使用其他人的作品引发问题而辞职。” 因此答案为B。

Q3. A. 细节题。文章中提到：“...the unlicensed use of copyrighted works under what is called fair use. Fair use can include criticism, comment, news reporting, education and research.” 意为：“……未经授权使用版权作品，称为合理使用。合理使用可以包括批评、评论、新闻报道、教育和研究。” 因此答案为A。

Q4. D. 细节题。文章中提到：“students can include small parts of copyrighted work in their writing and research. But they must provide credit to the original creators through a citation which gives details about the source.” 意为：“学生可以在他们的写作和研究中包含版权作品的小部分。但是他们必须标明出处。” 因此答案为D。

Q5. B. 细节题。文章中提到：“if English is not a student's first language, a professor might recognize a change in wording and writing style.” 意为：“如果英语不是学生的第一语言，教授可能会认出措辞和写作风格的变化。” 因此答案为B。

Q6. A. 细节题。文章中提到：“Professors could simply warn a student not to do it again, lower their grade, or they might fail the student in that class.” 意为：“教授们可以简单地警告学生不要再这样做，降低他们的成绩，或者他们可能会让学生在那门课程中不及格。” 因此答案为A。

Q7. C. 细节题。文章中D. Stephen Voss说：“...what she copied from his paper was 'trivial' and 'inconsequential.'” 意为：“她从他的文章中抄袭的部分是‘微不足道’和‘无关紧要’的。” 因此答案为C。

Q8. B. 推理题。文章中Roger Kreuz提到：“if plagiarism is defined as taking words from another person's work, 'the opinion of (Voss) doesn't really matter.'” 意为：“如果剽窃被定义为取用他人作品中的话语，‘（沃斯的）观点并不重要’。” 他认为剽窃的定义并不依赖于个人意见。因此答案为B。

Q9. A. 推理题。文章中提到：“If a problem arises, administrators might think they were just being careless with their citations or use of quotation marks.” 意为：“如果出现问题，管理者可能会认为他们只是在引用或使用引号时不够小心。” 这表明教职员工可能因为管理者认为他们仅仅是在引用上不够小心而受到较少的审查。因此答案为A。

Q10. D. 主旨题。整篇文章讨论了在学术界中剽窃的定义、它如何被处理，以及学生与教职员工之间可能存在的双重标准。文章最后强调了“Many students consider this a double standard.” 意为：“许多学生认为这是一种双重标准。” 因此答案为D。

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