CNN 2012-03-31

 When you go to take the SAT, get ready to have your ID looked at more closely. We’re going to explain the reason for the increased security in just a minute. First up, though, let’s check out some of today’s headlines. 

 

We’re going to start at the U.S. Supreme¹ Court building. Yesterday marked the end of three days of legal arguments about the 2010 health care reform law that was introduced by President Obama. One of the big questions was about a controversial part of the law called the individual mandate². The justices have to decide if that violates the Constitution. And if they rule that it does, they also have to consider if the entire law should be scrapped³. It’s expected that the court will announce the ruling on the case in June. 

 

Next, something you already know, if you’ve had to fill up your car’s gas tank recently. Gas prices: on the rise. They’ve gone up for 19 straight days. Yesterday the average cost for a gallon of regular hit $3.91. That’s nationwide. In 10 states and the District of Columbia, the price is already higher than $4 a gallon. 

 

“This investigation⁴ had been botched from the beginning, and that people other than me knew that it was supposed to be an arrest made.” 

 

“I believe that when all of the evidence comes out, this will clearly show this was a case of life or death for either Trayvon or George. And sadly for the Martin family, it was Trayvon that we lost.”

 

More than a month after he was shot and killed, Trayvon Martin’s name is all over the news and social media. There have been protests in cities around the U.S. and a forum⁵ on Capitol Hill. We know some facts about the case, but there are still a lot of questions. Let’s start with what we know. Trayvon Martin, 17-year-old on the right side of your screen here, was walking home from a store. Police say he was unarmed. And George Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch leader, called 911 to report a suspicious person, and said he was following Martin, though he was told by a dispatcher he didn’t need to do that. Zimmerman says Martin attacked him, and he claims that he shot the teen in self-defense. Police haven’t charged Zimmerman with any crimes, because they say they don’t have enough evidence to disprove his story. What we don’t know is what exactly happened between the time when George Zimmerman started following Trayvon Martin and when the shot was fired. Officials say that as more information comes out, the picture of what happened becomes more complicated. You heard us say there are still a lot of questions surrounding this story. What questions do you have about it? You can go to our blog at cnnstudentnews.com and tell us what you want to know about what happened. Remember, on the blog, first names only. 

 

Today’s Shoutout goes out to Ms. Hendricks’ civics class at Manokotak School in Manokotak, Alaska. What is a perfect score on the SAT? You know this. Is it 36,100,1,600 or 2,400? You’ve got three seconds, go. Since the writing section was added to math and verbal, a perfect SAT score is 2,400. That’s your answer, and that’s your Shoutout. 

 

Well, some students have been willing to cheat to get closer to that perfect score. Scandal was uncovered last fall involving 20 people who paid someone else to take the test for them. Officials want to make sure that can’t happen again. They’re putting new rules in place, starting in September that will affect everyone who takes the SAT. 

 

It was these arrests tied to a cheating scandal in a wealthy New York City suburb that prompted new security rules for college entrance exams. Now everyone will be affected⁶. Front and center was 19-year-old Sam Eshaghoff. He told CBS’s 60 minutes that students paid him around $2,500 to take their SAT tests for them. Nassau County’s district attorney says she found 55 kids who either got paid to take the SAT or ACT tests or paid others to take it. 

 

How easy is it to cheat on the SAT?

Well, before today, it was incredibly easy to cheat. There were a number of loopholes that made it possible for kids to pay someone else to take the test for them. Prosecutor⁷ Kathleen Rice says a fake ID was all that was required. To change that, she says, students will have to upload a photo of themselves when they register for the test, and it will be put into a database. On the day of the exam, a photo ID will be required to match the registration⁸. Scott Farber, who runs a prep course for students taking college entrance exams, questions why it took so long. 

 

“It seemed very, very strange that a test that was this important, that was tied to billions of dollars of financial aid and ultimately students futures⁹ to not have those things in place before, seemed very strange.”

 

When the cheating in Nassau County first came to light, test administrators¹⁰ said the problem was not widespread. 

 

“ETS date previously¹¹ had suggested that impersonation was not a systemic issue. From the onset¹² we’ve said one case is one too many, and that’s why we committed from the very beginning to work with the district attorney to further enhance the security processes.” 

 

But Rice is convinced the cheating isn’t contained to Nassau County. 

 

“I don’t think there’s any question that this is going on across the country. It’s not just kids here in New York who come up with this idea.”

 

Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice says another big change is better disclosure about scams. She says the way the system is currently set up, it makes it difficult for administrators to inform college, even parents about cheating. Mary Snow, CNN, New York. 

1 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

2 mandate   

n.托管地；命令，指示

参考例句：

• The President had a clear mandate to end the war.总统得到明确的授权结束那场战争。
• The General Election gave him no such mandate.大选并未授予他这种权力。

3 scrapped   

废弃(scrap的过去式与过去分词)； 打架

参考例句：

• This machine is so old that it will soon have to be scrapped. 这架机器太旧，快报废了。
• It had been thought that passport controls would be scrapped. 人们曾认为会放开护照管制。

4 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

5 forum   

n.论坛，讨论会

参考例句：

• They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
• The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。

6 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

7 prosecutor   

n.起诉人；检察官，公诉人

参考例句：

• The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。
• The prosecutor would tear your testimony to pieces.检查官会把你的证言驳得体无完肤。

8 registration   

n.登记，注册，挂号

参考例句：

• Marriage without registration is not recognized by law.法律不承认未登记的婚姻。
• What's your registration number?你挂的是几号？

9 futures   

n.期货，期货交易

参考例句：

• He continued his operations in cotton futures.他继续进行棉花期货交易。
• Cotton futures are selling at high prices.棉花期货交易的卖价是很高的。

10 administrators   

n.管理者( administrator的名词复数 )；有管理（或行政）才能的人；（由遗嘱检验法庭指定的）遗产管理人；奉派暂管主教教区的牧师

参考例句：

• He had administrators under him but took the crucial decisions himself. 他手下有管理人员，但重要的决策仍由他自己来做。 来自辞典例句
• Administrators have their own methods of social intercourse. 办行政的人有他们的社交方式。 来自汉英文学 - 围城

11 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

12 onset   

n.进攻，袭击，开始，突然开始

参考例句：

• The drug must be taken from the onset of the infection.这种药必须在感染的最初期就开始服用。
• Our troops withstood the onset of the enemy.我们的部队抵挡住了敌人的进攻。