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A clue as to why Americans may have been more honest in the past lies in the Abe Lincoln story. Lincoln knew his customer. They both lived in a small town. Would a check-out person at a large supermarket return money to a customer? It's less likely. On the other hand, would overnight guests at an inn run by a husband and wife, steal towels? It's less likely.
林肯的故事中提供了一个线索，说明为什么过去的美国人也许是比较诚实的。这就是林肯认识他的顾客。他们都住在同一个小镇上。一家大的超级市场的结账员会把多收的钱还给顾客吗？可能性较小。反之，在一家夫妻经营的小旅馆过夜的客人会偷毛巾吗？可能性也不大。
Perhaps this tells us that people need to know one another to be at their honest best.
也许这就告诉我们，人们需要相互了解才能达到最诚实的境界。
The vast majority of Americans still believe that honesty is an important part of the American character. For that reason, there are numerous watchdog committees at all levels of society. Although signs of dishonesty in school, business, and government seem much more numerous in recent years than in the past, could it be that we are getting better at revealing such dishonesty?
绝大多数美国人仍然认为诚实是美国人性格的一个重要组成部分。因此，在社会各级都有许多监督委员会。虽然学校、商界和政府中的作弊和欺诈行为近年来似乎比过去多了许多，但这会不会是由于我们越来越善于揭露这类不诚实行为的缘故呢？
There is some evidence that dishonesty may ebb and flow. When times are hard, incidents of theft and cheating usually go up. And when times get better such incidents tend to go down.
有某些证据表明，欺诈行为可消可长，有起有伏。当时世艰难时，偷窃和欺骗事件通常便会增多。当形势好转时，这类事件往往就会减少。
Cheating in school also tends to ebb and flow. But it doesn't seem linked to the economy.
学校中的作弊现象也往往有涨有落。但它似乎跟经济没有什么联系。
Many educators feel that as students gain confidence in themselves and their abilities, they are less likely to cheat. Surprisingly, some efforts to prevent cheating may actually encourage cheating — a person may feel "they don't trust me anyway," and be tempted to "beat the system." Distrust can be contagious. But, so can trust!
许多教育学家认为，当学生对自己和自己的能力有了信心以后，他们就不大可能作弊了。令人惊奇的是，某些防止作弊的努力可能反而促使学生作弊——一个人可能会感到“他们反正不信任我”，于是便很想“击败这个制度”。不信任可以有传染性。但是，信任也可以有传染性。
