试想一下，一位名校毕业的医护从业者的论文是找枪手代写的。
《天才枪手》剧照
我一直都知道这个世界存在许多不公平和不公正，但我在我有限的认知里，起码学识越高的人道德感也会越强。万万没想到，世界名校的学生从肯尼亚枪手手中购买学术论文。
原来，《天才枪手》不止在亚洲上演；原来，被曝光、被谴责的只有枪手。
BBC的一篇报道里，被访问者都是那些论文生产者，被谴责没有学术道德的也是论文工厂里的枪手，甚至直接在标题里用“帮助作弊”来形容他们。
难道，最该被谴责的不是那些主动寻求学术作弊的人吗？在这件事情上，需求催生了供给，学术无国籍，金钱永不眠。
The Kenyans who are helping the world to cheat
If you order an essay online then it's highly likely it will actually be done by a Kenyan.
如果你在网上订购一篇论文，那么它很有可能是肯尼亚人写的。
If a student in London or New York goes online to pay somebody to do their essay, the chances are the work will actually end up being done by somebody in Kenya.
如果一个伦敦或纽约的学生上网付钱请人帮他写论文，很有可能这些论文最终会被肯尼亚的人完成。
BBC Trending reports from Nairobi on the ghostwriters helping foreigners to cheat.
BBC Trending从内罗毕报道了帮助外国人作弊的枪手。
ghostwriter /'ɡəʊstraɪtə(r)/ n. 受雇代作文章的人
Many published studies are not written by the academics whose names they bear, but by commercial ghostwriters paid by drug firms.
很多公开发表的论文并非由署名的学者所著，而是那些药企买通的枪手的作品。（《经济学人》）
Kennedy used to work as a teacher but for the past five years, he's made his living in a very different way. "I do academic writing," he says.
肯尼迪（化名）曾经是一名教师，但在过去的五年里，他以一种非常不同的方式谋生。“我从事学术写作。”他说。
He's part of a truly global online industry, which is booming in Kenya. But what Kennedy and many other Kenyans call "academic writing", the rest of the world calls cheating.
他是真实全球在线行业的一员，这个行业正在肯尼亚蓬勃发展。但肯尼迪（化名）和许多其他肯尼亚人称之为“学术写作”的东西，在世界其他地方被称为作弊。
If you're a student or a school pupil who is struggling with an assignment, or you just can't be bothered, then Kennedy and his team of writers will do it for you - for the right fee.
如果你是一名正在为作业发愁的学生或小学生，同时你不想再为作业而烦恼，那么肯尼迪（化名）和他的作家团队将替你做这件事——只要支付适当的费用即可。
You then hand it in, pretend it's your own work and hope you don't get caught.
然后你交上去，假装这是你自己做的作业，祈祷别被抓到。
The middlemen in the transaction run so-called "essay mill" websites, on which cheating students post jobs they want doing.
交易中的中间人经营着所谓的“论文作坊”网站，作弊的学生在上面发布他们需要做的作业。
Many of these sites are based in the US and Eastern Europe and their cut can be as much as half the fee. How much the customer pays varies depending on whether the assignment is a simple essay or, at the other end of the scale, an entire PhD thesis.
许多此类网站的总部位于美国和东欧，它们的分成可能高达费用的一半。客户支付多少取决于任务是一篇简单的论文，还是一篇完整的博士论文。
Kennedy and the writers he employs can complete up to 200 essays or online exams a month. "You log on for a student and do the exams for them," he adds.
肯尼迪（化名）和他雇佣的“作家”每个月最多可以完成200篇论文或在线考试。他补充道：“你可以替学生登录，帮他们考试。”
Researchers who study the business of what's been termed "contract cheating" say Kenya is a key hub.
研究所谓“合同欺骗”的研究人员表示，肯尼亚是一个关键枢纽。
The reasons are simple: Kenya is an English-speaking country with a good education system where there are often poor economic opportunities, particularly for young people.
原因很简单：肯尼亚是一个讲英语的国家，有着良好的教育体系，但经济（就业）机会往往很差，尤其是对年轻人来说。
肯尼亚，全称肯尼亚共和国（The Republic of Kenya），位于非洲东部，首都内罗毕，官方语言英语、斯瓦西里语，曾是英国的殖民地。
For those struggling to get by, there is money to be made regurgitating knowledge for foreigners who they will never meet.
对于那些勉强度日的人来说，向他们永远不会见面的外国人“灌输知识”只是一种赚钱方式而已。
The profile pictures of the writers for hire on essay mill sites give the impression that they're all white people.
论文作坊网站上招聘的作家的个人资料照片给人的印象都是白人。
profile /'prəʊfaɪl/ n. 侧面，轮廓，外形，剖面
Users can create a profile in Campus that is different from their main Facebook profile.
用户能在校园里创建一个不同于脸书主页的个人资料。（VOA Special）
But like a lot in this business, those avatars are fake. In reality, if you order an essay online then it's highly likely it will actually be done by a Kenyan.
但就像这个行业的很多其他东西一样，这些头像都是假的。事实上，如果你在网上订购一篇论文，那么很有可能是肯尼亚人写的。
avatars /ˌævə'tɑ:/ n. 替身；神使；形象化符号,来自梵文
Becket's steadfastness in the face of death found modern avatars too.
我们同样能找到贝克特面对死亡的坚定态度的现代化身。（《经济学人》）
For Kennedy, joining this industry was a no-brainer.
So Dr. Udell says getting the vaccine is a no brainer.
所以尤戴尔博士表示接种疫苗一举理所当然。（VOA Standard）
The 30-year-old makes around 150,000 Kenyan Shillings (around £1000) a month - a little bit more than the average wage - almost four times what he used to bring home as a teacher.
现年30岁的他每月收入约15万肯尼亚先令(约1000英镑)，略高于肯尼亚平均工资，几乎是他过去当老师时收入的四倍。
But how does he feel about the fact that he's helping undermine the integrity of education around the world?
那么他对自己正在破坏世界各地教育的诚信这一事实有何看法？
integrity /ɪn'tegrɪtɪ/ n. 正直；诚实，诚恳
uncompromising integrity 正直不阿; 坚定的诚实正直;
integrity protection 完整性保护
ecological integrity 生态完整性
As a former teacher, he admits feeling "morally compromised" but says he works for the money. "I care, but what do I care about more than my own life - at times you have to survive first to think about the morals," he says.
作为一名曾经的教师，他承认自己感到“道德上的妥协”，但他说自己工作是为了钱。他说：“我在乎道德，但有什么比我自己的生命更值得被在乎呢？有时你必须先生存下来，才能考虑道德问题。”
Kennedy is well aware that his work may help a customer to fake their way to a degree that lands them a job earning many times what he earns. "Then you realize it's not a competition against them. Sometimes it's a competition against poverty."
肯尼迪（化名）很清楚，他的工作可以帮助客户通过欺骗获得学位，从而获得一份比他挣得多的工作。“然后你意识到这不是和他们的竞争。有时这是一场与贫困的竞争。”
While there are essay writers for hire in other countries, those in Kenya have developed their own subculture.
虽然其他国家也有招聘论文写手，但肯尼亚人已经发展出了自己的亚文化。
There are "academic writing" groups on Facebook and Telegram where jobs and software are traded. Some have tens of thousands of members.
Facebook和Telegram上有“学术写作”小组，在那里可以交易工作和软件。有些网站拥有数万名会员。
They range from middle-class professionals dabbling for some extra cash to students still in education.
他们中既有想赚点外快的中产阶级专业人士，也有仍在接受教育的学生。
dabbling /'dæbliŋ/ v. 玩水；草率地对待；涉猎；溅湿（dabble的ing形式）
David is one of 10 people in his final year university class who he says are financing their studies this way.
大卫（化名）是大学最后一年在读生，他说他班上有10个人包括自己在用这种方式支撑学业。
"My parents are unable to sustain my staying in school," he says. "So I just saw that I have to look for a way to sustain myself and also maybe to contribute to the family at large."
他说：“我父母无力让我继续学业。所以我知道我必须寻找一种方式来养活自己，同时可能也对整个家庭做出贡献。”
sustain /sə'steɪn/ vt. 承受，支撑；维持；长期保持；使继续
Disabled, most rely on street begging to sustain them.
其中大部分的残疾人士依靠街头乞讨维生。（VOA Standard）
In the past two years, David has juggled his own degree work with writing around 360 essays for British and American customers.
在过去的两年里，大卫一边完成自己的学业，一边为英国和美国的客户写了大约360篇论文。
He can churn out 15 pages a day at 250 shillings (£1.65) a page. "I might work from Monday to Friday both night-time and daytime, but on the weekends I put it aside for my studies."
他每天能以每页250先令(1.65英镑)的价格粗制滥造出15页内容。“我可能从周一到周五白天和晚上都要工作，但周末我就把工作放在一边，把时间用于学习。”
perform in a mechanical way; produce something at a fast rate
Nowadays the market is full of slipshod books churned out in a few days.
He's making enough to rent farmland in his home village and is hiring labour to grow crops - which he says is an investment in his future.
他赚的钱足以在家乡租用农田，并雇佣劳动力种植作物——他说这是对自己未来的一种投资。
Dr Gladys Nyachieo, a sociology lecturer at Nairobi's Multimedia University, believes the greatest responsibility for tackling contract cheating lies with the wealthy countries whose students are the main customers. Without such a demand there wouldn't be a supply.
内罗毕多媒体大学的社会学讲师Gladys Nyachieo博士认为，应对合同欺诈的最大责任在于发达国家，他们的学生是主要客户。没有这样的需求就不会有供应。
"If they could do something about it, in terms of making it outlawed on the other side, then it would reduce," she says.
她说：“如果他们能做点什么，比如把它定为非法，那么它就会减少。”
Some countries are taking action. Last year, Australia banned essay selling services. Similar legislation is also being considered in England. But it's not yet clear how effective this will be in stopping a trade that crosses international borders so easily.
一些国家正在采取行动。去年，澳大利亚禁止了论文销售服务。英国也在考虑类似的立法。但目前尚不清楚这在阻止如此容易跨越国际边界的贸易方面是否有效。
In the meantime, Dr Nyachieo is trying to do what she can closer to home.
与此同时，Nyachieo博士正在努力从她身边做起她能做事情。
"I tell my students it's not ethical. It's not right," she says. "But that's all I can do. It is a matter of survival for some people. So it is kind of a dilemma."
“我告诉我的学生，这是不道德的。这是不对的。”她说，“我能做的也就这些了。对一些人来说，这是生存的问题。所以这确实是一种困境。”
《天才枪手》剧照
有一名枪手这样说道“这些收入大多是持续而稳定的，我有很多回头客。要知道，有些庞大的课题研究，一篇论文是无法承载的。因此，他们需要我持续稳定地优质服务。”他正在为一名硕士完成学位论文，这名硕士已经跟他签订了继续攻读博士学位的合同。
还有一名枪手因为质量太高被退货，因为自己的论文学术水平显然超过客户的自身能力很多，枪手不得不故意增加一些学术漏洞。枪手说，特意去匹配客户的真实水平比写论文更难。
联想一下《天才枪手》的结局，枪手受到了惩罚，某些富二代们考上了名校。续集我都想好了，那些富二代们在名校里找论文代写，荣誉毕业，他们都有光明的未来。（纯属个人臆想）
via 新英语逃脱计划
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