2003年7月下旬，我收到了国内某大学一位参加了当年3月GRE作文考试的学生发来的E-mail咨询。该生的考试成绩自考完之后便一直石沉大海，至7月中旬仍杳无音讯。心生疑窦，这位考生便打电话至ETS询问，在一再催促下，ETS才给该考生发来了一份姗姗来迟的E-mail，连一封正式的书面信函都没有。Mail的篇幅很长，但核心内容却很简单，那就是“你作弊了，我们要取消你的成绩了！”
全文如下（请允许隐姓埋名）：

Dear x x x :
We are writing to you because ETS is concerned, based on a preliminary review, that there appears to be substantial evidence that your scores on the March 15, 2003 Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) General Test are invalid. As you acknowledged when you registered for the test, ETS has the right to review the validity of test scores, and to cancel questionable scores when we believe there is substantial evidence that they are invalid. The enclosed booklet, Why and How Educational Testing Service Questions Test Scores, provides important information about this process, and we urge you to read it carefully.

Our preliminary concerns are based on the following factor(s). At the essay reading sessions, the readers noticed that your essay on the issue topic has unusual similarities with other essays written on the same topic. Further reviews determined that a portion of your essay contains ideas, language and/or examples found in other test taker essays or from published sources that include:

·People dreamed of flying, "fly like a bird", and/or the Wright Brothers and the invention of the airplane
· Einstein and the theory of relativity
· Thomas Edison and the invention of the light bulb
· Bill Gates and the founding of Microsoft
· Robert Owen and his utopian community

ETS is not accusing you of cheating, but the anomalies noted above raise concerns about the validity of your scores.

At your request, we will send you (or, in the case of secure test materials, give you an opportunity to examine) the materials that reflect our concerns.

Final decisions about whether there is substantial evidence supporting cancellation of test scores are made by three-member panels of ETS’s Board of Review. Before the Board of Review considers this matter, you have an opportunity to send us any information that addresses our concerns. Feel free to consult with other people whose judgment you trust. We must receive any information you would like the Board of Review to consider by August 14, 2003. Any information we receive by that date, as well as other information about your scores, will be considered by the Board of Review.

If you do not wish the Board of Review to consider this matter, and would like ETS to cancel your scores and send you a voucher that can be used for registering for a future test, you must tell us by August 14, 2003

If any single Board of Review member decides that there is not substantial evidence supporting cancellation of your scores, ETS will clear your scores and report them to the institutions you designated. If, on the other hand, all three members of the Board of Review panel determine that there is substantial evidence supporting cancellation of your scores, you will be given an opportunity to select one of the options listed below. These options are described more fully in the enclosed booklet.

1） Tell us to cancel your scores. You will receive a refund of your test fee in the form of a voucher that you can use to register for another scheduled administration.

2) Let the school or agency to which you are sending the scores decide whether or not to use the scores which ETS will first cancel. We will send them our reasons for canceling your scores with your explanation. We will do this only if the school or agency agrees to participate.

In addition to the options listed above, we acknowledge your legal right to seek judicial review of Board of Review decisions.

ETS strives to preserve the integrity of the testing process by balancing the need for accurate test scores with the interests of all test takers in being treated fairly. We regret, and will try to minimize, any inconvenience to you. ETS will also treat this as a confidential matter unless you choose to inform others or authorize us to do so.

Please write to me via air mail, or send me a fax (609) 406-9709, if you would like to discuss this letter, submit information, or select one of the available options. Any future correspondence regarding this matter, or any documents that you would like to submit to the Board of Review, should be addressed to:

x x x
Test Security Office 38-Z
Educational Testing Service
Princeton, NJ 08541
E-mail: thills-credle@ets.org
Fax: 609-406-9709

We must receive your decision by August 14, 2003 or we will submit the matter to the Board of Review and notify you of its decision.

Sincerely,
x x x
Test Security Specialist
TEH
Enclosure`
Ref. No. 03 129459

　　ETS在这封信中实际上给出了两条“霸王”条款。首先，不管你承认“雷同”与否，考生都必须告诉ETS考试中心同意将其成绩取消。第二，考生有权要求ETS将考试结果寄达他/她所想申请的学校，但ETS同时会通知该学校，该分数已被取消，并附上被取消的原因。当然，ETS也愿意将你的申辩意见转告该校。但考生若坚持选择第二种情形，其前提是，该学校应首先同意启动这一程序。

　　在这两款规定中，第一款尤其具有霸王性，因为根据这位学生向我所作的解释，在ETS所指控她的五大“异常之处”当中，所罗列的例子仅涉及第一项“People dreamed of flying” 以及第四项“Bill Gates and the founding of Microsoft”, 其它内容一概没有涉及。即使是关于Bill Gates的事例，原先背诵的上下文内容由于并不特别符合考试题意，也是作了修改之后才写上去的。该考生在向我咨询时，对邮件中“ETS is not accusing you of cheating, but the anomalies noted above raise concerns about the validity of your scores” 既心存幻想，又吃不透其中之意，故准备写信给ETS进行申辩。 我劝说道，该句前半部分只是一种道貌岸然式的“外交”辞令，其真正的重点在于后面，“concerns about the validity of our scores” 也是一种婉诿语，说白了，就是“作弊”。 我对这位考生说，你别无选择，只能任人宰割。最终，这位考生放弃了申诉的企图。

　　仔细揣摩ETS的这封信件，作为考生至少可以从中吸取二个方面的教训。首先，ETS的“雷同探测器”（Similarity Detector）所能探测出来的大多是举例说明（Illustration）部分出现的类似之处，而非论证议论部分。如果举例过程中避免列举那些“举世闻名”的人物或事件，就会减少被怀疑考试抄袭的几率。其次，考生在平时尽可以背诵某些范文，但在考试时绝不应该照搬照抄原句，像“flying like a bird”之类的，而应该用自己的表达方式来进行改写。

　　但不管怎么说，ETS的打击面是很广的。雷同的范围涵盖文章的论点（ideas）， 所用的语句（language）以及所援引的例子（examples）。另外，不仅仅与其他参试者文章中（other test taker essays）的近似之处会被列入怀疑的范围，而且各种出版物中的来源出处（published sources）也被视为禁区。这无疑进一步加大了ETS在雷同认定上的任意性。