英國劍橋的珀斯中學學生犯錯后不會立即受到懲罰，而是得到十秒的自我開脫時間，如果能在十秒內用巧妙的言辭為自己犯錯找到借口，便可免受懲罰。該校校長稱，不會允許學生謊話連篇，但無傷大雅的善意謊言是可以接受的。他表示，在很短的時間內用言語讓自己擺脫困境是人生中很重要的一課，可以鍛煉學生的交流能力。這位校長在一次采訪中表示，作為校長，他希望通過十秒鐘自我開脫的方式培養思維敏捷、能言善辯的下一代。有人抗議稱校長此舉意在把學生培養成說謊成性的政客，不過一位辯論專家卻對此稱贊有加。

Students at the Perse School in Cambridge, England, can avoid punishment for minor offenses, provided they can come up with quick, clever excuses for their transgressions within 10 seconds.

Telling a lie can get you on Santa's naughty list, but it could get you on the Dean's list at one British school.

Students at the Perse School in Cambridge, England, can avoid punishment for minor offenses, provided they can come up with quick, clever excuses for their transgressions within 10 seconds.

Headmaster Ed Elliott won't allow complete B.S., but "white lies" may be acceptable.

"It's a great lesson in life to talk your way out of a tight corner in a very short period of time," Elliot told the BBC.

Rewarding a child for lying may seem counter-intuitive, but Elliot believes he's fostering important communication skills.

“As head I like to play my part in creating a quick-thinking, communication ‘savvy’ generation, by giving students who have committed a minor offense 10 seconds to talk their way out of a punishment," he told the Cambridge News. "Many rise admirably to the challenge, and in so doing develop the charm and eloquence needed in the next generation of British entrepreneurs and wealth creators.”

The school's alum includes luminaries such as Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour, but Elliott suggests his "lie-dea" may give current students the right verbal skills to succeed in the world, according to the Telegraph.

Some wags have protested that Elliott is merely training students to be politicians, Geobeats.com reported, but rhetoric expert Sam Leith thinks it's a brilliant idea -- no lie.

"You can see this being a really important life skill and actually politicians, some of them, are the absolute straight arrow, but often the ones who get further are the artful dodgers," Leith told the BBC.

相關閱讀

英中學瞞家長給女生打針避孕

英中學禁止女生穿裙子 防止被“性化”

美學生如廁后用國旗擦手被停學

(Agencies)

（中國日報網英語點津 Helen ）