Check the meaning of the words in the box. Then read and complete the text.
consequences – deceived – envious – identities – reward – trust – unfair |
A moral dilemma
Life is full of decisions, but some are more difficult than others. Sometimes we have to make a decision where every option seems like a bad one, and those are the most difficult of all.
Marc and his sister Jasmine had important exams at school recently. Marc studied hard, but he found the exams difficult and his results were poor. However, Jasmine’s results were much better. Her parents were delighted and bought her a new computer as a (1) _____. Marc was a bit (2) _____ – he’d worked hard, too – but he was pleased for his sister. However, a few weeks later, Jasmine admitted to Marc that she had cheated in the exams. She made him promise not to say anything. Marc was shocked and angry that Jasmine had (3) _____ everyone, particularly their parents. However, he knew that Jasmine would hate him if he broke his promise. In the end, although he felt that it was completely (4) _____, he decided to keep quiet.
In situations like this, the action that a person takes will depend on their moral values. These are the principles that make us decide what are the right and wrong things to do. In the same way that people have different appearances and personalities, we have different moral (5) _____. A value that is extremely important to one person, such as honesty, might not be as important to another person. In Marc’s situation, he faced a moral dilemma, but his moral values helped him to make a decision. He strongly wanted Jasmine to face the (6) _____
of her actions, but he felt that breaking his sister’s (7) _____ would be even worse. Jasmine was lucky – other people might feel that uncovering her dishonesty was the most important thing.
1. Her parents were delighted and bought her a new computer as a reward.
(Bố mẹ cô rất vui mừng và mua cho cô một chiếc máy tính mới như một phần thưởng.)
2. Marc was a bit envious – he’d worked hard, too – but he was pleased for his sister.
(Marc hơi ghen tị – anh ấy cũng đã học tập chăm chỉ – nhưng anh ấy vui mừng cho chị gái mình.)
3. Marc was shocked and angry that Jasmine had deceived everyone, particularly their parents.
(Marc bị sốc và tức giận vì Jasmine đã lừa dối mọi người, đặc biệt là cha mẹ của họ.)
4. In the end, although he felt that it was completely unfair, he decided to keep quiet.
(Cuối cùng, dù cảm thấy điều đó hoàn toàn không công bằng nhưng anh vẫn quyết định im lặng.)
5. In the same way that people have different appearances and personalities, we have different moral identities.
(Cũng giống như việc mọi người có ngoại hình và tính cách khác nhau, chúng ta có những bản sắc đạo đức khác nhau.)
6. He strongly wanted Jasmine to face the consequences of her actions, …
(Anh thực sự muốn Jasmine phải đối mặt với hậu quả từ hành động của cô, …)
7. … but he felt that breaking his sister’s trust would be even worse.
(… nhưng anh cảm thấy việc phá vỡ lòng tin của chị gái mình sẽ còn tồi tệ hơn.)