Question

Doreen Sykora is now a junior at McGill University. She had a difficult time when she first began college. She said, “I was always well prepared for my examinations. But when I go into class to take the exam, I would fall apart. I could just blank out because of nervousness and fear.” Hitoshi Sakamoto, an anthropology(人類學(xué)) student at Temple University in Tokyo reports similar experiences.

These two young students were experiencing something called test anxiety. Because a student worries and is stressed(加壓力于) about a test, his or her mind does not work as well as it usually does. The student cannot write or think clearly because of the severe tension and nervousness.

Now there are special university courses to help students. In these courses, advisors and psychologists try to help students by teaching them to manage test anxiety. Such a course helps students learn to live with stress and not fail because of it. First students take a practice test to measure their worry level. If the tests show that their stress level is high, the students can take a short course to manage the fear. These courses teach students how to relax their bodies. They get training to become calm in very tense situations. By controlling their nervousness, they can let their minds work more easily. Learned information then comes out without difficulty on a test.

Doreen Sykora saw immediate results after taking such a course. She now has enthusiasm about the relaxation methods. “Mostly, what I do is imagine myself in a very calm place. Then I imagine myself picking up a pencil. I move slowly and carefully. I breathe easily and let all the tension out. With each breath, more worry leaves me. It really works too. My grades have improved greatly! I’m really doing well at McGill now. This relaxation method works not only on examinations, but it has improved the rest of my life as well.”

For Hitoshi in Tokyo, the results were much the same. He is enjoying school a lot more and learning more.

What is the similarity between Doreen Sykora and Hitoshi Sakamoto?

A. They are students from the same university.

B. They failed in all the examinations.

C. They both had experiences of test anxiety.

D. They both had the same poor studying habits.

The phrase “blank out” in Paragraph 1 refers to “_______.”

A. lose interest in the exam           B. refuse to take the exam

C. get an extra paper                  D. be unable to think clearly

What’s the purpose of some special university student-help courses?

A. To help students to reduce test anxiety.   

B. To show a stress level experienced by students.

C. To learn more knowledge about test anxiety.

D. To have a better understanding of test anxiety.

Answer 1

【小題1】C

【小題2】D

【小題3】A

解析:

有些大學(xué)生患有考試焦慮癥，不過現(xiàn)在好了，這些大學(xué)開設(shè)了特殊的課程來幫助他們緩解這種考試焦慮癥。

【小題1】語義理解題。從第 1 段最后一句話Hitoshi Sakamoto, an anthropology (人類學(xué)) student at Temple University in Tokyo reports similar experiences 可以明顯看出 Doreen Sykora 和 Hitoshi Sakamoto 都患有考試焦慮癥。

【小題2】詞義猜測(cè)題。Doreen Sykora 因考試時(shí)過度緊張和害怕，那當(dāng)然是思維不清晰。

【小題3】語義理解題。從文章第 3 段第 2 句話 In these courses, advisors and psychologists try to help students by teaching them to manage test anxiety 可以看出大學(xué)開設(shè)這門特殊課程的目的。