Question

As a junior at McGill University, Doreen Sykora 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) 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 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.

1.What is the similarity between Doreen Sykora and Hitoshi Sakamoto?

A. They both had experiences of test anxiety.

B. They failed in all the examinations.

C. They are students from the same university.

D. They both had the same poor studying habits.

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

A. get an extra paper

B. be unable to think clearly

C. lose interest in the exam

D. refuse to take the exam

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

A. To learn more knowledge about test anxiety.

B. To show a stress level experienced by students.

C. To help students to reduce test anxiety.

D. To have a better understanding of test anxiety.

Answer 1

1.A

2.B

3.C

【解析】

試題分析：本文是一篇關于考試焦慮的文章，主要講述的是Doreen Sykora和Hitoshi兩個患有考試焦慮的同學通過上一些特別的課程來幫助他們克服焦慮，及是如何幫助學生的。

1. two young students were experiencing something called test anxiety’’中可以看出這兩個年輕學生都經歷著同樣的事情，即考試焦慮，故選A。

2. could just blank out because of nervousness and fear”可知因為緊張和害怕所以我不能.....，第二段最后一句“The student cannot write or think clearly because of the severe tension and nervousness.”可知因為非常緊張和不安，學生不能很條理清晰的思考和寫作，故選B。

3. a course helps students learn to live with stress and not fail because of it”這種課程是幫助學生學會與壓力共處并不再因為壓力而考試失敗；“These courses teach students how to relax their bodies.”這些課程教導學生如何放松他們的身體；“They get training to become calm in very tense situations”通過訓練他們能在非常緊張的環境下冷靜下來，可知這些課程的目的是幫助學生減少和克服考試焦慮，故選C。

考點：考查社會現象類閱讀