Doreen Sykora is now a junior at McGill University. She had a difficult time when she fi

rst began college. She said, “I was always well-prepared for my examination. But I would go in to class to take the exam, and I would fall apart. I could not answer the questions correctly—even though I knew the answers! I would just blank out because of nervousness and fear.” Hitoshi Sakamoto, an anthropology 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 great! 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 the same. He is enjoying school a lot more and learning more.

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

A. Students from the same university. B. Failing in all the examinations.

C. Experiences of test anxiety. D. Having the same poor studying habits.

12. These are signs of test anxiety EXCEPT________.

A. worries about a test. B. stressed about a test.

C. low grades and poor study habits. D. nervousness during the test

13. 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.

14. What’s the meaning of “blank out” in paragraph 1？

A. To be like a blanket. B. To be sure of an answer.

C. To be relaxed. D. To be unable to think clearly.

15. What’s the organization of passage？

A. Examples — theories — ideas.

B. Problem — strategy — result.

C. General statement — examples — result.

D. Strategy — experiment — examples.