Tests and stress

 

When we think about tests, here are some words that come to mind:

cheating

studying

preparation

nervousness

anxiety

midterm

final

makeup

supplementary

book

grades

scores

certification

goals, objectives

multiple choice x discursive

under pressure

One way of doing well in tests is knowing how you react in test-like situations.

What kind of student are you in test situations?

I shake like a leaf  = I am visibly nervous = I tremble = I get the jitters

I freak out

I get goosebumps

I get butterflies in my stomach

I get white as a sheet (of paper)

I get cold sweat

I get cold feet

My mind goes blank = I draw a blank

Here is some more language used to talk about tests and stressful situations in general. Match the sentence halves 1-12 in bold with the other halves in the bullet points in italics below.

1. I get nervous about …
2. I get nervous when …
3. My level of nervousness depends on …
4. I deal well with  …
5. I find it hard …
6. The more nervous I get, the more I …
7. It’s easy for me …
8. Ideally, …
9. In the best case scenario, 
10. Usually when I do/take/sit a test, I …
11. I feel grumpy …
12. If I don’t know the answer to a question, I try not to … 

• the kind of test I have to do
• beat about the bush
• waste a lot of time
• to be concentrated/focused in tests
• unexpected/adverse circumstances　
• make sure and get a lot of rest the night before
• taking tests
• if I know I could have done much better at a test
• I keep my cool in tests
• to get straight to the point
• tests don’t bother me
• I have to give or deliver a presentation
• stressful situations

Now tell us:

If you could choose the way you could be tested, what would it be and why?

 

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Integrated Writing task – Success

Read the text below about the what it takes to being successful:

That’s right. The whole “nice guys finish last” thing is dead wrong. Organizations are far more effective when people are nice to each other. Nice wins.

Now, anyone who knows me has got to be cracking up right about now because, like I said, I’m not a very nice person. But lately, I’ve been advising some friends on their career strategy. One woman, a friend of my wife’s, is so smart, open, and downright nice, I don’t think she has a clue what a pleasure she is to work with. I’d do anything for her. That’s just how nice she is.

Mind you, I’ve helped loads of friends and associates get jobs, and while I’m sure they’re appreciative, some of them just aren’t that nice about it. Years ago I hooked up one guy with a company I used to work for that was looking for a CEO. He got the job, the company went public, and he made a bundle. I don’t think he ever thanked me.

But my wife’s friend is so not like that. In fact, she’s been at one company for so long that she really wasn’t up on how competitive the job market has become and how sophisticated and cut-throat job seekers are these days. And it occurred to me that, once she gets to a live human being, she’s got a real competitive advantage. As I told her, “Just be yourself, be genuine, be nice, and people will respond in kind. Things will work out fine for you.”

How do I know that if I’m such a jerk? Well, when I want something, I can be really, really nice. And it comes across as genuine because I genuinely really, really want that thing and, if I have to be nice to get it, then I’ll be as nice as I have to be. And you know what? Nine times out of ten, it works. That’s because people are suckers for nice. Here’s why:

First of all, it’s human nature. I mean, if somebody’s staring you right in the face, they really need your help, and they seem really nice, you’d have to be some kind of antisocial creep not to help them. And while email and phones aren’t quite as personal, again, once you’ve made some sort of personal appeal or connection and you’re nice and transparent about it, most people will help if they can.

Lastly, people have a natural tendency to personalize everything, especially things with emotional content. We just imagine ourselves in the other person’s position, the shoe being on the other foot, as it were, and we react the way we’d want them to react to us. Deep down, that’s actually an egocentric or selfish tendency, but in this case, it actually comes across as a nice gesture. Whatever works, right?

The moral of the story is both simple and powerful. I don’t care if you’re an administrative assistant or a CEO, an engineer or a salesperson, in HR or in IT. No man or woman is an island. Organizations are matrices of teams and stakeholders. And they’re far more effective at getting things done when people help each other and are nice to each other.

Taken from the article printed here

 

Now watch the video in which the presenter describes eight secrets to success:

 

How do the ideas in the text contrast with those presented in the video?

Which of the tips presented in your view is the most efficient?