B
Exams are brain-burning. The silence of the hall; the beating of the clock; the watchful eye of the teacher; the proud expression of the person sitting at the neighbouring desk who has finished 15 minutes early. It therefore seems hardly surprising that those who feel anxious about taking tests do worse than those who do not. But different from the existing point of view, the recent study published in Psychological Science by Maria Theobald suggests it is the pressure of revision that affects your exam performance.
To test this idea, Dr Theobald worked with 309 German medical students who were preparing for their final exam, the most important that they take. During the 100 days before the real exam, these students used an online digital-learning app which presented them with old exam questions and recorded their performance. And 40 days before the real exam, they also took a mock (模拟) exam. Their levels of anxiety were also recorded and assessed (评定), every day for 40 days before the real exam.
What Dr Theobald found was not what she expected. Anxiety on the day of the test did not predict exam performance at all. What did predict it was the level of knowledge a student showed in the mock exam and the earlier practices. Those who performed well in these also did well in the real test, no matter how anxious they were on the day.
It turned out that what really affected students were high levels of anxiety during the weeks before the exam took place. The greater the student's anxiety in the days before the exam, the lower his or her knowledge gain was during that period. To reduce this anxiety, she gives some advice for students to consider as they revise. First, they can raise their belief in their own abilities by reminding themselves of just how much they know. Second, they can diminish the importance of the test by reminding themselves that, while it is important, it is not a life or death situation. It really isn't.
1. What can we infer from Paragraph 2?
A. More people tend to dream big.
B. Language can change over time.
C. Human imagination knows no limits.
D. The meaning of a word matters most.
2. What does the underlined part "gained traction" in Paragraph 4 mean?
A. Got popular.
B. Became clear.
C. Remained important.
D. Looked new.
3. What does Dua Lipa's experience suggest?
A. She is proud of her confidence.
B. She enjoys every moment on stage.
C. She credited her success to manifesting.
D. She believed 2024 was a lucky year for singers.
4. What is Dr Sander van der Linden's attitude towards manifesting?
A. Doubtful.
B. Hopeful.
C. Unconcerned.
D. Surprised.

5. What influences exam results based on the existing view?
A. Exam levels.
B. Exam schedule.
C. Pressure of the exam hall.
D. High expectations from teachers.
6. How did Dr Theobald carry out the study?
A. By interviewing students.
B. By collecting the former data.
C. By referring to experts' advice.
D. By tracking students' performance.
7. What probably mean the underlined word "diminish" in the last paragraph?
A. Reduce.
B. Affect.
C. Realize.
D. Understand.
8. Which of the following is the suitable title for the text?
A. Never Too Late to Revise
B. Never Put Off Revision till Tomorrow
C. Anxiety in Revision, Failure in Exam
D. The More Pressure, The Better Results