Vocabulary
to take exams – сдавать экзамены
to pass exams – сдать экзамены
– I’m going to take the exam on Friday, but I don’t know if I’ll pass the exam.
to pass exams with flying colours – отлично сдать экзамены
to sail through exams – сдать экзамены легко, без особых усилий
to scrape through exams – еле–еле сдать экзамены
to fail exams – провалить экзамены
to score high – набрать высокие баллы
to be under pressure – испытывать давление, стресс
to cheat – жульничать
to measure students’ abilities – оценивать способности учащихся
fair assessment of students’ knowledge – справедливое оценивание знаний
to get a place in a university – поступить в университет
to affect students’ performance – повлиять на ответ учащегося
continuous assessment of students’ work – постоянное оценивание работы
objective results – объективные результаты
truly reflect the knowledge – отражать
to cram – зубрить
to learn things parrot fashion – зубрить
to measure academic performance – оценивать успеваемость
a subjective judgment – субъективное суждение
to perform under pressure – работать/выполнять (задания) под давлением
to achieve high results – достичь высоких результатов
to do badly – не справляться, получить плохие результаты
to be panic–stricken – быть охваченным паникой
nerve–wracking experience – нервотрепка
to do a task within a set period of time – выполнить задание в течение определенного времени
to develop time management skills – развить навыки по time management 🙂
to perform at one’s highest capacity – работать с наивысшей производительностью
- What are the best ways to get ready for exams?
- Are exams a nerve–wracking experience for you?
- Do you think you possess time management skills?
- What methods do you use to memorize things quickly?
- Should exams be so important that they can determine a student’s future?
- What are your impressions about the exams you have already taken?
- How do you feel about the exams you have to take in the near future?
Quotes (from the Internet)
“I’ve been making a list of the things they don’t teach you at school. They don’t teach you how to love somebody. They don’t teach you how to be famous. They don’t teach you how to be rich or how to be poor. They don’t teach you how to walk away from someone you don’t love any longer. They don’t teach you how to know what’s going on in someone else’s mind. They don’t teach you what to say to someone who’s dying. They don’t teach you anything worth knowing.”
“If the college finals don’t kill you, the lack of sleep and amount of coffee you need to get through them will.”
“Exams don’t test what you know. They test how well you can study the night before.”
“Look at a day when you are supremely satisfied at the end. it’s not a day when you lounge around doing nothing; it’s when you’ve had everything to do and you’ve done it.”
Pictures
Questions:
Which environment is the most conducive to studying?
How might these people be feeling?
Are children under too much exam stress?
Continuous assessment has its place. It does take the pressure off final examinations. However, adults have failed to recognise that this new style of working also places new stresses on young people.As young people sit their GCSE and A–level examinations, many feel these weeks will affect their lives forever. With the introduction of modules and coursework, pupils have worked intensively throughout the year to obtain the grades they want.
Fear, insecurity, lack of confidence and a sense of dissatisfaction are common. It is no surprise that 2 million children in the UK have a mental health problem, that rates of depression among children more than double as they reach their teens, or that the Mental Health Foundation believes these rates are rising.
It is not just teenagers who suffer greater stress. I have noticed how younger members of Childrens Express now worry about SATs. Children as young as seven are under pressure to obtain a good mark.
Schools add to this burden as they compete in league tables. Curtis Anderson, 16, a fellow editor, remarks, You’ve got to do well to keep your school at the top.
When the examination results finally arrive on doormats around the country in August, the annual cries of well, it was harder in my day! will ring out in the press. Last year, when more people achieved A to C grades than ever before, they were not congratulated, but undermined by this response.
Whether they are at the top or the bottom of the class, young people need pressure to succeed. They also need support.
Yours
Rachel
to sit exams – сдавать экзамены
to obtain (grades) – получить (баллы)
to place (stress on …) – подвергать
a burden – ноша, бремя
to ring out – раздаться, прозвучать
to undermine – подрывать, разрушительно сказываться