Nowadays in school life, a lot of students develop a fear of tests. It's not because tests are something to be afraid of. Most students are afraid of tests mainly because they don't always think they are well—prepared and they don't have enough self—confidence. If you follow the advice below, it's not difficult to overcome your fear of tests.

People who know that they are not well—prepared are usually those who fear tests most. However, most students don't know when they are truly prepared for a test. As long as you know that you have studied well and long enough, you have reason to believe that you are well—prepared.

Be confident about yourself. Confidence before a test can bring about two results: either you fail the test and feel as if your confidence was unfounded (毫无根据的) or you could actually do well in the test because of your confidence. Some students find that they experience the first result. However, this is only because those students might not have followed the first advice mentioned above. As long as you have studied well, you will be more confident of your chance to succeed in a test. If you feel as if you have not studied hard enough, then you will not be as confident as you should be.

Ask your teacher in advance (提前) about the material that is going to be covered in the test. In this way, you will know what you should prepare for and you can get confidence in the test. But you have to be brave enough to ask. Most students do not ask unless their teacher gives the information first, so make sure that you ask.

You should know that tests are only telling if you have got the knowledge, not how good or bad your IQ is. So, even if you do badly in one test, you should know that there are other tests to come. As long as you think that there is another tomorrow, you can overcome your fear of a test. However, make sure that you are going to prepare well for the other tests.

Fear can be a problem in the process of achieving success. However, with the right attitude (态度) and preparations, you can overcome your fear of tests by using these suggestions.

    When the weather is hot, you go to a lake or an ocean. When you are near a lake or an Ocean, you feel cool. Why? The sun makes the earth hot, but it cannot make the water very hot. Although the air over the earth becomes hot, the air over the water is still cool. The hot air over the earth goes up. Then the cool air over the water moves in and takes the place of the hot air.

    Then you may ask, "Why is the ocean full of salt?" Scientists will say that the salt comes from the rocks. When the rocks get very hot or very cold, they crack (爆裂). Rain falls into the cracks. The rain then carries the salt into the earth and into the rivers. The rivers carry the salt into the ocean. And then you may doubt, "But the ocean does not get more salty every year. Scientists are not sure about the answer to this question.

    We know a lot about our world. But there are still many answers that we do not have, and we are curious about them.

You must have read or heard of the sad love story between Jia Baoyu and Lin Daiyu. But can you imagine the two singing opera in English instead of speaking poetic Chinese?

Jia and Lin are two characters from the classic Chinese novel A Dream of Red Mansions (《红楼梦》), written by Cao Xueqin (1715-1763). Now the book has been made into an English-language opera. After being performed in San Francisco, US, the performance came to Beijing, Changsha and Wuhan in 2017. 

Many of the opera's creators have backgrounds in both Chinese and American cultures, including the director and playwrights (剧作家). Their understanding of both cultures helped them change a Chinese classic into a foreign-language opera. 

The book, which covers the rise and fall of the Jia family, has 120 chapters and hundreds of characters. But opera writer David Henry Hwang cut down the number of characters to just seven. Hwang, a Chinese-American, focused on the love story between Jia and Lin and tried to write a heartbreaking tragedy that everyone would understand. 

The art director Timmy Yip, from Hong Kong, tried to help foreign people understand the characters using costumes and stage settings. He compared Lin to water and gave her a light green costume. When Lin showed up on stage, there was usually water around her on the stage. 

The creators considered it to be a meaningful job to introduce a Chinese classic to Westen audiences. Hwang told China Daily he was happy to "have made a contribution to the land where my parents were born."

注意：1.短文须包含所有信息，要求语句通顺、意思连贯、符合题意；

2.词数90左右，短文的开头已在答题卡上给出，不计入总词数；

3.短文中不得使用真实的个人及学校信息。

How to be a responsible student?

As teenagers, we are the future of our country and we need to be responsible.

A．However, you need to pay attention not to nod too much.

B．Take notes

C．Try to follow up by giving them a call or texting them.

D．It even helps deepen your understanding.

E．Here are a few tips to help you develop effective listening skills.

F．Be Patient

Listening is one of the basic skills. Good communication always starts with good listening. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

Ask Good Questions

When someone comes to you with a problem, it is natural for you to give them advice. However, instead of giving advice, asking good questions is more important. This can show that you are interested in what people are telling you. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}

Avoid too much Nodding

Nodding while listening to people shows that you are listening carefully. 28．{#blank#}3{#/blank#} If you nod too much, it may make people feel uncomfortable as they may think you are just trying to agree with everything.

{#blank#}4{#/blank#}

You also need to be patient while people are speaking. It is rude to speak while others are still talking. Even if you want the speaker to explain something for you, please wait until they finish their part.

Follow Up

To show your further concern about people, you can go beyond just listening to them. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} It is an act that shows your care and support.

Hello, everyone, I am Liu Lin, a student from Yunnan Lijiang Huaping Girls' Senior High School. Let me tell you something about my school.

Huaping School is a wonderful school. There are 500 students in my school. Walking through our school gate, you can see a big sports field. Students have great fun running and playing basketball here. The classroom building is behind the sports field. There is a big library near the sports field, you can read books there. Next to it is our school dining hall. It is very big and we have meals there every day. But there isn't any art building in my school.

Zhang Guimei is my Chinese teacher and she is also my favorite teacher. Now she is 67 years old. She has been a teacher for 47 years. In 2008, Zhang set up (建立) the school. She often helps the poor girls and gives them a chance to study, so their dreams can come true. She is a superhero in our heart. 

I think my school is the best school in the world. Welcome to my school!