2.3 Cramming for success.

Task 1. Underline the most suitable word or phrase.

1. Jack decided to take a course/lesson in hotel management.

2. Sheila always got good marks/points in algebra.

3. After leaving school, Ann studied/trained as a teacher.

4. Peter decided not to go in/enter for the examination.

5. My sister learned/taught me how to draw.

6. I can't come to the cinema. I have to read/study for a test.

7. In history we had to learn a lot of dates by hand/heart

8. I hope your work will improve by the end of course/term.

9. Martin failed/missed his maths exam and had to sit it again.

10. If you have any questions, raise/rise your hand.

Task 2. Read the following information note. Do you recognize some of the expressions? Check the meaning of the others in your dictionary.

Before an exam you can revise or cram for it. If the exam happens every year, you can look at past papers. Some things can be memorised or learnt off by heart. But rote-learning is not sufficient for most subjects. It is also possible to use mnemonics. But tricks alone are not enough, and the best idea is to bury yourself in your books until you know the subject inside out.

Rewrite this short text using words and phrases from the information note above instead of the underlined words.

When I'm preparing intensively for an exam, I don't see any point in looking up exam papers from previous years, nor is there any point in just learning things by memory. I know some people develop very clever memory tricks to help them remember the material, but there's no real substitute for re-reading and going over the term's work. It's a good idea to have some sort of diagram to organise your ideas, and memory-learning is useful, but in a limited way. At the end of the day, you just have to read a huge amount until you feel you know the subject 100 percent.

Task 3. Idioms. Work with your partner. Look at the highlighted expressions and work out what they mean. Do you have similar expressions in your own language?

1. The written exam was difficult, but the oral exam was a piece of cake.

2. It will be easier if we work on this exercise together. Two heads are better than one.

3. Her teacher told her that if she wanted to catch up with the rest of the class and pass her exams, she would have to burn the midnight oil for several weeks.

4. I passed the exam by the skin of my teeth. The pass mark was 50% and I got 51%.

5. When I went to school the teachers used to make us learn poems by heart.

6. On one occasion I learnt a whole speech parrot fashion – I didn't understand a word of it.

Now discuss the following questions:

1. What exams have you passed by the skin of your teeth or with flying colours?

2. How useful is it to learn things parrot fashion?

3. What things did you learn by heart at school? Can you still remember them?

4. What are the arguments for and against learning things by heart?

5. What do you think is a good way to learn multi-word verbs and idiomatic expressions?

Task 4. Idioms. Here are some idiomatic expressions about studying and exams. Use the context to guess what they mean and choose the right answer.

1. It's very easy to fall behind with your studies if you miss even just a few classes.

a) stay close behind other students

b) find yourself far behind other students

c) get ahead of other students

2. She seemed to just breeze through the exams. Everyone else was in such a panic and almost had nervous breakdowns.

a) do them calmly and efficiently

b) not take them seriously

c) cheat in them

3. I just can't seem to get the hang of English prepositions. Just when I think I've learnt them I make new mistakes.

a) memorise

b) understand

c) enjoy

4. When I sat down and looked at the exam paper my mind just went blank. Everyone else seemed to be writing away quite happily,

a) became confused

b) became very focused

c) became empty