Do you remember that nasty feeling of sweaty palms? A wave of nausea coming over you? The sudden inability to talk your mouth is so dry? No, it’s not the first meeting with the dreaded in-laws, although some parallels could easily be made. I’m talking about waiting at the door of an exam room, convinced that you know nothing and that there’s no way you will get through this experience alive.
We’ve all been there at some point of our lives, whether it be for the 11+, the G.C.S.E French oral exam, university finals, the FCE exam… the list is endless. Somehow though we get through it. We survive to see another day. But what has always baffled me is how people react so differently when faced with the prospect of taking an exam.
I don’t know about you but I’ve always been insanely jealous of those people who party all year round, then the night before the exam flick through my course book, (theirs is empty because they didn’t go to any lectures), and then somehow manage to sail through the exam with flying colours. In the meantime I’m there, present and correct at most of my lectures, panicking for weeks before my finals, and the night before, not only am I trying to cram like mad everything my clever friend points out is missing from my file as he flicks through my text books and observes that I’ve missed out a whole chapter of essential work that is bound to come up in the exam, (draw for breath!), but I’m also panicking about packing my school bag.
Once you’re in the exam room there is the obligatory ritual of snacks and refreshments to be organised. It’s essential that you line them up in edible order so as not to have to think too much whilst writing. The idea is also not to make too much noise during the exam. There’s nothing worse than popcorn rustling in a cinema. The exam room is no exception. So it’s vitally important that the aforementioned sweets are opened and ready to go. (1)Your packet of Polos should be completely opened. These should be sucked and not crunched at the time of consumption otherwise it defeats the whole object of trying to avoid noise pollution. Finally, no cans or cartons should be taken into the exams as both are far too noisy.

你还记得掌心满是汗水的恐怖感觉吗？你还记得当时那一阵阵的反胃吗？你还记得由于突然间无言以对，而导致的口干舌燥吗？我说的不是你和可怕的亲家初次见面的场景，尽管可能有一定的相似之处。我这里谈到的是等在考场门外时的感受：知道自己对要考的内容一无所知，此次必然在劫难逃。

我们都在一生中的某些时刻参加过考试:初中入学考试、中考的法语口语考试、大学的期末考试、第一英语证书考试……名目之多不可胜数。好在我们都是过来人了，我们活了下来，看到了一片新的天地。但只有一点我一直困惑不解：那就是同是面临考试，为什么人们反应各异。

我不知道你是怎么想的，但是对于那些成年去参加派对，只有在考前一晚才拿着我的课堂笔记临阵磨枪，最后还能很风光地过关的人，我简直嫉妒得要疯掉。（他们的笔记本空空如也，因为他们从不去听课）。同时我却在那儿复习订正我的课程，考前几个星期就开始心惊肉跳。而到了考前一晚，就是我聪明的朋友拿着我的课本检查并告诉我漏掉了整整一章重要的必考内容而我对他指出的任何遗漏都气急败坏的时候（深呼吸！）不仅如此，我对收拾书包这样的事都感到害怕。

一旦进了考场，安排好茶点是必不可少的规矩。你得把它们按吃喝的先后顺序摆好，省得一边写一边想。这也是为了不在考场里弄出太大声响。再没有比电影院里爆米花弄出的声响更槽的了，考场也不例外，所以一定要把上面说的那些糖果包装袋提前打开，随时取用，这一点至关重要。(1)要把棒棒糖的包装袋完全打开，吃的时候只能吮，不能嚼。否则你试图避免噪音污染的目的可就彻底落空了。最后，不能把罐头和纸盒带进考场，因为这两样噪音都太大。