Hello again and welcome back to Lulu's happy hour. Today is June the fourth. In a couple of days, one of the most major exams in China is going to be held, the 高考，or the National Higher Education entrance examination. I know that among my listeners, some of you are going to take this challenging test. Others might have friends, family, or even children who are going through the process. And for those of you who are in school or in university, even if you're not taking this particular test, you're going to get into the exam season real soon.
So a lot of you might start to get exam nerves. That's why I would like to dedicate today's episode to all you test takers out there. In today's episode, we're going to talk about language related to exam, ways to relax for test takers and for their family, especially parents, about dreams, about how to cope with possible failures and also a general message to wish all of you good luck. So on with the show.
We start with expressions relating to exam. We can take an exam or sometimes people also say to sit an exam. To sit an exam means to take part in an exam. Before exams, most students would review or revise, i.e. to look back at what you have learned and to prepare for the exams. But some of us might wait till the last second because we procrastinate. Cram for exam, C R A M, cram for exam means to study real hard right before the exam. Sometimes people even pull an all-nighter so they will study all night without any sleep.
I did that as well when I was a student, but it wasn't as effective as well planned out revision. When you take an exam, of course you can pass or you can fail. Sometimes with hard work and a bit of luck, we can pass an exam with flying colors. Pass an exam with flying colors, to pass it really easily. Or you can say to ace an exam. I mentioned this in one of my other episodes to ace an exam means to do extremely well. Of course you can also flunk an exam.
In spoken English flunk an exam means to do badly to fail an exam. But let's not focus on that. If you have worked hard and done your preparation, then I'm sure all your hard work will pay off. Payoff means will generate positive result. Especially for those of you who are preparing for 高考，all your hard work will pay off.
Since it's only two days before the exam, instead of talking about actual exam preparation, I think the most important thing now is to chill, to relax. You probably have read a lot of articles and heard a lot of talks about how to relax. So I'm not going to get into eat well sleep well all that, but there are three things you can try as a test taker to relax before a major exam like 高考。
First is remember to breathe. Remember to breathe. This is not normal breathing with your eyes closed. Take three large breath, deep breath then pause, exhale and repeat the process. Large deliberate breath not only help relax the body but also increase the flow of oxygen to the brain. Use this technique both before the test and during difficult areas of the exam. So you can use it during the exam. This is what you do: breathe in, through your nose and then count to four. Try to hold your breath for a count of two and then slowly breath out through your mouth for a count of four. So you xuuuuuu, inhale, hold it and then, huuuuuu, exhale.
The second tip is to expand and contract your muscles. Tighten your shoulders for example, and slowly relax them. Repeat the process in other tense areas of your body. Wherever you feel the tension. Wherever you feel tense, do this exercise because tightening muscles before relaxing them enhances the body's relaxation awareness, which relaxes the body even more. So by tightening and then relaxing muscles, you're teaching your body to relax.

The third tip is to put the exam in perspective, in bigger picture. Keep in mind that the grand scheme of your future. We often over estimate how bad things will be and how poorly that will make us feel. If you feel stressed, ask yourself this: what's the worst that can happen and how would you deal with it, and try to be logical about it. Can you really handle the worst that could happen? Chances are, the answer is yes. So if you're already okay was the worst case scenario, that takes a lot of pressure away. Actually worst case scenario does really work for me. Maybe you can try it as well.
As a parent. What you can do apart from taking care of your kid? First you can reiterate that is normal to feel stressed and talk to them about exam nerves. Don't avoid it. Ask them how they feel, listen and encourage, help them to see that it's extremely normal to feel nervous and to feel a bit nervous sometimes is a good thing because it does help you focus during the exam.
The other thing for parents to do is obviously to tell your kids not to fear failure. Don't add to the pressure, take the pressure off because your child can feel like, if they don't succeed at this, this means that their whole life is a failure. Help them understand there's not one perfect plan. There are multiple pathways to success. It is not a make or break situation.
Following the tips for test takers and for parents, now let's hear some sayings about dreams, failure and luck. I think for those of you who are taking 高考 you probably all have your dream schools, the universities you really want to get in. And remember your dreams and fight for them. There's just one thing that makes your dream become impossible: the fear of failure. Remember your dreams and fight for them. There is just one thing that makes your dream become impossible. It might sounds a bit cliché but it's actually very true. If you don't fear failure, then there is nothing more to be afraid of. Life is a very long journey and none of us will be defined by one exam.
But if you do fail your exam, then coping with the failures is very important. It's important to remember failure is not the opposite of success, but it is part of success. Winston Churchill, a man who was very well spoken said these two famous saying about success and failure. And here I would like to share with you. The first one is: Success is not final, failure is not fatal. It is the courage to continue that counts. His other saying is: Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.
In the end. I would like to say, perhaps you will still feel nervous and it's very normal. It's very normal to always go to the worst case scenario. But what I would like to say to all of you test takers is that the best way to motivate yourself is to stop stressing about what will happen when things go wrong and start thinking about how awesome life will be when they go right. You have worked hard and I believe that all of your hard work will pay off. Good luck everyone. I look forward to hearing your good news. I'll see you next time. Bye.

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