11th form Test Reading

It's the end of the school year and the exam period is on the way. Undoubtedly, exams ____ pressure on both students and parents alike.

2. Most parents would like to see their children ____ academically, as they believe good education gives them an added advantage in life.

3. They want to see their children settled in a rewarding job and be ____ well off.

4. But is that what their children have planned for themselves? Apparently not. Most students either can't think that far ahead or have no _____ of doing so. They would rather aim low so as not to be disappointed if they get low marks.

5. However, child psychologists, who have been _____ on the matter, stress that students should aim high.

6. But at the same time these students have a/an _____ of their options.

7. As a result, students will not have to worry about grades and in the long ____ will have better chances of succeeding.

8. _____, there are many practical things that parents can do and which may prove invaluable to their children.

9. Apart from being people their children can ____ to, parents can plan a reasonable schedule.

10. Then, both they and their children ____ on this schedule.

11. According to psychologists' _____, this schedule should include no more than eight hours of studying, three proper meals a day and some exercise.

12. Finally, prior to each exam, parents need to ____ their children that everything will be fine whatever the results.

13. My friend, Lucy, used to ____ a living by cleaning other people's houses.

14. After doing this for a year, she found a/an ____ as a cashier at a supermarket.

15. Although she was not getting paid well, she couldn't ____ because she was living alone and had to make ends meet.

16. One day when she she was leaving a ____, she bumped into an old woman who told her that her luck was about to change.

17. The woman added that this change ____ buying a lottery ticket.

18. That night Lucy had a dream in which the old lady, who she had bumped into that day,gave her the keys to an expensive car and told her to buy a lottery ticket with the ____ 777.

19. The girl was at that time having serious ____ difficulties and didn't have money to waste.

20. ____, on her way home from work the next day, she decided to take the old woman's advice and buy a lottery ticket.

21. A month later, she received a phone call telling her that she had ____ and that she had to collect the money as soon as possible.

22. Since then she has lived in comfort, but her good ____ has not changed her.

23. Lucy ____ a good person.

24. Moreover, she uses her influence and money to ____ charity events for the poor.