Exams Are Looming: Words for Stress and Study Overload
A 10-question vocabulary game for B2 teens about exam pressure and information overload. Students learn: loom, overwhelmed, swimming in, frazzled, flit between, manic, hammered into, minefield, regurgitate, plastered and all the books under the sun.
A free Millionaire Quiz for Teens at CEFR B2 level. Topic: Loom.
Questions
- It is the end of May, and final exams are looming. Maya has known about them all year, but now they feel much closer and more serious than before. Every time she checks the calendar, she feels a little more nervous. Her friends say they feel the same way. What does 'looming' mean in this situation?…
- Maya opened her revision folder and found notes for six different subjects. She had to read twelve chapters, learn hundreds of dates and practise forty maths problems. There was so much to do that she felt completely ______ and didn't know where to start. Which word best completes the sentence? —…
- When her mum asked whether she wanted to go to the cinema, Maya sighed and said she couldn't. She explained that she was swimming in homework and wouldn't be free until Sunday. Her mum understood at once. What did Maya mean by 'swimming in homework'? — A) She was enjoying her homework more than…
- Leo, Maya's classmate, had slept for only four hours a night all week. When he arrived at school on Friday, his hair was messy, he kept forgetting what he was saying and he jumped when someone called his name. His teacher said he looked frazzled. What does 'frazzled' mean? — A) exhausted and…
- Instead of focusing on one subject, Maya kept flitting between history, maths and her phone. She read half a page of history, then did one sum, then checked her messages. After two hours, she realised she had learned almost nothing. What does 'flit between' mean? — A) spend a long time on each…
- The week before the exams was manic. Students rushed between extra lessons, the library was full from early morning, and teachers were answering emails late at night. Nobody seemed to have a moment to sit down. How would you describe a 'manic' week? — A) quiet but quite stressful B) carefully…
- In the maths exam, Leo suddenly remembered every formula he needed. Afterwards, he told Maya that their teacher had hammered the formulas into them all year, so he couldn't have forgotten them even if he had tried. What does 'hammered into' mean here? — A) explained something once, very quickly B)…
- With only three days left, Maya realised she couldn't revise every topic. She asked her older brother which ones to skip. He warned her that choosing topics to leave out was a minefield, because any one of them might appear in the exam. What does he mean by 'a minefield'? — A) a competition in…
- At the review session, the history teacher said that examiners were tired of reading answers that simply regurgitated facts from the textbook. She explained that top marks went to students who could show they understood why events happened. What does 'regurgitate' mean in this context? — A)…
- Maya's brother described her bedroom to a friend. He said that every surface was covered in revision notes, and that she seemed to own every book that had ever been written about her subjects. Which sentence uses both expressions correctly? — A) Her walls were plastered from sticky notes, and she…
Printable worksheet
This Millionaire Quiz comes with a free printable worksheet: 2 parts for students to do after the game, and an answer key for the teacher. It prints at three levels (Support, Core and Challenge); this is the Challenge sheet. Sign in free to print the whole sheet.
What's on the worksheet
- Answer from memory · No options this time. Write the answer.
- Write your own question · Write a new question about loom, with one right answer and three wrong ones.
Part 1: Answer from memory
No options this time. Write the answer.
- It is the end of May, and final exams are looming. Maya has known about them all year, but now they feel much closer and more serious than before. Every time she checks the calendar, she feels a little more nervous. Her friends say they feel the same way. What does 'looming' mean in this situation?
- Maya opened her revision folder and found notes for six different subjects. She had to read twelve chapters, learn hundreds of dates and practise forty maths problems. There was so much to do that she felt completely ______ and didn't know where to start. Which word best completes the sentence?
- When her mum asked whether she wanted to go to the cinema, Maya sighed and said she couldn't. She explained that she was swimming in homework and wouldn't be free until Sunday. Her mum understood at once. What did Maya mean by 'swimming in homework'?