• While Reading

     [1] Everyone has several dreams in a night although few people actually remember them. Our dreams usually reflect what is going on in our own lives and they are sometimes about problems we ignore while we are awake.
     [2] A friend of mine, Sang-mi, told me about a dream that she has been having since she started her first job after university. In the dream, she sees a classroom in her old high school and there is a group of students taking an exam. There is an empty desk in the room. The exam is nearly finished when she walks into the classroom. As she sits down at the empty desk, the teacher says, "Put your pens down." Then she notices that all the other students are staring at her. As she stands up to leave, she realizes that she is still wearing her pajamas.
     [3] When you dream about taking an exam, like Sang-mi, it usually means you are nervous, stressed, or anxious about something. Often in these dreams you cannot answer a test question because it is in a foreign language, or it is about something you have not studied. Other common themes in exam dreams are running out of time, being late, falling asleep, and failing the test.
     [4] The reason for having this type of dream has to do with your confidence as well. If your confidence is low, you are more likely to have an exam dream. Something might be happening in your life that makes you feel as though you are being tested, such as a different set of friends, a change of city, or a new job. Sang-mi later told me that she felt she was not prepared for all of her new responsibilities at work. She also thought her colleagues believed she was too inexperienced and not capable in her new position-it was not true, but she didn't have enough confidence in herself. 
     [5] Despite her anxiety, Sang-mi should not worry too much because people who have exam dreams usually do not fail in life. They usually have very high standards and spend a lot of time on their work. As a result, they usually do very well at whatever they do.  

• After Reading

1. In Sang-mi's dream, other students were looking at her because she could not do very well on the test. (F)
2. One of the reasons why you have exam dream is that you have a certain concern. (T)
3. People with exam dreams need to work harder to succeed in their life. (F)