I remembered that cloudy day when I was 17 and ran barefoot down the path to the mailbox.When I saw my SAT score，I sank into the grass and cried.I got a 1，090.Back then，in 1985，the highest score was 1，600.All of my friends—the smart kids—got somewhere around 1，400.
I had thought I was one of the smart kids.In the fifth grade，I was put in Miss Thweat's Language Arts class，which I knew was the hardest.In junior and senior high，I took honors classes and graduated from Palmetto High in the top 10 percent.Being smart meant getting into a good college，then becoming a brain surgeon，or a Supreme Court Justice or winning a Nobel Peace Prize by ending world hunger.These were on my list of things to do when I grew up.Until I took the SAT and I found out I was average.
I took the test again.And again.And again.1，090 was my best.I'm no genius，except at tennis，so I got into the University of Pennsylvania，an Ivy League school，because I was recruited by the tennis coach.My SAT score didn't kill my opportunities.It killed my confidence.Once at Penn，I felt outclassed.There were no dumb kids，except me.And that one girl who scored a 1，010 was the US backstroke champion.Before the SAT，I'd done well in school，but at Penn I panicked over exams.I couldn't focus in class.I got C minuses.
When my tennis coach sent me to a counselor，I said，“I don't need a counselor.I need a tutor.”But my coach was right.My problem was psychological.I know this because after spending my junior year in Spain，something shifted．I wasn't the same average Andrea.I was Ahndrreeah.I read “Cien A？os de Soledad，”conquered Ferdinand and Isabella，and mastered subjunctive verbs.I remember thinking，“If I can get A's in Spanish，I can get A's in my own language.”When I went back to Penn my senior year，I did get A's.So，friends，don't lose confidence and believe in yourselves.
1．We infer from Paragraph 1 that the author ____________．
A．hadn't treated the SAT seriously before the exam
B．never thought she was as smart as her friends
C．had thought her SAT score would reach 1，600
D．wasn't satisfied with her SAT score
2．Why did the author mention her experiences in the fifth grade and junior and senior high?
A．To tell why she had thought she was a smart kid.
B．To show that she wasn't as smart as she had thought.
C．To explain why she wanted to be a smart kid in the past.
D．To prove that she used to be her teachers' favorite student.
3．It is implied that after taking SATs again and again，the author ____________．
A．fell in love with taking all kinds of exams
B．seized more opportunities than other girls
C．decided to prove her talent in the field of tennis
D．was greatly discouraged and lost her confidence
4．What is the writer's purpose in writing the passage?
A．To tell readers how to learn efficiently.
B．To tell a sad story that once happened to her.
C．To prove that there are actually no smart kids.
D．To encourage readers to have faith in themselves.