1st ignore gossip as to what a particular examiner likes or dislikes. Oral questioning is a simple way to ascertain that you have a reasonable working knowledge of your aeroplane and the local area. For this it is acceptable to have the aircraft pilots manual with you during the oral questioning. You should know where to find the answers within the pilots manual.
I'm baffled that the examiner that failed you has not pointed to the parts of the test you should give particular attention to during his/her debrief.