Almost everyone is afraid of something --- snakes, heights, public speaking and

Almost everyone is afraid of something --- snakes,heights, public speaking and so on.

         It isnormal and can even be helpful to experience fear sometimes. In dangeroussituations, fear can keep our bodies alert (警醒的) so thatwe can act quickly to protect ourselves.

         Butfor some people, fear develops into a “phobia”, which is a strong andunreasonable fear of something. For example, the majority of us feel a littlescared when looking down from a tall building. But people with height phobiamay have trouble breathing, feel dizzy or turn down a great job just becausethe company is on the 20th floor.

         Phobiascan prevent you from living a normal life. “People with spider phobia wouldstay out of their home or dormitory room for days if they thought a spider waspresent,” Katherina Hauner, a researcher at Northwestern University, US, toldABC news. This is why scientists have been trying to find a cure for thisdisease.

         Sincefear comes from experience --- from what we are told, what we see othersexperience and what happens to us --- some scientists think if they can“rewrite” these unpleasant memories, they might be able to help people overcometheir phobias.

         In astudy by Hauner and other scientists, participants with spider phobia wereasked to first touch a spider with a paintbrush. Seeing that it was notactually dangerous, they then tried touching it while wearing a glove. Finally,they could hold it with their hands.

         Certainmedicine has also been found to be helpful. Back in 2010, researchers at theUniversity of Hiroshima, Japan, injected (注射) a specialmedicine into a fish --- who was afraid of light --- to turn off the fearcenter in its brain. From then on, the fish no longer feared light.

         Whilethe search for solutions to phobias is making great progress, it’s an openquestion whether getting rid of fear is good. Some people want to use thesemethods to make soldiers fight harder in wars by taking away their sense offear. Dave Smithson of the charity Anxiety UK thinks that’s a bad idea. “It’sfear that prevents us from doing crazy things,” he says. “There’s a name forpeople who don’t have fear of consequences: psychopaths (精神变态者).

1.The main point of the article is to ___________.

A. show us what kind of role fear plays in our lives

B. discuss if it is good to try to get rid of fear

C. inform us of fear and phobia

D. discuss scientific studies related to fear

2.How does the writer make the meaning of “phobia”clear?

A. By making comparisons.                                     B.By giving examples.

C. By giving data in numbers.                              D. By giving descriptions.

3.Which of the following shows the progress scientistshave made in finding solutions to phobia?

A. New medicine can shut off fear centers in animalbrains whenever needed.

B. They can use phobias to keep our bodies alert sothat we can protect ourselves.

C. They can now reduce the pain which is connectedwith phobia.

D. They have succeeded in helping some people ignorememories related to phobia.

4.Which of the following would Dave Smithson probablyagree with?

A. There is nothing to fear except fear itself.    

B. We should not let fear affect our decisions.

C. Fear is not a completely bad thing.

D. Without fear, everyone would be brave.

试题答案

【答案】

1.C

2.B

3.D

4.C

【解析】

试题