We
often think it very funny if a film shows a woman or a girl screaming and
running in fright at the sight of a mouse or a cockroach. But we don’t consider
our own little, secret fears a laughing matter. Perhaps you shiver at the sight
of a snake or an eel, cannot bear to hear the sound of jagged metal rubbing
against metal, or feel uneasy in a lift. Fortunately,
Most
of us suffer only a mild form of fright about certain things. According to
psychiatrists, this is quite normal. It becomes a problem only when the fear
develops into a mental condition that affects all aspects of a person’s life.
Studies of thousands of people with an abnormal dread show that every time they
think about – or come into contact with – the subject of their fear, they
Show
all the physical signs of a person who is facing serious danger a racing heart,
dry mouth, cold sweat and weak knees. Doctors and psychiatrists welcome
publicity about phobias, for this helps to convince their patients that their
patients that their fears are not unique. It reassures the patients to know
that there are other people who are afraid of the same thing, and it makes the
patients
More
willing to try to understand what is causing their fear. Once they realize what
in their subconscious is causing their fear, they are half-way to being cured.
Psychiatrists believe that these unreasonable fears are caused by deep-seated
reasons, perhaps a terrifying experience during childhood.
One
typical case was Mrs. Mary Bachelor, a London housewife, who suffered from
agoraphobia (fear of open spaces). For twenty-three years, she remains indoors.
Following publicity about other agoraphobia cases, she was persuaded to go out
for the first time to watch her son perform with a pop group.
Most
of use suffers from claustrophobia (fear of being in closed spaces) in a mild
way, but the real sufferers go about in great fear of being trapped without
escape in a lift, in a packed train or in an aircraft. Altogether, there are a
hundred and thirty phobias listed in the medical dictionary, ranging form acrophobia (fear of heights) to
xenophobia (morbid dislike of foreigners). Some phobias are very odd indeed.
There are cases of people who turn cold with terror at the sight of a cabbage
leaf, run away in fright at the sight of a bird or faint when they hear a dog
bark. There was even a man who refused to eat anything that he knew had been
touched by someone who had handled matches.
1. Fear of certain things will become a problem when the fear ___
A. disturbs all aspects of the
sufferer’s life
B. is influenced by a person’s personality
C. develops mentally or physically
D. is reflected in a person’s daily life
2. ‘deep-seated reasons’ (line 17) most likely means reasons that are ___
A. long forgotten
B. difficult to choose
C. not easy to handle
D. difficult to realize
3. To cure their phobias, patients ___
A. should take their unusual fear seriously
B. may have to consider publicity of their fears
C. determine the dangers caused by their phobias
D. try to understand the real
cause of their phobias
4. The following statements may be the purposes of the writer in writing
the text, EXCEPT ___
A. to explain the causes of different kinds of phobias
B. to convince people about the importence of publicity about phobias
C. to inform people how to
overcome their abnormal fears
D. to persuade people with abnormal fears to talk to psychiatrists
5. In which of the following combined courses would this passage probably
be used as assigned reading?
A. psychology / sociology
B. medicine / biology
C. philosophy / medicine
D. psychology / medicine
6. More willing to try to ..... what is causing their
fear.
A. Understanding
B. Understand
C. Understood
D. Understandly
7. With
which of the following sentences should the text end? Show all the physical signs of a person
who is.....
A. Facing serious danger a racing
heart
B. Men
and women have the same right in deciding the color of their rooms
C. The anti military
movement in the U.S.
D. Both music and
languages basically apply the same rules.
8. One
typical case was.... Who is she?
A. Mrs. Nina
B. Mrs. Rini
C. Mrs. Mary Bachelor
D. Mrs. Ida
9. Most of use suffers from.... in
a mild way.
A. Agoraphobia
B. Claustrophobia
C. Acrophobia
D. Xenophobia
10. There are cases
of people who turn cold with...
A. Doctors
and psychiatrists
B. Abnormal fears to talk to psychiatrists
C. Terror at the sight of a cabbage
leaf
D. Some
phobias are very odd indeed
