Anxiety is the proper emotion when the immediate personal terror — of a volcano, an arrow, a stab（刺伤）in the back and other disasters — is directed against one’s self–disappears.
The kind of world that produces anxiety is actually a world of relative safety, a world in which no one feels that he himself is facing sudden death. The anxiety exists as an uneasy state of mind, in which one has a feeling that something unspecified（不具体的）and indeterminable may go wrong. If the world seems to be going well, this produces anxiety — for good times may end. If the world is going badly — it may get worse. Anxiety tends to be without focus；the anxious person doesn’t know whether to blame himself or other people. He isn’t sure whether it is a change in climate or the atom bomb that is to blame for this unclear sense of unease.
It is clear that we have developed a society which depends on having the right amount of anxiety to make it work. While we agree that too much anxiety is harmful to mental health, we have come to rely on anxiety to push us into seeing a doctor about a symptom（症状）which may indicate cancer, into checking up on that old life–insurance policy which may have out–of–date provisions in it, into having a conference with Bill’s teacher even though his report card looks all right.
People who are anxious enough keep their car insurance up, have the brakes checked, and don’t take a second drink when they have to drive. People who are too anxious either refuse to go into cars at all or drive so tensely that they help cause accidents. People who aren’t anxious enough take chance after chance, which increases the terrible accidents of the roads.
1. In the world that produces anxiety, _____.
A. people have sudden uneasiness B. everything goes well
C. people are clear about their life D. danger is almost everywhere
2. The author holds that _____.
A. anxiety is a good thing
B. anxiety is a symptom of mental illness
C. some anxiety can lead to changes for the better
D. no anxiety is bad for society
3. Accidents of the road tend to be caused by _____.
A. all those who are too anxious B. all those who have anxiety
C. those who have no anxiety D. those who are not anxious enough
4. The best title for the passage would be _____.
A. Anxiety B. The Right Amount of Anxiety
C. Anxiety vs Safety D. Different Attitudes to Anxiety
