Almost everyone is afraid of something --- snakes, heights, public speaking and so on.
It is normal and can even be helpful to experience fear sometimes. In dangerous situations, fear can keep our bodies alert (警醒的) so that we can act quickly to protect ourselves.
But for some people, fear develops into a “phobia”, which is a strong and unreasonable fear of something. For example, the majority of us feel a little scared when looking down from a tall building. But people with height phobia may have trouble breathing, feel dizzy or turn down a great job just because the company is on the 20th floor.
Phobias can prevent you from living a normal life. “People with spider phobia would stay out of their home or dormitory room for days if they thought a spider was present,” Katherina Hauner, a researcher at Northwestern University, US, told ABC news. This is why scientists have been trying to find a cure for this disease.
Since fear comes from experience --- from what we are told, what we see others experience and what happens to us --- some scientists think if they can “rewrite” these unpleasant memories, they might be able to help people overcome their phobias.
In a study by Hauner and other scientists, participants with spider phobia were asked to first touch a spider with a paintbrush. Seeing that it was not actually dangerous, they then tried touching it while wearing a glove. Finally, they could hold it with their hands.
Certain medicine has also been found to be helpful. Back in 2010, researchers at the University of Hiroshima, Japan, injected (注射) a special medicine into a fish --- who was afraid of light --- to turn off the fear center in its brain. From then on, the fish no longer feared light.
While the search for solutions to phobias is making great progress, it’s an open question whether getting rid of fear is good. Some people want to use these methods to make soldiers fight harder in wars by taking away their sense of fear. Dave Smithson of the charity Anxiety UK thinks that’s a bad idea. “It’s fear that prevents us from doing crazy things,” he says. “There’s a name for people who don’t have fear of consequences: psychopaths (精神变态者).
小题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小题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.小题3:Which of the following shows the progress scientists have made in finding solutions to phobia?
A．New medicine can shut off fear centers in animal brains whenever needed.
B．They can use phobias to keep our bodies alert so that we can protect ourselves.
C．They can now reduce the pain which is connected with phobia.
D．They have succeeded in helping some people ignore memories related to phobia.小题4:Which of the following would Dave Smithson probably agree 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.
