Read the text and divide the statements into two columns.
"Come on, get in quickly!” your friend shouts from inside the lift that should take you up to the top floor of the department store. “Well, I’ll take the stairs and meet you up there!” you yell back. As the doors close, you feel very relieved. It’s a long way up to the eighth floor, but you don’t care about it.
If heights turn your legs to jelly, you scream loudly, if you see even the tiniest spider in the bath or you shake like a leaf, if you have to answer a question in class, you’re not alone! The truth is, most of us are at least a little afraid of something, for example, bees and wasps, darkness and night or taking exams. So, fear is a basic human emotion. In fact, we actually need it to survive. Whenever we meet danger or feel unsafe, the brain reacts, instantly sending signals to activate the body’s nervous system. As a result, we might shake or sweat and our heart starts beating faster in order to pump more blood to our muscles to get us ready for action, such as running away or fighting.
This response is called “fight or flight” and is only turned off when the brain gets enough information to be sure that there is no more danger. It is incredible that it can happen in just a few seconds!
Needless to say, fear is not always a good thing! People who have a phobia such as agoraphobia \(fear of being in crowded public spaces such as a busy market or a bus\), claustrophobia \(fear of enclosed spaces like lifts or tunnels\), arachnophobia \(fear of spiders\) or even something unusual like ablutophobia \(fear of washing\) are extremely afraid of something. This may have developed after a very scary experience. A teenager who was bitten by a dog as a child, for example, may now be too afraid to walk to school with his friends in case he sees a dog. It happens because his brain remembers the fear that he felt when the dog bit him, so now even just thinking about seeing a dog triggers the same fear reaction. This experience may embarrass him, as he feels he may be teased by his friends, or even make him refuse to spend time with his nearest and dearest.
Approximately 10% of the population has phobias but there are ways to fight our fears. To begin with, it’s important to stop avoiding the scary situation. It may help to make a list of fears from the least to the scariest and then face them one by one. It will not be easy, but when we see that our worst fears didn’t come true, we realize that they are irrational and there is no real reason for being afraid. Then, we will change our reaction to them, and eventually, our fears will melt away!

• Группы
  • TRUE
  • FALSE
• Варианты
  • Claustrophobia is the fear of being in an enclosed space.
  • It’s not so important for a sufferer to stop avoiding the scary situation.
  • A teenager who was bitten by a dog as a child, for example, may now be too afraid to walk to school with his friends when he sees a dog.
  • Approximately 10% of the population has phobias but there are ways to fight our fears.
  • Only some people are at least a little afraid of something.
  • Fear is a good thing.
  • A strong fear reaction sometimes embarrasses a person and doesn't make him stop spending time with his nearest and dearest.