Question

“EEK (哎呦)! A spider!”

But hold on a minute before you run screaming out of the room – that spider may not be as scary as you think. A study has shown that the more scared you are of spiders, the bigger they can seem to you.

Researchers from Ohio State University, US, gathered together 57 participants who were all extremely afraid of spiders, according to sciencedaily.com. During an eight-week-long experiment, they asked participants to look at five differently sized tarantulas (狼蛛) and documented how the participants reacted to them.

　 Each tarantula was kept in an open glass box. Participants had to approach the box slowly. Once they were standing next to the box, they were asked to guide the spider around the tank by touching it with a stick, then with a shorter stick. In the meantime, they were asked to rate their fear level on a scale (级别) of 0 to 100.

　 After every time they met a tarantula, participants would have to estimate its size by drawing a single line on a piece of paper. The length of the line showed how big they thought the tarantula was from the tips of its front legs to the tips of its back legs.

　 Researchers saw a clear connection between the estimated size of the animal and the fear level of participants.

“If one is afraid of spiders…one tends to think of spiders as bigger than they really are. That may feed the fear, and make it difficult to overcome,” said Michael Vasey, professor at Ohio State University and the leader of the study.

　 The study could help doctors design more effective treatments for people to overcome their fears. This could be very important for some people, for example, those who are afraid of needles.　　

64. Which of the following is TRUE about the experiment?

A. The scientists kept five spiders together in an uncovered glass box.

B. The participants need to describe their fear in words.

C. The participants had to be very frightened of spiders.

D. The participants were told how big the spiders really were.

65. What reactions did the researchers notice?

a. how well participants guided the spiders.

b. how afraid the participants were.

c. the lines that the participants drew.

d. how long it took the participants to move on to the shorter stick.

A. a, b　　　　 B. b, c　　　　　　 C. 　c, d　　　　　　 D.　 b, d

66. Through the study, the researchers 　　　　 .

A. helped participants reduce their fear of spiders

B. learned how to design needles that were suitable for different people.

C. could help work out better treatments for people to overcome their fears.

D. had participants face their fears by playing with spiders.

67. What is the main point of the article?

A. Fear feeds on fear. B. Why spiders are so scary.

C. A new treatment for fear. D. How afraid you are of an animal depends on how big it is.

Answer 1

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