Passage Four

Do you have a phobia (恐惧症)？Does it spread? No, it is not a infectious (传染的) disease, but it can make you quite as bad. A phobia is an unreasonable fear of some particular thing or situation. Did you know that some people fear heights? That is called acrophobia. Many people experience claustrophobia when they are in a closed space such as a small room or an elevator. Zoophobia is a fear of animals. There are names for fear of thunder, lightning, wide open spaces, people, crowds, darkness, water, and many other things.

A phobia experts tells us that in the coming of a phobic situation, a person has what is called an “anxiety attack.” Blood rushes to his larger muscles in preparation for flight or fight.

One expert on phobia suggests we reduce our fears gradually. A person who is afraid of people could overcome this fear by getting accustomed to them one at a time. Someone who is afraid of water could take swimming lessons in a pool with a lifeguard at hand. A person afraid of heights could practice looking down from middle heights first until he could handle the greater ones. 

A person who is afraid of cats is most likely to have________. 

A good way to overcome one’s unreasonable fear of something would be ________.

If you have a phobia, ________.

A man who has a phobia ________.

The writer of this passage tells us that ________.