Level B2 General English

Lesson 52

Fears And Phobias
恐れと恐怖症

Fear can be a useful feeling. Many people are afraid of heights, this might stop us from falling from high places. Other people are scared of spiders and snakes, this could also be very useful as many spiders and snakes can kill you with deadly poison. All animals are afraid of fire and this helps keep them alive.

But perhaps one of the biggest fears we have is the fear of failure. Perhaps this is a very modern fear. Everyone wants to be successful in life, we want to get a good job and make money to support our families. We want to be popular and live well. Perhaps before modern civilization, when people hunted animals and lived in tribes, the fear of failure didn’t exist.

Another common fear is called claustrophobia. This means that you are afraid of small spaces. If you are in an elevator or a small room you can start to panic. The opposite is called agoraphobia which means you are afraid of leaving your home. As for me, I’m terrified of spiders and insects. If I see a spider I scream and run. Maybe evolution made me that way.