Fear can be fun. Many young people queue up to ride very fast and scary roller coasters, screaming but enjoying themselves. Other people like to read “goose bumps (鸡皮疙瘩)” books or watch horror movies at night, scared to death but feeling excited. Why do people like being scared?

　　Fear is an ancient way of surviving. Being scared makes animals, including humans escape from danger and save themselves. It is because of fear that we have lived through millions of years of evolution. Those who lacked a strong fear response were more likely to be killed, leaving the more fearful and careful to pass their genes onto the next generation.

　　How do scientists explain why shaking over such scary things is fun? “Some kids will go to a scary movie and love it and laugh over it, others will feel anxious and hide their faces and some won’t even set foot in the cinema,” said Ned Kalin, a US scientist. “Which kind of person you are depends partly on experiences you’ve had and partly on your genes.”

　　What happens in the brain when something frightens you? Nerves that begin at the eyes and ears lead to a part of the brain called the amygdale. When you suddenly see a snake, for example, the amygdale makes you freeze, sweat, have a quickened heartbeat, or run very fast. However, seeing the snake also uses another part of the brain, the cortex. It analyzes the situation, and if it finds that the snake is only made of rubber it tells your heart and the rest of your body to calm down. Think of the amygdale as the engine and the cortex as the brake.

　　Back to the first question: Why do some people like to make themselves scared? “One reason is that we can play games with fear, find ways to reduce the scariness by looking away or thinking of something else,” Kalin said. “To believe we have control over a situation gives us a feeling of power.” “Scary movies or novels are good practice to prepare young people for the real thing. Thrills such as roller coaster rides also go to the brain’s pleasure centre.”

　　And there might be some evolutionary advantage to being able to adjust this system that is there to protect people.

　　72. How many questions are answered in the passage?

　　A. 2. 　　　B. 3. 　　　C. 4.　　　 D. 5.

　　73. Some people like to be scared because______.

　　A. they are afraid that the fear genes will be passed onto their children

　　B. it’s a good practice to get prepared for the real frightening situation

　　C. it can help them show their own personalities

　　D. they will feel powerful after getting rid of fear

　　74. Which of the following is true about the people who are not easily scared?

　　A. Their cortex is better at analyzing the situations.

　　B. They are more likely to suffer from potential danger.

　　C. They are born unaffected by anything horrible.

　　D. They lack a strong response towards threat.

　　75. What is the best title of the passage?

　　A. Ready to scream? 　　　　B. How to be scared?

　　C. Willing to shake?　　　　D. Why to be scared?

Traditional fairytales(童话) are being given up by parents because they are too scary for their young children, a study found．

Research uncovered that one in five parents has got rid of old literature such as Snow White and the Seven Dwarves and Rapunzel in favor of more modern books．

One third of parents said their children have been left in tears after hearing the gruesome details of Little Red Riding Hood．

And nearly half of mothers and fathers refuse to read Rumplesliltshin to their kids as the themes of the story are kidnapping and killing．

Similarly, Goldilocks and the Three Bears was also a tale likely to be left on the book shelf as parents felt it forgives stealing．

The survey of 2,000 adults was completed to mark the launch of the hit US drama GRIMM （ 格林童话剧） , which starts tonight at 9pm on Watch, and sees six drama series based on traditional fairytales．

The survey found a quarter of parents questioned wouldn’t consider reading fairytales to their kids．

And 52 percent of the parents said Cinderella didn’t send a good message to their children as it describes a young woman doing housework all day．

Steve Hornsey, General Manager of Watch, said: "Bedtime stories are supposed to calm children down and send them off to sleep soundly．But as we see in GMMM, fairytales can be dark and dramatic so it’s understandable that parents worry about reading them to young children．As adults we can see the innocence in fairytales, but a five - year - old child could take them too literally．Despite the dark nature of classic fairytales as we see in GRIMM, good will defeat evil and there is always a moral to the story．"

The study also found two thirds of mums and dads try to avoid stories which might give their children nightmares．The most popular book read at bedtime is now 'The Very Hungry Caterpillar' by Eric Carle.

However half of parents said traditional tales are "more likely to have a strong moral message than a lot of modern kids' books, such as The Gruffato, The Hungary Caterpillar and the Mr. Men books．

63. Classical works for children are being avoided by parents they think 　　　　　.

A. they contain unmoral themes

B. they are terrifying

C. they encourage stealing, kidnapping and killing

D. they are tired of answering questions

64. What does the underlined word "gruesome" mean?

A. Very horrible 　　 B. Very amusing　 　　　 C. Very disappointing 　　　 D. Very amazing

65. Which stories are the popular bedtime stories that parents like to tell their children now?

A. Snow White and the Seven Dwarves and Cinderella

B. The Very Hungry Caterpillar and Little Red Riding Hood.

C. The Very Hungry Caterpillar and Mr. Men

D. Goldilocks and the Three Bears and Cinderella

66. According to Steve Hornsey , adults can see innocence in a fairy tale but a 5-year-old child might ______．

A. think it is different from the reality　　 　　

B. dislike it because it is scary

C. believe exactly what the tale says　　　 　

D. feel there is a moral to the story