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?

阅读理解

　　Back in the old days, when I was a child, we sat around the family round table at dinner time and exchanged our daily experiences. It wasn't organized, but everyone was recognized and all the news that had to be told was told by each family member.

　　We listened to each other and the interest was not put on; it was real. Our family was a unit and we supported each other, cared for each other, and liked each other, and－we were even willing to admit－we loved each other.

　　Today, the family round table has moved to the local fast-food franchise(特权) and talk is not easy, much less encouraged.

　　The working parent is far too beaten down each day to spend evening relaxation time listening to the sandbox experience of an eager four-year-old child.

　　So family conversation is no longer in existence and parental questions such as “What have you been doing, Bobby?” have been replaced by “I'm busy; go watch television.

　　And watch TV they do.

　　But it's usually not children's television that children watch. Saturday morning, the children's hour, amounts to only about 8 percent of their weekly viewing.

　　But wait! Where are they to be found? Watching adult television, of course, from the Match Game in the morning, to the afternoon at General Hospital, from the muggings(哑剧) and battles on the evening news right through the family hour and past into Starsky and Hutch. That's where you find our kids, over five million of them, at 10 p.m., not fewer than a million until after midnight! All of this is done with parental permission.

　　Television, used well, can provide enriching experiences for our young people, but we must use it with some judgment. When the carpet is clean, we turn off the vacuum(真空) cleaner. When the dishes are clean, the dishwasher turns itself off.

　　It is not the same with the television, which is on from the sun in the morning to the moon at night and beyond!

　　Parents must exercise some control and interest themselves in the cultural influence on the child when a program not intended for that child is viewed. Parents need to intervene(干预). Nonintervention(不干预) may be a popular policy in international affairs, but the results of parental nonintervention will not be welcome at the United Nations or anywhere else.

1．From the first two paragraphs one may infer that the writer's attitude towards “the old days” is ________.

[　　]

2．The working parent is not willing to listen to her(his) four-year-old child talking about his sandbox games because she (he) is ________.

[　　]

3．If we use television with some ________, television can provide our young people with much knowledge.

[　　]

4．What is the main idea of the last paragraph?

[　　]

A．Parental nonintervention will have a bad effect on international affairs.

B．Nonintervention may be a good policy in international affairs.

C．Parents must exercise some control and interest themselves in the cultural influence on the children.

D．Parents have rights to intervene.

—I love the Internet. I’ve come to know many friends on the Net.

—_________. Few of them would become your real friends.

A. That’s for sure　　　　　　　　　　　 　B. It’s not the case

C. I couldn’t agree more　　　　　　　 D. I’m pleased to know that