VOA慢速英語(yǔ):什么是你最深的、最黑暗的恐懼？

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From VOA Learning English this is As It Is! I’m AnnaMatteo in Washington.

U.S. actress Angelina Jolie obviously does not have herptophobia, an extreme fear of snakes and reptiles. She laughs holding a snake on her shoulders.

“Laughter is the best medicine” is a popular expression. It simply means thatlaughing could be good for your health and good for your mind. But what ifhearing laughter makes you afraid? Later in the show, we will hear about afear, or phobia, of what many feel is the greatest sound on earth – laughter.

But first, we talk about fears, or phobias, in depth.

What is a phobia?

A phobia is a strong fear of something that, in reality, presents little or nodanger. Most phobias develop in childhood, but they can also develop inadults. The word phobia comes from the Greek language. It means “to fear.”

People who are afraid of spiders have arachnophobia.

Some phobias are common. The fear of spiders isarachnophobia. The fear of small spaces is calledclaustrophobia. And the fear of heights is acrophobia.

But there are also uncommon phobias. Somniphobia is the fear of falling asleep. And papaphobia is a fear of the leader of the Roman Catholic Church, the Pope. The list of phobias goes on and on.

Having a phobia is not a laughing matter. Phobias oftencreate problems in a person’s life. One common phobia that can createproblems and hold people back especially at school and at work is the fear ofpublic speaking or glossophobia. “Glossa” is Greek for “tongue.” A studentwith glossophobia may be afraid to speak up in class. At work, a person withthis phobia may not speak up in meetings.

Whether it is a phobia or a real danger, our bodies react to fear. And we oftenuse physical expressions to describe ourselves when we are afraid. I was soscared “my blood ran cold” or I “broke out into a cold sweat.”

If a book or movie is scary, we often call it “spine-tingling” or “hair-raising.” Ifsomething scares us, we can say it “made our hair stand on end” or that it had us “shaking in our shoes.” All these expressions describe what happensto a person’s body when they are afraid.

Alfred E. Smith (left), New York's former governor meets with presidential nominee and then-Governor Franklin D. Roosevelt. (Aug. 4, 1930)

The U.S. president Franklin Delano Roosevelt famouslysaid in his inaugural speech that, “the only thing wehave to fear is fear itself.” That is a nice idea. But trytelling that to a person who is “afraid of their ownshadow.”

I’m Anna Matteo. And you are listening to As It Is.

On today’s As It Is, we are learning about phobias,things that scare us. And one phobia may surpriseyou. It is the fear of something basic to the human condition.

Christopher Cruise brings us that story.

Fear of Being Laughed At

Imagine this situation. You pass a group of people. The people are talking toeach other. You cannot hear what they are saying. But suddenly they startlaughing. What would you think? Would you think they were laughing atsomething funny that one of them said? Or -- be honest with yourself -- wouldyou think they were laughing at you? Yes, you.

Clowns laugh and laugh during the 18th Latin American clown convention "Fair of Laughter" in Mexico City. (October 23, 2013)

Being laughed at is a common fear. But a major studypublished in 2009 found that this fear is not the samearound the world. It differs from culture to culture.

People in Finland were the least likely to believe thatpeople laughing in their presence were making fun ofthem. Less than ten percent of Finns in the study saidthey would think that, compared to eighty percent ofpeople in Thailand.

Some people in the study said they felt unsure of themselves in socialsituations but hid their feelings of insecurity. Others said they avoided socialsituations where they had been laughed at before.

The study found that people in Turkmenistan and Cambodia were more likelyto be in the first group. They would hide their feelings of insecurity if they werearound other people's laughter. But people in Iraq, Egypt and Jordan weremore likely to try to avoid such situations if they felt they had been laughed atbefore.

Shy people often avoid situations that would force them into close contact withother people. They worry that something they say or do will make other peoplelaugh at them. But some people worry much more than others. They mayhave a disorder called gelotophobia. Gelos is a Greek word. It meanslaughter. This fear of laughter can be truly sad for those who live with it. It canaffect how they lead their lives.

Another purpose of the study was to compare the levels of fear of beinglaughed at in different cultures. The researchers surveyed more than 22,000people in 42 different languages.

In 2012, the same researchers published an article about gelotophobia. Theywrote about how harmful gelotophobia is to mental health. The researcherscompared adults living in Austria, China, and Switzerland and found that in allthose places “gelotophobes” were unhappier. They also were less likely tofeel engaged in their life activities, and believed that their lives had lesspleasure and meaning.

Both studies appeared in the scientific journal Humor: International Journal ofHumor Research.

I'm Christopher Cruise.

And I’m Anna Matteo.

To practice American English or talk about phobias, use our commentsection. And if you have a phobia of not finding VOA Learning English online,have no fear. You can find us on Facebook, iTunes, LinkedIn or YouTube.

And don’t forget to join us again tomorrow for another As It Is.