新奇事件簿 英国人最害怕蜘蛛和高度

A new survey from an internet-based market research company shows the things British people are most afraid of. Top of the list is heights. Over half of the people who took the survey said they had acrophobia¹ – the medical name for the fear of heights. In second place was a fear of snakes, with 21 per cent of peoplesaying they were "very afraid" of the slippery² creatures. The third biggest fear was public speaking, with20 per cent being "very afraid" and 36 per cent being "a little afraid" of speaking in public. Other things that frighten people most include spiders, mice, needles and injections³, the sight of blood, flying, andbeing in small spaces. Number 10 on the list was coulrophobia – the fear of clowns⁴.

一项网络市场研究公司的新研究调查了英国人最害怕的东西。居首位的是高度。有超过一半的受调查者说自己有恐高症，这是怕高的医学名词。排在第二位的是蛇，有21%的被调查者称他们非常害怕这一滑溜溜的生物。排在第三位的是公共演讲，有20%，有36%的人称对公众演讲有点害怕。其他还有蜘蛛、老鼠、针管和注射、晕血、飞行以及在置身于狭小空间。排在第10位的是害怕小丑。

The market research company asked over 2,000 people what they were afraid of. They had to rate 13 common phobias from "not at all afraid" to "very afraid". The researchers found that there were big differences between what men and women were afraid of, and what frightened old and young people. The researchers said: "All are not created equal when it comes to fears." The survey showed that more women than men were afraid of things, especially spiders. These scare⁵ a third of men and about half of women. Age differences showed young people were more likely to be afraid of public speaking. Those in the older age groups were more likely than younger people to be afraid of heights.

市场研究公司询问了200名英国人。他们把13种人们普遍害怕的事物分级，从“一点都不怕”到“非常害怕”。研究人员发现男女之间、老幼之间的区别很大。研究人员称：“当谈及害怕时，男女之间显然不平等了。”这项研究说明女人比男人害怕的事物要多，特别是蜘蛛。蜘蛛让三分之一的男性受访者害怕，而女性却占到了一半。年龄的差别也显示年轻人比年长者更害怕公共讲话。年长者比年轻人更有可能害怕高度。

1 acrophobia   

n.恐高症

参考例句：

• She has acrophobia and always becomes dizzy in a high-rise elevator.她有恐高症，到了高楼的电梯里就发晕。
• Many people suffer from very serious acrophobia.许多人患有严重的恐高症。

2 slippery   

adj.滑的；油滑的，狡猾的，不可靠的

参考例句：

• We found it very slippery under foot.我们感到地上很滑。
• Mind out,the steps are slippery!注意，台阶很滑！

3 injections   

n.注射( injection的名词复数 )；（液体）注入；喷入；大量资金的投入

参考例句：

• The doctor was associated in the child's mind with injections and pains. 在孩子的心里，医生总是使他联想到打针与疼痛。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Injections of vitamin C are obviously advantageous. 注射维生素C显然是有利的。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 clowns   

n.丑角( clown的名词复数 )；行为荒诞滑稽的人；蠢货；笨蛋

参考例句：

• They were all dressed as clowns. 他们都打扮成小丑。
• I used to like the clowns best at the circus. 我以前在马戏里最爱看小丑。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 scare   

vt.恐吓；vi.受惊吓

参考例句：

• I like reading scare stories.我喜欢读恐怖故事。
• The sound of the explosion gave me quite a scare.爆炸声把我吓了一跳。