Are you a man or a mouse? When people ask this question they want to know
you think you are a
person or a coward (懦夫). But you will never really know the answer to this question
you are tested in real life. Some people
they are brave but when they come face to face with real
, they act like cowards. Others think of themselves as cowards, but when they meet danger, they act like
.
Lenny had always thought of himself as a
person. He got worried before examinations. He worried about his job and health. All he wanted in life was to be safe and healthy.
, on January 15th, 2002, a plane crashed into the Potomac River in Washington. Lenny went to the river to see what was happening. He saw a woman in the
water. Lenny did not feel afraid. He kept very
and did a very dangerous thing. He jumped into the river,
to the woman, and kept her head
the water. Seventy-eight people died that day. Thanks to Lenny, it was not
.
When you are in a very
situation and feel afraid, the body automatically produces a chemical in the blood. The chemical is called adrenalin (肾上腺素).
adrenalin in the blood system, you actually feel stronger and stronger and are
to fight or run away. However, when you are absolutely terrified (or completely afraid), the body can produce too much adrenalin. When this
, the muscles become very hard and you find you
go at all. You are then paralyzed (使无能为力) with fear. This is
when we are very frightened, we sometimes say we’re “petrified”. This word comes from the Greek word “petros”, which means “stone”. We are
frightened that we become stonelike.
| 小题1: | | A．how | B．neither | C．whether | D．either |
|
| 小题2: | | A．brave | B．real | C．hard | D．certain |
|
| 小题3: | | A．when | B．until | C．after | D．once |
|
| 小题4: | | A．realize | B．find | C．think | D．agree |
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| 小题5: | | A．life | B．question | C．mouse | D．danger |
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| 小题6: | | A．soldiers | B．mice | C．heroes | D．cowards |
|
| 小题7: | | A．useful | B．brave | C．nervous | D．bored |
|
| 小题8: | | A．So | B．Therefore | C．Then | D．Actually |
|
| 小题9: | | A．fresh | B．poisonous | C．warm | D．ice-cold |
|
| 小题10: | | A．nervous | B．calm | C．frightened | D．excited |
|
| 小题11: | | A．went | B．helped | C．spoke | D．swam |
|
| 小题13: | | A．an accident | B．a mistake | C．seventy-eight | D．seventy-nine |
|
| 小题14: | | A．dangerous | B．comfortable | C．different | D．interesting |
|
| 小题15: | | A．With | B．Without | C．For | D．Like |
|
| 小题16: | | A．afraid | B．unable | C．ready | D．anxious |
|
| 小题17: | | A．gets | B．disappears | C．happens | D．goes |
|
| 小题18: | | A．needn’t | B．can’t | C．mustn’t | D．shouldn’t |
|
| 小题19: | | A．where | B．how | C．because | D．why |
|
