Everybody is afraid of something. That’s what more than 1,700 kids told us when we asked them about fears and scary stuff. We gave kids a list of 14 scary things and asked which one frightened them most. Here are the top 5 answers from our survey: ①Scary movies and TV shows; ②Scary dreams; ③Thunderstorms, hurricanes, and other terrible weather; ④War and terrorism*; ⑤Sounds heard at night.
It seems that not everyone is afraid of the same thing. What makes one person scared can be of no big deal for someone else. Plenty of kids said their biggest fear wasn’t on our list.
What is fear?
Fear is a feeling that everyone has — it’s programmed into all of us — and that’s a good thing because fear is there to protect us. We’re born with a sense of fear so we can react to something that could be dangerous. The baby cries, and their mom comes over to comfort him or her, helping the baby feel safe and OK again.
Real vs. Pretend
The best way to get over a fear is to get more information about it. As kids get older, they understand more and start seeing the difference between what is real and unreal. So when William’s imagination leads him to think of witches, he can tell himself, “Wait a minute. They’re only pretend things. I don’t need to worry about them.”
The same goes for the dark. A kid’s imagination can start playing tricks when the lights go out. What’s under my bed? Is that a thief I hear? With the help of a parent, kids can get more comfortable in the dark. Using a nightlight or shining a flashlight under the bed to see that there’s nothing there can help kids fight that fear.

Which of the following can’t help a kid fight the fear of dark?

A．Using imaginations to think of witches.

B．Their parents coming over to comfort them.

C．Using a nightlight to see there’s nothing under the bed.

D．Shining a flashlight to see there’s nothing under the bed.

What does the underlined word “pretend” in paragraph 4 mean?

A．Ugly.	B．Usual.
C．Unreal.	D．Lovely

What is the second paragraph of the passage mainly about?

A．Fourteen scary things kids list.

B．People are afraid of different things.

C．The biggest fear for kids are always the same.

D．The things frighten people are the same as the survey.

Which is TRUE about the writer’s opinion?

A．Having a sense of fear is not a bad thing.

B．Nothing can help kids to get over a fear.

C．Fear is something we get when we are older.

D．Not all people can react to dangerous things.