After my brother died in an accident，my mother was very sad．I was only 4 years old at the time，but I still understood the       in my mom’s attitude toward safety．       ，everything around us was potentially         ．
I grew up with a lot of             and rules that were meant to           me．For example，I was not           to walk home from school by myself，even though everyone I knew already did．I couldn’t            evening parties or go to summer camp，          what if something happened to me?
As I got older，the list of things to             got longer．I became a natural            ．I was concerned about things like getting cancer，losing my wallet，being caught in car accidents and earthquakes —         big and small，real and          ．The funny part is that you’d never know it by looking at my life，because I’m constantly              myself to do the things that frighten or worry me．In fact，I’ve developed a           for myself: If it scares me，then I have to do it           once．I’ve done lots of things that would have           my mom: I’ve ridden a motorcycle，I’ve traveled alone，and I’ve performed stand-up comedy．
Courage isn’t a natural attribute（品质）of human beings．I believe that we have to practice being courageous．The more         I do things that scare me or that make me            ，the more I realize that I can do a lot more than I originally thought I could do．
Even though I inherited（经遗传获得）my mother’s cautious       ，I’ve also come to believe that fear can be a good thing，if we           it．Believing that has made my world a less scary place．

A．hint B．change C．scene D．lesson

A．Slowly B．Logically C．Fortunately D．Suddenly

A．important B．inspiring C．convenient D．dangerous

A．restrictions B．considerations C．judgments D．comparisons

A．limit B．help C．protect D．train

A．allowed B．encouraged C．reminded D．advised

A．arrange B．attend C．decorate D．support

A．but B．though C．or D．because

A．hope B．fear C．count D．bear

A．worrier B．dreamer C．adult D．thinker

A．ideas B．affairs C．actions D．disasters

A．special B．common C．imaginary D．practical

A．expecting B．warning C．forcing D．promising

A．rule B．form C．case D．hobby

A．in all B．at most C．after all D．at least

A．threatened B．shocked C．confused D．entertained

A．rarely B．quickly C．often D．fairly

A．confident B．uncomfortable C．happy D．generous

A．nature B．duty C．work D．task

A．know B．get C．avoid D．face