Lesson 13 Fear Matters

If you are afraid of the dark, it’s not a big deal. It’s perfectly normal to feel afraid. After all, animals do, too. “Fear matters,”says Karen Warkentin, an ecologist. “It’s a good thing,” she adds, “because fear makes you do things that keep you alive.”

Like kids, many animals experience fear and they respond^① to the feeling in variety of ways. A frightened turtle pulls its head and legs inside its shell. A small fi sh will swim away when a big, hungry fi sh approaches.

Some animals respond to fear in ways you might not expect. The first example is that the fear of being eaten can scare some frogsright out of their eggs. Warkentin made the surprising discovery while studying red eyed tree frogs in Costa Rica.

In this species^②, female frogs attach^③ jellylike clumps^④ of their eggs to the undersides of leaves. The leaves hang on branches that hang over ponds. After they hatch^⑤ from the eggs, the tadpoles^⑥ then fall into the water, where they fi nally grow into adult frogs.

Tree frog eggs usually growfor 6 days before hatching（孵出）. If they sense that a hungry snake is about to attack, however, they can hatch up to 2 days ahead of the schedule^⑦. As the snakes are unable to swim, by falling into the water early, the tadpoles can escape.

If hatching early helps protect red eyed tree frogs from snakes, you might wonder why their eggs don’t always hatch sooner. It turns out that hatchin g early brings its own danger. Once tadpoles land in the water, hungry fi sh and other animals like to eat them, too. Staying in their eggs for 6 days, then, allows frog embryos^⑧ to grow big and strong. This extra^⑨ growth improves their chances of surviving in the water.

Notes

① respond [r?'sp?nd] vt.& vi. 回答，響應

② species ['spi??i?z] n. 物種；種類

③ attach [?'t?t?] vt. & vi. 貼上；附上

④ jellyli ke clump 果凍一樣的塊狀物

⑤ hatch [h?t?] vt.& vi. 孵化；孵出，破殼而出

⑥ tadpole ['t?dp??l] n. 蝌蚪

⑦ sc hedule ['?edju?l] n. 時刻表; 預定計劃

⑧ embryo ['embr???] n. 胚，胚胎

⑨ extra ['ekstr?] adj. 額外的，附加的

Exercises

Ⅰ. How well did you read?

1. [Note the fact] Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?

A. Animals can do nothing when they are in danger.

B. Human beings do not feel afraid when they are in danger.

C. It’s perfectly normal for animals to feel afraid.

2. [Note the fact] According to the passage, which of the following is true?

A. Tree frogs will grow fast if they fall into the water later.

B. Tree frogs face danger both inside their eggs and in the water.

C. Tree frogs can stay in their eggs longer if they are frightened.

3. [Draw a conclusion] From the passage we know that fears__________．

A. help animals grow bigger and stronger

B. are more or less important for animals to survive

C. help animals fit the environment

4. [Grasp the main idea] What’s the passage mainly about? It’s mainly about __________.

A. the example of animals that respond to fear in an unexpected way

B. the experience of how tree frogs make a living

C. the reason why tree frogs hatch head of the schedule

Ⅱ. Read for words.

Choose the best paraphrase or Chinese meaning for the underlined words or expressions.

1. “Fear matters,” says Karen Warkentin, an ecologist. (Para. 1, Line 5)

A . 生態學家                     B. 動物學家                   C. 海洋學家

2. Like kids, many animals experience fear and they respond to the feeling in variety of ways. (Para. 2, Line 3)

A. many different ways

B. the same way

C. many ordinary ways

3. A small fish will swim away when a big, hungry fish approaches. (Para. 2, Line 5)

A. attacks

B. comes near

C. keeps alive

4. It turns out that hatching early brings its own danger. (Para. 6, Line 2)

A. 關掉                        B. 培養出                         C. 原來是

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