Global View - Phobias (C0302)

A:

Are you excited about your trip next month?

B:

Yes and no. I can’t wait to go to Europe, but at the same time I am terrified.

A:

Why?

B:

Well, I have aerophobia. I have a chronic fear of flying.

A:

Oh really? I have an uncle who is also terrified of flying. It’s not that bad though, I mean, it is pretty scary to be in this big machine flying through the air at seven hundred miles per hour. I actually have arachnophobia.

B:

You’re scared of spiders? I actually have two more phobias. Acrophobia and glossophobia.

A:

I guess that explains why you are afraid of flying, but public speaking is not that bad.

B:

Are you kidding? When I get on stage, my palms start to sweat, I get really nervous and I can hardly speak.

A:

Well, I must confess I am a bit claustrophobic. I hate being in an elevator for more than 5 seconds.

B:

We are such weirdos right?

Key Vocabulary

trip

journey to a place

terrify

to fill with terror or alarm; make greatly afraid

aerophobia

an abnormal fear of drafts of air, gases, or airborne matter

chronic

constant, habitual

phobia

irrational fear of a specific object, activity

glossophobia

the fear of public speaking

Acrophobia

a pathological fear of heights

sweat

to excrete (perspiration, moisture, etc.) through the pores of the skin

nervous

being worried about what might happen

kidding

fool or joke

claustrophobia

an abnormal fear of being in enclosed or narrow places.

confess

To admit or acknowledge something damaging

weirdo

a strange person

Supplementary Vocabulary

Venustraphobia

the fear of beautiful women

panic

a sudden overwhelming fear

scary

causing fright or alarm.

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