Level B2 General English

Lesson 55

Fears And Phobias
恐れと恐怖症

When you were a child, were you afraid of the dark? Did you ask your parents to leave a light on at night? Did you see strange creatures in the darkness or hear strange noises in the garden? Which is scarier, seeing a snake in the grass or imagining one in your room at night?

When I was a child, while I was sleeping in my bed one night, I was woken up by a strange noise coming from the garden. It was a kind of horrible screaming sound. It lasted for many hours and I was so scared that I couldn’t even move. I just stayed awake and listened. I was scared to sleep for weeks after. Many years later when I was an adult I heard the same sound again. But this time I realized what the sound was. It was the sound of fighting cats.

I love swimming in the sea but sometimes when I look down into the dark water my imagination goes wild and I imagine sharks and strange sea monsters rising to get me. I can’t imagine how I would feel if I saw a real shark. Maybe my imagination is the scariest thing in the world. Sometimes I still hear the screaming of the cats.