第四部分：阅读理解（共六篇）
第五十篇
15 Million Americans Suffer from Social Anxiety Disorder
Social anxiety disorder prevents some 15 million Americans from leading normal social and romantic lives, a new survey finds.
The disorder leaves many isolated, ashamed and often misdiagnosed. Thirty-six percent of those with social anxiety disorder have symptoms for 10 years or more before seeking help, the Anxiety Disorders Association of America reports.
"Social anxiety disorder is when somebody has an intense, persistent and irrational fear of social or performance situations," Jerilyn Ross, the association's president and CEO, said during a teleconference Wednesday.
"The condition causes people to avoid common, everyday situations and even other people for fear of being judged or criticized or humiliated or embarrassing themselves," Ross said.
Social anxiety disorder can interfere with daily routines and job performance, Ross noted. "It also makes it very difficult for people to develop friends and romantic partnerships," she said.
People with this disorder recognize their fear is excessive and irrational, Ross noted. "But they feel powerless to do anything about it," she said.
Social anxiety disorder can start in the early teens, Dr. Mark H. Pollack, director of the Center for Anxiety and Traumatic Stress Disorders and a professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, said during the teleconference.
"This is a disorder that starts affecting people early on 1," Pollack said. "The typical age of onset is early adolescence, age 12 or 13, and many individuals report a history of anxiety dating back to2 earlier childhood."
The disorder also has physical symptoms, including heart palpitations, feelings that their throat will close up3, sweating, blushing, faintness, trembling and stammering, Ross said.
Among people with the disorder, 75 percent said the condition affected their ability to do normal activities. In addition, 69 percent said they didn't want people to think they were crazy, and 58 percent said they were embarrassed by their condition, Ross said.
However, when the condition is diagnosed and treated, many reported improvement in their lives. In fact, 59 percent who were receiving treatment said treatment had a positive effect on their ability to have a romantic relationship. In addition, 39 percent who had received treatment said knowing that treatment can be successful aided their decision to get help, Ross noted.
词汇：
Teleconference n．电话会议 onset 咒．开始
Traumatic adj.心灵创伤的 palpitation n．心悸
注释：
1。early on：在初期：早年
2．date back to：追溯到
3．close up：堵塞；封闭
练习：
1. People with social anxiety disorder are known for their fear of ___________.
A being left alone.
B leading normal lives.
C embarrassing other people.
D facing social or performance situations.
2. What do people with social anxiety disorder think of their fear?
A They think it's beyond their control.
B They think it's beneficial.
C They think it's controllable.
D They think it's justified.
3. Which is NOT true of people with social anxiety disorder?
A They're often isolated and ashamed.
B They find it difficult to make friends.
C They often fail to get timely treatment.
D They tend to judge or criticize other people.
4. The symptoms of social anxiety disorder include all the following EXCEPT _____________.
A heart palpitations.
B sore throat.
C sweating.
D blushing.
5. It can be seen from the last paragraph that treatment of the disorder ______________.
A has no positive effect at all.
B is unavailable to most sufferers.
C tends to be refused by the sufferers.
D can lead to improvement in the sufferers' lives.
答案与题解：
1．D 短文的第三段明确说明，患有social anxiety disorder的人对social or performance situations具有强烈的、持久的、非理性的恐惧感。
2．A短文的第六段说，患有social anxiety disorder的人意识到他们的恐惧是过分的和非理性的，然而却对此无能为力。
3．D头三项在短文的第二段和第五段都有提及，只有第四项是错误的，他们不是常常评判或批评别人，而是害怕遭到别人的评判或批评。
4．B第一、三、四项在短文的倒数第三段中都有提及，第二项是错误的，因为短文说的是“一种嗓子被堵塞的感觉”，而不是sore throat，即“嗓子痛”。
5．D短文的最后一段表明，不少患者在经过治疗后都有好转。
