WHAT FEAR CAN TEACH US CommonLit

PART A: Which of the following best identifies a central idea of the text? A.While stories are usually based on fiction, fears are based on facts and allow us to adequately prepare for threatening situations. B.Fears operate through the imagination much like storytelling does, and we can learn from our fears just as we can learn from stories. C.Because the human mind is naturally attracted to dramatic narratives, the most elaborate fears usually draw the most attention. D.Basing decisions off of a fear or a story can have disastrous consequences for ourselves and others, as neither are based on fact.

Answer: B. Fears operate through the imagination much like storytelling does, and we can learn from our fears just as we can learn from stories.

PART A: Which of the following statements best describes how fear impacted the Essex sailors' decision to sail south, according to the text? A.The fear of death led the sailors to choose the option that they believed would offer the highest chance of survival. B.The sailors' fear of cannibalism overshadowed their sound judgment, so they refused to sail to nearby islands. C.The sailors decided to sail south because that was the only option that did not arouse any fear. D.The sailors invented stories instead of analyzing their situation, and they chose to sail south because that was the best story.

Answer: B. The sailors' fear of cannibalism overshadowed their sound judgment, so they refused to sail to nearby islands.

PART B: Which quote from the text best supports the answer to Part A? A."at a certain point, most of us learn to leave these kinds of visions behind and grow up. We learn that there are no monsters hiding under the bed, and not every earthquake brings buildings down." ( Paragraph 4) B."just as importantly, we need to think of ourselves as the readers of our fears, and how we choose to read our fears can have a profound effect on our lives." ( Paragraph 7) C."Terrified of cannibals, they decided to forgo the closest islands and instead embarked on the longer and much more difficult route to South America." ( Paragraph 9) D."Maybe then we'd spend less time worrying about serial killers and plane crashes, and more time concerned with the subtler and slower disasters we face" ( Paragraph 11)

Answer: B."just as importantly, we need to think of ourselves as the readers of our fears, and how we choose to read our fears can have a profound effect on our lives." ( Paragraph 7)

PART B: Which quote from the text best supports the answer to Part A? A."The time had come for the men to make a plan, but they had very few options... these men were just about as far from land as it was possible to be anywhere on Earth." ( Paragraph 5) B."To be eaten by cannibals, to be battered by storms, to starve to death before reaching land. These were the fears that danced in the imaginations of these poor men" ( Paragraph 5) C."When the last of the survivors were finally picked up by two passing ships, less than half of the men were left alive, and some of them had resorted to their own form of cannibalism." ( Paragraph 9) D."perhaps if they'd been able to read their fears more like a scientist, with more coolness of judgment, they would have listened instead to the less violent but the more likely tale, the story of starvation" ( Paragraph 10)

Answer: D."perhaps if they'd been able to read their fears more like a scientist, with more coolness of judgment, they would have listened instead to the less violent but the more likely tale, the story of starvation" ( Paragraph 10)

How does paragraph 3 contribute to the author's argument?

Answer: Humans as a species are raised on the idea of ignoring the concept of fear as emotion and look beyond it. With that, rationalizing as opposed to facing them head on fits as a better option being that humans are optimists. However, the author encourages an embrace for fear because it shapes our imagination in a way that can impact decision making. She views fears as a way to tell a story, a detailed story, and should be accepted and embraced as an emotion.