Read the following passage and then choose the correct answers.

Afraid to Fly

How do you feel about flying in an airplane? Do you find it boring, exciting, or downright terrifying? People who have to fly for business find it boring. People who fly only once in a while think it’s exciting. However, some people feel only terror when they get on an airplane. Their fear of flying can prevent them from traveling to other countries or visiting friends far away.

It’s smart to be afraid of some things. For example, being afraid of poisonous spiders is logical. However, if you are afraid of all spiders, even harmless ones, you have an illogical fear, or phobia. Three common phobias are fear of heights, fear of being enclosed in a small area, and fear in being in a large open area. It is not logical to be afraid of these things when there is no danger, but a phobia is not logical.

Fear of flying is another phobia. A plane crash is always in the news, but we never hear about the millions of flights every year that are safe. Riding in a car is thirty times more dangerous than flying, but most of us are not afraid every time we get into a car. It is not logical to be afraid of flying, but research indicates that about 12% of people have this fear.

People with phobia about flying are afraid for one or more reasons. They might be afraid of heights. People who have a fear of heights avoid high places, and if they are in a high-rise building, they don’t look out the window.

They might also be afraid of in an enclosed place like an elevator or a tunnel on a highway. When they get on an airplane, they can’t get out until the end of the flight, and the flight might last several hours.

People with a fear of flying might be afraid of the crowds and all the noise and people rushing around at an airport. This especially bothers older people.

Some people are afraid of the unknown. They don’t understand the technology of flying and can’t believe that a huge airplane can stay up in the air.

Others are afraid of loss of control. They need to control every situation they are in. when they drive a car, they have some chance of avoiding an accident. In a plane, they have no control over everything. It terrifies them to give up control to the pilot and the rest of the crew.

For some people, a fear of flying is not important because they don’t really need to fly. But what about someone who works for an international company? What about an entertainer who has to sing in twenty different places in a month? These people have to fly if they want to continue in their professions.

There is help for these people. There are special classes in which people learn how to control their fear. They probably can’t lose it, but they can learn to control it. Then they can fly when they need to, even though they probably won’t enjoy it.

The class visits an airport and learns how airplane traffic is controlled and how planes are kept in safe condition. A pilot talks about flying through storm, different noises an airplane makes, the air safety in general. The class learns to do relaxation exercises, and the people talk about their fear.

Next, the class listens to tape recordings of a takeoff and landing, and later the people ride in a plane on the ground around the airport. Finally, they are ready to take a short flight.

The instructors of these classes are sometimes psychologists. They say that between 80 and 90% of the people who take the classes are successful. They still have their phobia, but they learn to control their fear. Some of them even learn to enjoy flying.