Breaking News English

A new [survey / question] from an internet-based market research company shows the things British people are most [fear / afraid] of. Top of the list is heights. Over half [for / of] the people who [took / taken] the survey said they had acrophobia – the [medicine / medical] name for the fear of heights. In second [place / location] was a fear of snakes, with 21 per cent of people saying they were "very afraid" of the [slippery / slipping] creatures. The third biggest fear was public speaking, with 20 per cent [being / was] "very afraid" and 36 per cent being "a little afraid" of speaking in public. Other things that frighten people most [exclude / include] spiders, mice, needles and injections, the sight of blood, flying, and being in small [spaces / space] . Number 10 on the list was coulrophobia – the fear of clowns.

The market research company asked [over / more] 2,000 people what they were afraid of. They had to [grate / rate] 13 common phobias from "not at [every / all] afraid" to "very afraid". The researchers found that there were big [differences / different] between what men and women were afraid of, and what [frightened / afraid] old and young people. The researchers said: "All are not created [equals / equal] when it comes to fears." The survey showed that more women than men were afraid of things, [special / especially] spiders. These scare a [third / thirdly] of men and about half of women. Age differences showed young people were more [likely / liked] to be afraid of public speaking. Those in the older age groups were more likely than younger people to be afraid of [heights / hates] .