"Why Is It Fun to be Frightened?"

PART A: Which statement identifies the central idea of the text? (RI.1.2)

• Whether the scary experience is real or not, people often feel a sense of relief after they experience what is easily mistaken for elation.

• While the brain function of some people decreases following a scare, other people experience increased brain function related to stress.

• Experiencing fun-scary things together has proven to strengthen bonds between people and make relationships last longer.

• Many people who willingly engage in scary experiences in safe settings experience positive reactions in their brains.

PART B: Which detail from the text best supports the answer to Part A? (RI.1.1)

• “Over the course of about 35 minutes, visitors experienced a series of intense scenarios where, in addition to unsettling characters and special effects, they were touched by the actors, restrained, and exposed to electricity.” (Paragraph 7)

• “In other words, highly intense and scary activities — at least in a controlled environment like this haunted attraction — may ‘shut down’ the brain to an extent, and that in turn is associated with feeling better.” (Paragraph 11)

• “Doing intense, exciting, and thrilling things together can make them more fun and help create rewarding social bonds.” (Paragraph 16)

• “While the fight-or-flight response is universal, there are important differences between individuals — for example, in genetic expressions, environment, and personal history — that help explain why some loathe and others love thrills and chills.” (Paragraph 17)

How does the author’s discussion of the film Halloween contribute to text? (RI.1.3)

• It provides an example of a scary movie that offers the controlled fear that gives viewers a fun-scary experience.

• It highlights the differences between being scared by a film and being scared by an interactive haunted house.

• It shows how the film Halloween comments on viewers’ real fears, which makes the movie too close to reality to be fun.

• It provides evidence that watching a scary movie causes the same positive reactions in the brain as going through a haunted house does.

How do paragraphs 16-17 contribute to the development of ideas in the text? (RI.2.5)

• They emphasize that not all people enjoy being scared and that fun-scary experiences have to be a choice.

• They prove that responding positively to fun-scary experiences is a natural response experienced by everyone.

• They stress the social benefits of engaging in fun-scary experiences being worth the risk that one might dislike it.

• They prove that enjoying fun-scary experiences is uncommon and most people are not going to choose to be scared.

How does Kerr’s word choice develop the tone in chunk 2 (paragraphs 6-11)? (RI.2.4)

• Kerr creates a regretful tone by explaining participant’s reactions to the experience.

• Kerr creates an ominous tone by describing the attraction.

• Kerr creates a factual tone by detailing the results of the study.

• Kerr creates a lighthearted tone by including a personal anecdote about a scary experience.