Chasing the Highs - Unit 7

C1 Advanced · Multiple Choice Reading · Ready for C1 Advanced 4th Edition, Macmillan Education

You are going to read an article about why people enjoy doing things that are potentially bad for them. For questions 1–6, choose the answer (A, B, C or D) which you think fits best according to the text.

‘That which does not kill us makes us stronger,’ wrote Friedrich Nietzsche, the German philosopher, conceptualising the idea that suffering is an inevitable and essential part of life. Is this still true when we bring the misfortune upon ourselves and end up with metal pins in our joints? A few weeks ago, I heard of an old school friend, (I’ll just call him Dave), who ended up with fractures in both ankles and his left wrist after failing to keep his grip while free climbing. My reaction, initially, was to grimace, but then I got around to wondering why he would have been risking life and limb on a sheer rock face. I can’t help feeling he was showing off, under the delusion that at 40 he was at his physical peak. His parents refused to pay a hospital visit, reportedly disgusted at his egoistic risk-taking, although surely this is the person they brought him up to be. So what is the allure of extreme sports and living life on the edge? Well apparently, we can blame it all on dopamine, the chemical which helps control the brain’s reward and pleasure centres. It’s responsible for providing a sense of contentment after a meal or that ecstatic feeling when our soccer team wins. It’s also responsible for the high we feel when we do something brave, like swimming with sharks. It turns out that there are fewer dopamine-inhibiting receptors in a risk taker’s brain. In other words, the Daves of this world have brains more saturated with the chemical, meaning they’ll keep taking risks and chasing the next high. The researchers are now working on a treatment, yet I don’t envisage much uptake from the daredevils ‘suffering’ this condition. People don’t just do this sort of thing in their free time, though. Last night, I happened across a battered Brad Pitt-lookalike flying across my TV screen, explosions still firing off in the background. This was ‘Body Double,’ a cut-above-the-rest documentary about the lives of stuntmen and women that stand in for the stars. Ironically, as a behind-the-scenes look at a career in Hollywood, nothing felt staged; rare for modern television. But it was the quieter moments of candid reflection that stood out, with some of the doubles expressing their anxiety to the presenter over the longevity of their career. This is hardly surprising, given the amount of physical punishment that is continuously self-inflicted: neck injuries, burns, torn ligaments; the list goes on. The last word went to Jake, who’d quit his promising career as an actor and had been lured into stunt work because, as he put it, there’d be no dull moments. The famed camaraderie that exists amongst those in the profession was also a big drawcard, and perhaps it’s this that keeps him signing contracts, despite his wife’s protestations. While hurtling at 100 mph towards the ground or leaping across rooftops will never be my thing, I must confess to a love of horror movies. I derive enormous pleasure from being half-scared to death and, considering the increasing popularity of the horror-flick industry, I know I’m not alone. But why do we do it? There are anthropologists who have proposed that a sense of terror has always been crucial to human survival, and that this explains why we find life-or-death situations on film so enthralling. If the time comes when I actually need to fight off a zombie horde or defeat a blood-sucking vampire, I will be sure to put all I have learnt from horror movies into practice. Until then, I am not convinced that theory has merit. Deriving satisfaction from activities which are potentially harmful or terrifying to ourselves is one thing, but taking pleasure in the misfortune of others is quite another. The Germans refer to this as schadenfreude, a feeling that might not have a single word equivalent in most other languages, but which is certainly something humans have always experienced, regardless of culture. Today, an infinite number of internet video clips show total strangers deliberately putting themselves at risk – of humiliation at best, and serious injury at worst – potentially making our experience of schadenfreude all the more common. If you want to see someone diving into freezing water, it’s online. How about a YouTube star allowing himself to be stung by a giant wasp, knowing it will result in agony? As a form of entertainment, it says little for human evolution. But as life becomes more comfortable, and in a society where most of our basic needs are met, one has to wonder what new thrills we’ll seek out next, and what we’re prepared to sacrifice to acquire them.

felt some disapproval towards his behaviour.

became slightly envious of his adventurous lifestyle.

thought his injuries could have been far worse at his age.

believed others should show more sympathy towards him.

Emma says that after reflecting on her old school friend’s accident, she

the findings of the dopamine research will hardly surprise risk-takers.

a lack of dopamine cannot fully account for the desire to live dangerously.

risk-takers are unlikely to want their dopamine levels reduced.

dopamine has a greater effect on the human body than some people think.

When discussing dopamine and extreme sports, Emma puts forward the view that

the use of previously unseen film footage.

the way certain tricks were demonstrated.

the interspersing of drama and fact.

the interviews with the subjects.

In Emma’s opinion, the most impressive aspect of the documentary was

liked the idea of working within a group of friendly people.

had been too slow to achieve real success in a similar industry.

was probably unaware of the exact demands of the job.

had been encouraged to try it out by others in the field.

Jake decided to pursue a career in stunt work partly because he

agrees that the genre is worthy of proper academic research.

insists there is good reason for the growth of the genre.

admits the activity may seem out of character for someone like her.

implies that the activity may not have any practical value.

When discussing the appeal of watching horror movies, Emma

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