Of all the components of a good night’s sleep, dreams seem to be least within our control. In dreams, a window opens into a world where logic is suspended and dead people speak. A century ago, Freud formulated his revolutionary theory that dreams were the disguised shadows of our unconscious desires and fears; by the late 1970s, neurologists had switched to thinking of them as just “mental noise”—the random byproducts of the neural-repair work that goes on during sleep. Now researchers suspect that dreams are part of the mind’s emotional thermostat, regulating moods while the brain is “off-line。” And one leading authority says that, these intensely powerful mental events can be not only harnessed but actually brought under conscious control, to help us sleep and feel better. “It’s your dream,” says Rosalind Cartwright, chair of psychology at Chicago’s Medical Center. “If you don’t like it, change it。”
Evidence from brain imaging supports this view. The brain is as active during REM (rapid eye movement) sleep—when most vivid dreams occur—as it is when fully awake, says Dr. Eric Nofzinger at the University of Pittsburgh. But not all parts of the brain are equally involved; the limbic system (the “emotional brain”) is especially active, while the prefrontal cortex (the center of intellect and reasoning) is relatively quiet. “We wake up from dreams happy or depressed, and those feelings can stay with us all day”， says Stanford sleep researcher Dr. William Dement。
The link between dreams and emotions shows up among the patients in Cartwright’s clinic. Most people seem to have more bad dreams early in the night, progressing toward happier ones before awakening, suggesting that they are working through negative feelings generated during the day. Because our conscious mind is occupied with daily life we don’t always think about the emotional significance of the day’s events—until, it appears, we begin to dream。
And this process need not be left to the unconscious. Cartwright believes one can exercise conscious control over recurring bad dreams. As soon as you awaken, identify what is upsetting about the dream. Visualize how you would like it to end instead; the next time it occurs, try to wake up just enough to control its course. With much practice people can learn to, literally, do it in their sleep。
At the end of the day, there’s probably little reason to pay attention to our dreams at all unless they keep us from sleeping or “we wake up in a panic,” Cartwright says. Terrorism, economic uncertainties and general feelings of insecurity have increased people’s anxiety. Those suffering from persistent nightmares should seek help from a therapist. For the rest of us, the brain has its ways of working through bad feelings. Sleep—or rather dream—on it and you’ll feel better in the morning。
31. Researchers have come to believe that dreams
[A] can be modified in their courses。
[B] are susceptible to emotional changes。
[C] reflect our innermost desires and fears。
[D] are a random outcome of neural repairs。
32. By referring to the limbic system, the author intends to show
[A] its function in our dreams。
[B] the mechanism of REM sleep。
[C] the relation of dreams to emotions。
[D] its difference from the prefrontal cortex。
33. The negative feelings generated during the day tend to
[A] aggravate in our unconscious mind。
[B] develop into happy dreams。
[C] persist till the time we fall asleep。
[D] show up in dreams early at night。
34. Cartwright seems to suggest that
[A] waking up in time is essential to the ridding of bad dreams。
[B] visualizing bad dreams helps bring them under control。
[C] dreams should be left to their natural progression。
[D] dreams may not entirely belong to the unconscious。
35. What advice might Cartwright give to those who sometimes have bad dreams?
[A] Lead your life as usual。
[B] Seek professional help。
[C] Exercise conscious control。
[D] Avoid anxiety in the daytime。
名師解析
31. Researchers have come to believe that dreams 研究人員已經(jīng)逐步相信夢(mèng)
[A] can be modified in their courses. 可以在過(guò)程中被修改。
[B] are susceptible to emotional changes. 容易受到情感變化的影響。
[C] reflect our innermost desires and fears. 反應(yīng)我們內(nèi)心的欲望與恐懼。
[D] are a random outcome of neural repairs. 是神經(jīng)修復(fù)的隨機(jī)結(jié)果。
【答案】 A
【考點(diǎn)】 事實(shí)細(xì)節(jié)題。
【分析】 題干關(guān)鍵詞“researcher”在第一段第四句出現(xiàn)，而在此之前，作者主要介紹了過(guò)去有關(guān)夢(mèng)的定義，包括“Freud”(弗洛伊德)以及“20世紀(jì)70年代神經(jīng)學(xué)家”的說(shuō)法。第四句開(kāi)始，文章作者提到了當(dāng)代的研究者的觀點(diǎn)“夢(mèng)可以調(diào)節(jié)人的情緒，夢(mèng)不僅可以被駕馭，還可以有意識(shí)地對(duì)其進(jìn)行控制，夢(mèng)可以改變。”通過(guò)這樣的一個(gè)分析比較歸納，考生應(yīng)該能夠比較容易地得出[A]這個(gè)正確答案。選項(xiàng)[B]屬于干擾項(xiàng)，但是出題人故意偷梁換柱，將夢(mèng)影響情緒說(shuō)成情緒影響夢(mèng)。選項(xiàng)[C]是“Freud”的理論，選項(xiàng)[D]是70年代的理論。
32. By referring to the limbic system, the author intends to show
作者提及邊緣系統(tǒng)是為了說(shuō)明
[A] its function in our dreams. 它在我們夢(mèng)中的功能。
[B] the mechanism of REM sleep. 快速眼睛運(yùn)動(dòng)睡眠的機(jī)制。
[C] the relation of dreams to emotions. 夢(mèng)和情緒的關(guān)系。
[D] its difference from the prefrontal cortex.. 它和前額皮層的區(qū)別。
【答案】 C
【考點(diǎn)】 推斷題。
【分析】 在第二段第三句中可以找到邊緣系統(tǒng)及其含義，然后根據(jù)上下文談?wù)摰膬?nèi)容，如上文的“情感大腦”和下文的專家的話，從而判斷出答案是選項(xiàng)[C]。其他的三項(xiàng)，文中提到“邊緣系統(tǒng)屬于情感大腦”，但是并沒(méi)有說(shuō)它在夢(mèng)中的功能，所以選項(xiàng)[A]不正確。文中對(duì)快速眼睛運(yùn)動(dòng)睡眠只不過(guò)給了個(gè)簡(jiǎn)單的詞匯解釋，并沒(méi)有對(duì)其機(jī)制進(jìn)行任何的講解，故選項(xiàng)[B]擴(kuò)大了范圍。文中提到“前額皮層”，說(shuō)它是智力和推理中心，但是沒(méi)有講解它和邊緣系統(tǒng)的關(guān)系，所以選項(xiàng)[D]也屬于典型的無(wú)中生有型干擾項(xiàng)。
33. The negative feelings generated during the day tend to
白天產(chǎn)生的負(fù)面的情緒趨于
[A] aggravate in our unconscious mind. 在潛意識(shí)里面加劇。
[B] develop into happy dreams. 演變成快樂(lè)的夢(mèng)。
[C] persist till the time we fall asleep. 一直持續(xù)到我們睡著。
[D] show up in dreams early at night. 在夜間早些時(shí)候出現(xiàn)在夢(mèng)里。
【答案】 D
【考點(diǎn)】 事實(shí)細(xì)節(jié)題。
【分析】 做此題時(shí)，要求考生能夠根據(jù)上下文尋找到正確的事實(shí)，“負(fù)面情緒”這個(gè)詞組出處在第三段，在此之前作者有一句非常關(guān)鍵的話“大多數(shù)人看上去會(huì)在夜間早些時(shí)候做噩夢(mèng)，然后發(fā)展成為快樂(lè)的夢(mèng)，表明他們正在力圖消除白天產(chǎn)生的負(fù)面情緒”。可見(jiàn)選項(xiàng)[A]加劇的說(shuō)法正好相反，而[C]選項(xiàng)顯然顯得過(guò)早。比較大的干擾源于選項(xiàng)[B]和選項(xiàng)[D]之間的聯(lián)系與區(qū)別，很多考生選擇了[B]，但是仔細(xì)閱讀上文就會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn)，負(fù)面的情緒會(huì)在惡夢(mèng)里面出現(xiàn)，也就是在夜間早些時(shí)候出現(xiàn)，但是我們不能直接說(shuō)負(fù)面的情緒直接演變成快樂(lè)的夢(mèng)，而只能說(shuō)，負(fù)面情緒通過(guò)惡夢(mèng)向美夢(mèng)轉(zhuǎn)變的方式獲得消除。所以說(shuō)這道題目的干擾項(xiàng)[B]是出題人利用偷換概念的方式來(lái)迷惑考生的。
34. Cartwright seems to suggest that 卡特懷特似乎認(rèn)為
[A] waking up in time is essential to the ridding of bad dreams。
及時(shí)蘇醒對(duì)于擺脫噩夢(mèng)非常重要。
[B] visualizing bad dreams helps bring them under control。
想象噩夢(mèng)有利于控制它們。
[C] dreams should be left to their natural progression。
應(yīng)該讓夢(mèng)自然發(fā)展。
[D] dreams may not entirely belong to the unconscious。
做夢(mèng)可能未必完全處于無(wú)意識(shí)狀態(tài)。
【答案】 D
【考點(diǎn)】 事實(shí)細(xì)節(jié)題。
【分析】 通過(guò)閱讀所有卡特懷特的內(nèi)容，終于發(fā)現(xiàn)可以在第四段第二句卡特懷特所相信的這一部分內(nèi)容中找到答案的線索。這一段的主旨是“這一過(guò)程不一定是無(wú)意識(shí)的”，緊接著，“卡特懷特相信人能夠?qū)掖纬霈F(xiàn)的噩夢(mèng)進(jìn)行有意識(shí)的控制，比如：確認(rèn)你夢(mèng)中令你不安的事情，想象一下你想如何結(jié)束它，以及在下次做同樣的夢(mèng)時(shí)醒過(guò)來(lái)。”作者說(shuō)這么多無(wú)非就是想證明該段主旨 “這一過(guò)程不一定是無(wú)意識(shí)的”，也就是我們的[D]選項(xiàng)。選項(xiàng)[A]利用原文的“visualize”大做文章，非常重要一說(shuō)值得商榷。選項(xiàng)[B]應(yīng)該是想象它如何結(jié)束，而選項(xiàng)[C]的意思和本文要對(duì)夢(mèng)進(jìn)行控制正好相反。
35. What advice might Cartwright give to those who sometimes have had dreams?
對(duì)那些有時(shí)做噩夢(mèng)的人，卡特懷特可能會(huì)給怎樣的建議？
[A] Lead your life as usual. 向平常一樣生活。
[B] Seek professional help. 尋求專家?guī)椭?/p>
[C] Exercise conscious control. 鍛煉有意識(shí)控制。
[D] Avoid anxiety in the daytime. 避免白天產(chǎn)生焦慮。
【答案】 A
【考點(diǎn)】 事實(shí)細(xì)節(jié)題。
【分析】 在第五段中，卡特懷特說(shuō)：“只要夢(mèng)不使我們無(wú)法睡眠或從夢(mèng)中驚醒，就沒(méi)有理由太在意所做的夢(mèng)。恐怖主義、經(jīng)濟(jì)不確定及通常的不安全感都增加了人們的焦慮。那些長(zhǎng)期受到噩夢(mèng)折磨的人應(yīng)該尋求專家?guī)椭鴮?duì)其他人來(lái)說(shuō)，大腦有自動(dòng)消除不良情緒的方法。安心睡覺(jué)甚至做夢(mèng)，早上醒來(lái)時(shí)你會(huì)感覺(jué)好多了。”這段話的意思非常明確，長(zhǎng)期受到噩夢(mèng)折磨的人應(yīng)該尋求專家?guī)椭欢渌耍簿褪悄切┡紶栕鰫簤?mèng)的人，“安心睡覺(jué)甚至做夢(mèng)”，也就是象平常一樣。選項(xiàng)[B]適合長(zhǎng)期受到噩夢(mèng)折磨的人。選項(xiàng)[C]是控制噩夢(mèng)的方法，不是卡特懷特對(duì)有時(shí)做噩夢(mèng)的人的建議。選項(xiàng)[D]文中沒(méi)有提及。
難句解析：
1. And one leading authority says that these intensely powerful mental events can be not only harnessed but actually brought under conscious control to help us sleep and feel better。
【結(jié)構(gòu)分析】 該句子為復(fù)合句。賓語(yǔ)從句的主干是“these… events can be not only harnessed but actually brought…”，其中“not only…but(also)…” 并列連詞結(jié)構(gòu)連接兩個(gè)過(guò)去分詞，表示“不僅被駕馭……而且被加以有意識(shí)的控制”。不定式在賓語(yǔ)從句中做結(jié)果狀語(yǔ)。
2. Most people seem to have more bad dreams early in the night, progressing toward happier ones before awakening, suggesting that they are working through negative feelings generated during the day。
【結(jié)構(gòu)分析】 本句的主句是“most people seem to have more bad dreams early in the night”。后面是兩個(gè)現(xiàn)在分詞短語(yǔ)做狀語(yǔ)，分別由“progressing”和“suggesting”引導(dǎo)。
全文翻譯：
在一夜好覺(jué)的所有組成因素中，夢(mèng)似乎是比較無(wú)法控制的一個(gè)。在夢(mèng)中，我們打開(kāi)窗戶看見(jiàn)的世界里，邏輯被中止，死人開(kāi)口說(shuō)話。一個(gè)世紀(jì)前，弗洛伊德闡述了他的革命性理論，即夢(mèng)是人們無(wú)意識(shí)的欲望和恐懼經(jīng)偽裝后的影子；到20世紀(jì)70年代末期，神經(jīng)病學(xué)家們轉(zhuǎn)而認(rèn)為夢(mèng)是“精神噪音”，即睡眠時(shí)神經(jīng)修復(fù)活動(dòng)的一種胡亂的副產(chǎn)品。如今，研究人員猜測(cè)夢(mèng)是大腦情感自動(dòng)調(diào)節(jié)系統(tǒng)的一部分，當(dāng)大腦處于“離線”狀態(tài)時(shí)對(duì)情緒進(jìn)行規(guī)整。一名主要的權(quán)威人士說(shuō)，夢(mèng)這種異常強(qiáng)烈的精神活動(dòng)不僅能被駕馭，事實(shí)上還可以被加以有意識(shí)的控制，以幫助我們更好地睡眠和感覺(jué)。芝加哥醫(yī)療中心心理學(xué)系主任羅薩蘭德·卡特懷特說(shuō)“夢(mèng)是你自己的，如果你不喜歡，就改變它。”
大腦成像的證據(jù)支持了這個(gè)觀點(diǎn)。匹茲堡大學(xué)的埃里克博士說(shuō)，在夢(mèng)境很形象的快速動(dòng)眼睡眠中，大腦和完全清醒時(shí)一樣活躍。但不是大腦的所有部分都在活動(dòng)，腦邊緣系統(tǒng)(“情緒大腦”)異常活躍，而前額皮層(思維和推理的中心地帶)則相對(duì)安靜。斯坦福睡眠研究員威廉姆·迪曼特博士說(shuō)：“我們從夢(mèng)中醒來(lái)，要么高興要么沮喪，這些情緒會(huì)伴隨我們一整天。”
在卡特懷特的診所的病人可以看出夢(mèng)和情緒之間的聯(lián)系。多數(shù)人似乎在前半夜做更多不好的夢(mèng)，而在快睡醒前發(fā)展成為開(kāi)心一些的夢(mèng)，這說(shuō)明人們?cè)趬?mèng)里逐漸克服了白天產(chǎn)生的負(fù)面情緒。因?yàn)榍逍褧r(shí)我們的頭腦被日常瑣事占據(jù)著，所以并不總?cè)ハ氚滋彀l(fā)生的事情對(duì)我們情緒的影響，直到我們開(kāi)始做夢(mèng)，這種影響看來(lái)才會(huì)出現(xiàn)。
這一過(guò)程不一定是無(wú)意識(shí)的。卡特懷特相信人們可以練習(xí)有意識(shí)地控制噩夢(mèng)的重復(fù)發(fā)生。當(dāng)你一醒過(guò)來(lái)，立刻確定夢(mèng)中有什么在困擾你，設(shè)想一下你希望這個(gè)夢(mèng)怎么結(jié)束，下次再做同樣的夢(mèng)時(shí)，試著醒過(guò)來(lái)以控制它的進(jìn)程。通過(guò)多次練習(xí)，人們完全可以學(xué)會(huì)在夢(mèng)中這樣做。
卡特懷特說(shuō)，說(shuō)到底，如果夢(mèng)沒(méi)有使我們無(wú)法入睡或“從夢(mèng)中驚醒”，就沒(méi)有理由太在意它。恐怖主義、經(jīng)濟(jì)不穩(wěn)定及通常的不安全感都增加了人們的憂慮。那些長(zhǎng)期受到噩夢(mèng)困擾的人應(yīng)該接受專家?guī)椭鴮?duì)其他人來(lái)說(shuō)，大腦有自動(dòng)消除不良情緒的方法。睡一覺(jué)甚至做個(gè)夢(mèng)，早上醒來(lái)時(shí)你會(huì)感覺(jué)好多了。
