考研英语阅读命题思路透析和真题揭秘(43)

2005年Text 3

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 rears, 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 of depressed, and those feelings can stay with us all day" says Stanford sleep researcher Dr, William Dement.

The link between dreams and emotions show 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 begins 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 is 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 of "we wake u 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.

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.

[答案] C

[解题思路]

本题对应信息在文章第二段第三句话，作者在limbic system前面的一句话中说"But not all parts of the brain are equally involved"（并非大脑的各个部分的参与情况都是这样），之后的括号中对limbic system作了进一步的解释（emotional brain），因此正确答案应该为C。A和B选项与该名词无关，而D选项中的prefrontal cortex虽然在同一句话中有所提及，但作者只是把它和limbic system并列起来讨论，并没有指出两者之间的区别。

[题目译文]

作者提到边缘系统是想说明
[A] 其在睡梦中的作用
[B] 快速眼动睡眠的机制
[C] 梦与情感的关系
[D] 它与前额皮层的关系

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 con troll.
[C] dreams should be left to their natural progression.
[D] dreaming may not entirely belong to the unconscious.

[答案] D

[解题思路]

文章中第四段第二句话指出，"Cartwright believes one can exercise conscious control over recurring bad dreams"（Cartwright认为，人们可以通过练习有意识地控制反复出现的恶梦），也就是说，做梦可以被控制、因此并不完全属于潜意识的活动，答案为A选项。C选项是错误的，因为文章认为应该控制梦境，而不是任其发展。B选项不符合文意的地方在于，不应该visualize bad dream，而是visualize how you would like it to end，即想象一下这个梦会如何结束。A错误的原因是文章并没有强调waking up in time的重要性。

[题目译文]

Cartwright似乎在暗示
[A] 及时醒来对于摆脱恶梦至关重要
[B] 对恶梦作出想象能够帮助控制恶梦
[C] 应该让梦自由发展
[D] 做梦不完全属于潜意识活动