第九篇 What Is a Dream?

For centuries, people have wondered about the strange things that they dream about. Some psychologists say that this nighttime activity of the mind has no special meaning. Others，however，think that dreams are an important part of our lives. In fact, many experts believe that dreams can tell us about a person’s mind and emotions.

Before modern times, many people thought that dreams contained messages from God. It was only in the twentieth century that people started to study dreams in a scientific way.

The Austrian psychologist, Sigmund Freud1，was probably the first person to study dreams scientifically. In his famous book, The interpretation of Dreams (1900), Freud wrote that dreams are an expression of a person’s wishes. He believed that dreams allow people to express the feelings, thoughts, and fears that they are afraid to express in real life.

The Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung2 was once a student of Freud’s. Jung，however，had a different idea about dreams. Jung believed that the purpose of a dream was to communicate a message to the dreamer. He thought people could learn more about themselves by thinking about their dreams. For example, people who dream about falling may learn that they have too high an opinion of themselves. On the other hand, people who dream about being heroes may learn that they think too little of themselves.

Modern-day psychologists continue to develop theories about dreams. For example, psychologist William Domhoff from the University of California, Santa Cruz，believes that dreams are tightly linked to a person’s daily life, thoughts, and behavior. A criminal, for example, might dream about crime.

Domhoff believes that there is a connection between dreams and age. His research shows that children do not dream as much as adults. According to Domhoff, dreaming is a mental skill that needs time to develop.

He has also found a link between dreams and gender. His studies show that the dreams of men and women are different. For example, the people in men’s dreams are often other men, and the dreams often involve fighting. This is not true of women’s dreams.3 Domhoff found this gender difference in the dreams of people from 11 cultures around the world, including both modern and traditional ones.

Can dreams help us understand ourselves? Psychologists continue to try to answer this question in different ways. However, one thing they agree on this: If you dream that something terrible is going to occur, you shouldn’t panic. The dream may have meaning, but it does not mean that some terrible event will actually take place. It’s important to remember that the world of dreams is not the real world.

詞匯：

psychologist / sa??k?l?d??st / n.心理學(xué)家

psychiatrist /sai' kai?tr?st/ n.精神病學(xué)家(醫(yī)生)

Austrian / ??str??n / adj.奧地利的

gender / ?d?end? / n.性別

注釋：

1.Sigmund Freud西格蒙德?弗洛伊德(1856—1939)，猶太人，奧地利精神病醫(yī)生及精神分析學(xué)家。精神分析學(xué)派的創(chuàng)始人。他認(rèn)為被壓抑的欲望絕大部分是屬于性的，性的擾亂是精神病的根本原因。著有《性學(xué)三論》《夢(mèng)的釋義》《圖騰與禁忌》《日常生活的心理病理學(xué)》《精神分析引論》《精神分析引論新編》等。

2.Carl Jung：卡爾?榮格，瑞士著名精神分析專家，分析心理學(xué)的創(chuàng)始人。

3.For example, the people in men’s dreams are often other men, and the dreams often involve fighting. This is not true of women’s dreams.例如，在男性夢(mèng)境中出現(xiàn)的通常是其他男性，而且常與打斗有關(guān)，而女性的夢(mèng)境則不是這樣。

練習(xí)：

1.Not everyone agrees that dreams are meaningful.

A　Right B　Wrong C　Not mentioned

2.According to Freud, people dream about things that they cannot talk about.

A　Right B　Wrong C　Not mentioned

3.Jung believed that dreams did not help one to understand oneself.

A　Right B　Wrong C　Not mentioned

4.In the past, people believed that dreams involved emotions.

A　Right B　Wrong C　Not mentioned

5.According to Domhoff, babies do not have the same ability to dream as adults do.

A　Right B　Wrong C　Not mentioned

6.Men and women dream about different things.

A　Right B　Wrong C　Not mentioned

7.Scientists agree that dreams predict the future.

A　Right B　Wrong C　Not mentioned

答案與題解

1.A　這句話恰好表達(dá)了本文第一段的意思。即有些心理學(xué)家認(rèn)為，人腦睡眠中的活動(dòng)沒(méi)有特別意義;而有些人則認(rèn)為，夢(mèng)可以揭示人的思維和情感活動(dòng)。

2.A　第三段的最后一句講的是弗洛伊德認(rèn)為夢(mèng)反映了人們?cè)诂F(xiàn)實(shí)情況下害怕表達(dá)的情感、思維和恐懼。此句與本敘述一致。

3.B　第四段的第二句和第三句：Jung believed that the purpose of a dream was to communicate a message to the dreamer.(榮格認(rèn)為，夢(mèng)的用途是向做夢(mèng)者傳遞一個(gè)信息)He thought people could learn more about themselves by thinking about their dreams.(他認(rèn)為人們通過(guò)思考所做的夢(mèng)能夠更好地了解自己)。他給出了兩個(gè)例子來(lái)說(shuō)明他的論點(diǎn)。

4.C　文中沒(méi)有提及。

5.A　依據(jù)第六段，Domhoff研究得出：孩子不像成人做那么多的夢(mèng)，他認(rèn)為做夢(mèng)也是一項(xiàng)心智機(jī)能，需要隨著年齡增長(zhǎng)而發(fā)展。

6.A　本文第七段講述了做夢(mèng)與性別的關(guān)系。第二句更指出男人和女人做的夢(mèng)是不同的。

7.B　最后一段的倒數(shù)第二句講的是：夢(mèng)可能會(huì)有意義，但并不表示一些恐怖事情就一定會(huì)發(fā)生。因而不能預(yù)測(cè)未來(lái)。

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