For centuries, people have wondered about thestrange things that they dream about. Some psychologists say that thisnighttime activity of the mind has no special meaning. Others,however,think that dreams are an importantpart of our lives. In fact, many experts believe that dreams can tell us abouta person’s mind and emotions.
Before modern times, many people thought thatdreams contained messages from God. It was only in the twentieth century thatpeople started to study dreams in a scientific way.
The Austrian psychologist, Sigmund Freud1,was probably the first person tostudy dreams scientifically. In his famous book, The interpretation of Dreams (1900), Freud wrote that dreams are anexpression of a person’s wishes. He believed that dreams allow people toexpress the feelings, thoughts, and fears that they are afraid to express inreal life.
The Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung2 wasonce a student of Freud’s. Jung,however,had a different idea about dreams. Jung believed that the purpose ofa dream was to communicate a message to the dreamer. He thought people couldlearn more about themselves by thinking about their dreams. For example, peoplewho dream about falling may learn that they have too high an opinion ofthemselves. On the other hand, people who dream about being heroes may learnthat they think too little of themselves.
Modern-day psychologists continue to developtheories about dreams. For example, psychologist William Domhoff from theUniversity 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 connectionbetween dreams and age. His research shows that children do not dream as muchas adults. According to Domhoff, dreaming is a mental skill that needs time todevelop.
He has also found a link between dreams andgender. His studies show that the dreams of men and women are different. Forexample, the people in men’s dreams are often other men, and the dreams ofteninvolve fighting. This is not true of women’s dreams.3 Domhoff foundthis gender difference in the dreams of people from 11 cultures around theworld, 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 isgoing to occur, you shouldn’t panic. The dream may have meaning, but it doesnot mean that some terrible event will actually take place. It’s important toremember that the world of dreams is not the real world.
詞匯:
psychologist/ sa??k?l?d??st / n.心理學家
psychiatrist/sai' kai?tr?st/ n.精神病學家(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)生及精神分析學家。精神分析學派的創(chuàng)始人。他認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《性學三論》《夢的釋義》《圖騰與禁忌》《日常生活的心理病理學》《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,分析心理學的創(chuàng)始人。
3.For example, the people in men’sdreams are often other men, and the dreams often involve fighting. This is nottrue of women’s dreams.例如,在男性夢境中出現(xiàn)的通常是其他男性,而且常與打斗有關(guān),而女性的夢境則不是這樣。
練習:
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 talkabout.
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 dreamas 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 這句話恰好表達了本文第一段的意思。即有些心理學家認為,人腦睡眠中的活動沒有特別意義;而有些人則認為,夢可以揭示人的思維和情感活動。
2.A 第三段的最后一句講的是弗洛伊德認為夢反映了人們在現(xiàn)實情況下害怕表達的情感、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 amessage to the dreamer.(榮格認為,夢的用途是向做夢者傳遞一個信息)He thought people could learn more about themselves by thinkingabout their dreams.(他認為人們通過思考所做的夢能夠更好地了解自己)。他給出了兩個例子來說明他的論點。
4.C 文中沒有提及。
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,他認為做夢也是一項心智機能,需要隨著年齡增長而發(fā)展。
6.A 本文第七段講述了做夢與性別的關(guān)系。第二句更指出男人和女人做的夢是不同的。
7.B 最后一段的倒數(shù)第二句講的是:夢可能會有意義,但并不表示一些恐怖事情就一定會發(fā)生。因而不能預測未來。