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.

名师解析

31. Researchers have come to believe that dreams  研究人员已经逐步相信梦

[A] can be modified in their courses.  可以在过程中被修改。

[B] are susceptible to emotional changes.  容易受到情感变化的影响。

[C] reflect our innermost desires and fears.  反应我们内心的欲望与恐惧。

[D] are a random outcome of neural repairs.  是神经修复的随机结果。

【答案】  A

【考点】  事实细节题。

【分析】  题干关键词“researcher”在第一段第四句出现，而在此之前，作者主要介绍了过去有关梦的定义，包括“Freud”(弗洛伊德)以及“20世纪70年代神经学家”的说法。第四句开始，文章作者提到了当代的研究者的观点“梦可以调节人的情绪，梦不仅可以被驾驭，还可以有意识地对其进行控制，梦可以改变。”通过这样的一个分析比较归纳，考生应该能够比较容易地得出[A]这个正确答案。选项[B]属于干扰项，但是出题人故意偷梁换柱，将梦影响情绪说成情绪影响梦。选项[C]是“Freud”的理论，选项[D]是70年代的理论。

32. By referring to the limbic system, the author intends to show

作者提及边缘系统是为了说明

[A] its function in our dreams.  它在我们梦中的功能。

[B] the mechanism of REM sleep.  快速眼睛运动睡眠的机制。

[C] the relation of dreams to emotions.  梦和情绪的关系。

[D] its difference from the prefrontal cortex..  它和前额皮层的区别。

【答案】  C

【考点】  推断题。

【分析】  在第二段第三句中可以找到边缘系统及其含义，然后根据上下文谈论的内容，如上文的“情感大脑”和下文的专家的话，从而判断出答案是选项[C]。其他的三项，文中提到“边缘系统属于情感大脑”，但是并没有说它在梦中的功能，所以选项[A]不正确。文中对快速眼睛运动睡眠只不过给了个简单的词汇解释，并没有对其机制进行任何的讲解，故选项[B]扩大了范围。文中提到“前额皮层”，说它是智力和推理中心，但是没有讲解它和边缘系统的关系，所以选项[D]也属于典型的无中生有型干扰项。

33. The negative feelings generated during the day tend to

白天产生的负面的情绪趋于

[A] aggravate in our unconscious mind.  在潜意识里面加剧。

[B] develop into happy dreams.  演变成快乐的梦。

[C] persist till the time we fall asleep.  一直持续到我们睡着。

[D] show up in dreams early at night.  在夜间早些时候出现在梦里。

【答案】  D

【考点】  事实细节题。

【分析】  做此题时，要求考生能够根据上下文寻找到正确的事实，“负面情绪”这个词组出处在第三段，在此之前作者有一句非常关键的话“大多数人看上去会在夜间早些时候做噩梦，然后发展成为快乐的梦，表明他们正在力图消除白天产生的负面情绪”。可见选项[A]加剧的说法正好相反，而[C]选项显然显得过早。最大的干扰源于选项[B]和选项[D]之间的联系与区别，很多考生选择了[B]，但是仔细阅读上文就会发现，负面的情绪会在恶梦里面出现，也就是在夜间早些时候出现，但是我们不能直接说负面的情绪直接演变成快乐的梦，而只能说，负面情绪通过恶梦向美梦转变的方式获得消除。所以说这道题目的干扰项[B]是出题人利用偷换概念的方式来迷惑考生的。

34. Cartwright seems to suggest that   卡特怀特似乎认为

[A] waking up in time is essential to the ridding of bad dreams.

   及时苏醒对于摆脱噩梦非常重要。

[B] visualizing bad dreams helps bring them under control.

   想象噩梦有利于控制它们。

[C] dreams should be left to their natural progression.

   应该让梦自然发展。

[D] dreams may not entirely belong to the unconscious.

   做梦可能未必完全处于无意识状态。

【答案】  D

【考点】  事实细节题。

【分析】  通过阅读所有卡特怀特的内容，终于发现可以在第四段第二句卡特怀特所相信的这一部分内容中找到答案的线索。这一段的主旨是“这一过程不一定是无意识的”，紧接着，“卡特怀特相信人能够对屡次出现的噩梦进行有意识的控制，比如：确认你梦中令你不安的事情，想象一下你想如何结束它，以及在下次做同样的梦时醒过来。”作者说这么多无非就是想证明该段主旨 “这一过程不一定是无意识的”，也就是我们的[D]选项。选项[A]利用原文的“visualize”大做文章，非常重要一说值得商榷。选项[B]应该是想象它如何结束，而选项[C]的意思和本文要对梦进行控制正好相反。

35. What advice might Cartwright give to those who sometimes have had dreams?

对那些有时做噩梦的人，卡特怀特可能会给怎样的建议？

[A] Lead your life as usual.  向平常一样生活。

[B] Seek professional help.  寻求专家帮助。

[C] Exercise conscious control.  锻炼有意识控制。

[D] Avoid anxiety in the daytime.  避免白天产生焦虑。

【答案】  A

【考点】  事实细节题。

【分析】  在第五段中，卡特怀特说：“只要梦不使我们无法睡眠或从梦中惊醒，就没有理由太在意所做的梦。恐怖主义、经济不确定及通常的不安全感都增加了人们的焦虑。那些长期受到噩梦折磨的人应该寻求专家帮助，而对其他人来说，大脑有自动消除不良情绪的方法。安心睡觉甚至做梦，早上醒来时你会感觉好多了。”这段话的意思非常明确，长期受到噩梦折磨的人应该寻求专家帮助；而其他人，也就是那些偶尔做恶梦的人，“安心睡觉甚至做梦”，也就是象平常一样。选项[B]适合长期受到噩梦折磨的人。选项[C]是控制噩梦的方法，不是卡特怀特对有时做噩梦的人的建议。选项[D]文中没有提及。

难句解析：

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.

【结构分析】 该句子为复合句。宾语从句的主干是“these… events can be not only harnessed but actually brought…”，其中“not only…but(also)…” 并列连词结构连接两个过去分词，表示“不仅被驾驭……而且被加以有意识的控制”。不定式在宾语从句中做结果状语。

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.

【结构分析】 本句的主句是“most people seem to have more bad dreams early in the night”。后面是两个现在分词短语做状语，分别由“progressing”和“suggesting”引导。

全文翻译： 

在一夜好觉的所有组成因素中，梦似乎是最无法控制的一个。在梦中，我们打开窗户看见的世界里，逻辑被中止，死人开口说话。一个世纪前，弗洛伊德阐述了他的革命性理论，即梦是人们无意识的欲望和恐惧经伪装后的影子；到20世纪70年代末期，神经病学家们转而认为梦是“精神噪音”，即睡眠时神经修复活动的一种胡乱的副产品。如今，研究人员猜测梦是大脑情感自动调节系统的一部分，当大脑处于“离线”状态时对情绪进行规整。一名主要的权威人士说，梦这种异常强烈的精神活动不仅能被驾驭，事实上还可以被加以有意识的控制，以帮助我们更好地睡眠和感觉。芝加哥医疗中心心理学系主任罗萨兰德·卡特怀特说“梦是你自己的，如果你不喜欢，就改变它。”

大脑成像的证据支持了这个观点。匹兹堡大学的埃里克博士说，在梦境很形象的快速动眼睡眠中，大脑和完全清醒时一样活跃。但不是大脑的所有部分都在活动，脑边缘系统(“情绪大脑”)异常活跃，而前额皮层(思维和推理的中心地带)则相对安静。斯坦福睡眠研究员威廉姆·迪曼特博士说：“我们从梦中醒来，要么高兴要么沮丧，这些情绪会伴随我们一整天。”

在卡特怀特的诊所的病人可以看出梦和情绪之间的联系。多数人似乎在前半夜做更多不好的梦，而在快睡醒前发展成为开心一些的梦，这说明人们在梦里逐渐克服了白天产生的负面情绪。因为清醒时我们的头脑被日常琐事占据着，所以并不总去想白天发生的事情对我们情绪的影响，直到我们开始做梦，这种影响看来才会出现。

这一过程不一定是无意识的。卡特怀特相信人们可以练习有意识地控制噩梦的重复发生。当你一醒过来，立刻确定梦中有什么在困扰你，设想一下你希望这个梦怎么结束，下次再做同样的梦时，试着醒过来以控制它的进程。通过多次练习，人们完全可以学会在梦中这样做。

卡特怀特说，说到底，如果梦没有使我们无法入睡或“从梦中惊醒”，就没有理由太在意它。恐怖主义、经济不稳定及通常的不安全感都增加了人们的忧虑。那些长期受到噩梦困扰的人应该接受专家帮助，而对其他人来说，大脑有自动消除不良情绪的方法。睡一觉甚至做个梦，早上醒来时你会感觉好多了。