2005 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 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 of 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 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
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]. dreaming 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.
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