Of all the components of a good night's sleep, dreams seem to be least within our control. Indreams, a window opens into a world where logic is suspended and dead people speak. Acentury ago, Freud formulated his revolutionary theory that dreams were the disguisedshadows of our unconscious desires and fears; by thelate 1970s, neurologists had switched tothinking of them as just "mental noise"-the random byproducts of the neural repair work thatgoes on during sleep. Now researchers suspect that dreams are part of the mind's emotionalthermostat, regulating moods while the brain is "off line." And one leading authority says thatthese intensely powerful mental events can be not only harnessed but actually brought underconscious control, to help us sleep and feel better. "It's your dream," says RosalindCartwright, chair of psychologyat Chicago's Medical Center, "if you don't like it, change it."
he link between dreams and emotions shows up among the patients in Cartwright's clinic. Mostpeople seem to have more bad dreams early in the night, progressing toward happier onesbefore awakening, suggesting that they are working through negative feelings generatedduring the day. Because our conscious mind is occupied with daily life we don't always thinkabout 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 exerciseconscious control over recurring bad dreams. As soon as you awaken, identify what isupsetting about the dream. Visualizehow you would like it to end instead; the next time itoccurs, try to wake up just enough to control its course. With much practice people can learnto, 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 unlessthey keep us from sleeping or "we wake up in panic," Cartwright says. Terrorism, economicuncertainties and general feelings of insecurity have increased people's anxiety. Thosesuffering from persistent nightmares should seek help from a therapist. For the rest of us, thebrain has its ways of working through bad feelings.Sleep-or rather dream-on it and you'll feelbetter in the morning.
練習(xí)題:
Choose correct answers to the question:
1.By saying that “dreams are part of the mind's emotional thermostat," (Lines 4-5, Para. 1) the researchers mean that _______.
A.we can think logically in the dreams too
B.dreams can be brought under conscious control
C.dreams represent our unconscious desires and fears
D.dreams can help us keep our mood comparatively stable
2.What did Cartwright find in her clinic?
A.Most bad dreams were followed by happier ones.
B.Divorced couples usually have more bad dreams.
C.One’s dreaming process is related to his emotion.
D.People having negative feelings dream more often.
3.Cartwright believed with much practice,we can learn to _____.
A.control what dreams to dream
B.sleep well without any dreams
C.wake up in time to stop the bad dreams
D.identify what is upsetting about the dreams
4.The author points out that a person who has constant bad dreams should ______
A.learn to control his dreams
B.consult a doctor
C.sleep and dream on it
D.get rid of anxiety first
5.The author most probably thinks that controlling dreams is ______.
A.a good practice
B.a new discovery
C.helpful for everyone
D.not essential for everyone
1.[D] 詞義理解題。在第1段第4句中,逗號后面的regulating moods是對emotional thermostat的功能進(jìn)行解釋說明,因此可以推斷出選項D正確。
2.[C] 事實細(xì)節(jié)題。最具干擾的是選項A,因為其陳述與第2段第2句的陳述有點相似,但是,此長句說的是大多數(shù)人上半夜做噩夢,之后都會做好夢,而不是像選項A中所說大多數(shù)噩夢之后是好夢。而且,根據(jù)本段第1 句,很明顯,選項C是這一句的近義替換。
3 [C] 推理判斷題。本題考査對代詞的理解。在第3段的最后一句中,代詞it應(yīng)指上文說到的控制噩夢,及時醒來等做法,因此只有選項C涉及了其中一個做法。選項A太泛了,選項B和D在文中并無提及。
4.[B] 事實細(xì)節(jié)題。本題考查根據(jù)構(gòu)詞法猜測詞義的能力。解題關(guān)鍵是推斷最后一段第3句中therapist的意義,在考綱詞匯表中,therapy是“治療”的意思,因此,therapist應(yīng)該是專門負(fù)責(zé)某種治療的醫(yī)生,由此可見,選項B是對原文seek help from a therapist的近義替換。
5.[D] 觀點態(tài)度題。根據(jù)最后一句可以推斷作者認(rèn)為如無必要,夢還是不要控制的好。做夢會讓你早上感覺舒服一些,因此本題應(yīng)選D。
Imagine you went to a restaurant with a date; had a burger, paid with a credit card, and left. The next time you go there, the waiter or waitress, armed with your profile data, greets you with, "Hey Joe, how are you? Mary is over there in the seat you sat in last time. Would you like to join her for dinner again?" Then you find out that your burger has been cooked and your drink is on the table. Forget the fact that you are with another date and are on a diet that doesn’t include burgers. Sound a little bizarre? To some, this is restaurant equivalent of the Internet.The Net’s ability to profile you through your visits to and interactions at websites provides marketers with an enormous amount of data on you—some of which you may notwant them to have.
Are you aware that almost every time you access a website you get a “cookie”? Unfortunately, it’s not the Mrs. Reid’s type. A cookie on the Internet is a computer code sent by the site to your computer—usually without your knowledge. During the entire period of time that you are at the site, the cookie is collecting information about your interaction, including where you visit, how long you stay there, how frequently you return to certain pages, and even your electronic address. Fill out a survey to collect free information or samples, and marketers know even more about you—like your name, address, and any other information you provide. While this may sound scary enough, cookies aren’t even the latest in technology. A new system called I-librarian Alexa—named for the legendary third century B.C. library in Alexandria, Egypt—does even more. While cookies track what you are doing at one site, Alexa collects data on all your Web activity, such as which sites you visit next, how long you stay there, whether you click on ads,etc. All thisinformation is available to marketers, who use it to market more effectively to you. Not only do you not get paid for providing the information, you probably don’t even know that you are giving it.
英語四級閱讀模擬題:
Choose correct answers to the question:
1.In the restaurant story, the author may most probably think the waiter or waitress was ________ 。
A. considerate
B. polite
C. irritating
D. unsmart
2.The author makes up the restaurant story in order to _______ 。
A.show the good service offered in some Web restaurants
B.criticize some restaurants for too considerate service
C.show the Internet’s ability to collect data on you
D.prove the incredible power of the Internet
3.What can be learned about “cookie” from the second paragraph?
A.It was first created by Mrs. Reid.
B.It collects information on you without your knowing it
C.It’s some information sent to your computer about yourself.
D.It’s the latest in technology.
4.What can be learned about "Alexa" from the second paragraph?
A.Alexa is named after an ancient hero in Egypt
B.Alexa is installed in libraries.
C.Alexa can collect all the necessary data on you.
D.Alexa can provide more data for marketers than a cookie.
5.Which of the following words can best reflect the author’s attitude to cookies and Alexa?
A. Critical
B. Suspicious.
C. Objective.
D. Optimistic.
英語四級閱讀參考答案
1.[C] 推理判斷題。第1段中,喬另約了一名新女友去餐館,餐館服務(wù)員卻招呼他坐在上次約會的女友身邊,并且為他準(zhǔn)備了與上次同樣的食品,包括他節(jié)食忌用的漢堡,這樣的服務(wù)肯定會使喬做出負(fù)面的評價.因此選項A和選項B部不對。此外,這個故亊是為了指出濫用別人的個人資料會惹人討厭,因此可推斷喬對餐廳服務(wù)員的做法會感到生氣。選項D雖然也是反面的評價,但是這個選項可能表明喬不介意自己的資料被盜用,只是覺得餐廳服務(wù)員使用的時候不夠靈活。這與文章的主題不符。
2.[C] 推理判斷題。本題考查例子與主題之間的關(guān)系。答題的依據(jù)是第1段最后兩句,文章指出餐館跟因特網(wǎng)一樣,它們都收集用戶的信息。選項A和B都只滲及表面,選項D則不如選項C確切、具體。
3.[B] 事實細(xì)節(jié)題。選擇依據(jù)是第2段第3句及第4句。選項B是對這兩句話的歸納。選項A談的是可食用的甜餅,而不是本文敘述的用于收集用戶信息的一種軟件。選項C是對第2段第3、4句的歪曲理解。文章明確提出了cookie不是最新的發(fā)明,選項D不正確。
4.[D] 事實細(xì)節(jié)題。本句考查復(fù)雜句的理解,并涉及兩個事物的對比。第2段介紹Alexa時,指明它does even more,接著用while連接一個讓步狀語從句,其主句是關(guān)于Alexa的信息,據(jù)此可以判斷選項D正確。選項 A和B與原文不符,容易排除。選項C指出Alexa能收集到所有必要的資料,這是對其作用的夸大,實際上,根據(jù)倒數(shù)第3句,它收集的只是所有網(wǎng)上活動的資料。
5.[A] 觀點態(tài)度題。判斷依據(jù)是文中作者所使用的一些詞句,如:usually without your knowledge, sound scary及最后一句。這些顯示了作者對cookie和Alexa持反對、批評的態(tài)度。
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