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.
練習：
everyone agrees that dreams are meaningful.
A Right B Wrong C Not mentioned
rding to Freud, people dream about things that they cannot talk about.
A Right B Wrong C Not mentioned
believed that dreams did not help one to understand oneself.
A Right B Wrong C Not mentioned
the past, people believed that dreams involved emotions.
A Right B Wrong C Not mentioned
rding to Domhoff, babies do not have the same ability to dream as adults do.
A Right B Wrong C Not mentioned
and women dream about different things.
A Right B Wrong C Not mentioned
ntists 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。
2.A 第三段的最後一句講的是弗洛伊德認為夢反映了人們在現實情況下害怕表達的情感、想法或恐懼。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.(榮格認為夢的用途是向做夢者傳遞一個資訊)He thought people could learn more about themselves by thinking about their dreams.(他認為人們通過思考所做的夢能夠更好地瞭解自己)。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 依據第六段，Domhoff研究得出：嬰兒不像成人做那麼多的夢，做夢是一種需要時間提高的技能。這就說明了嬰兒不具備成人做夢的能力。
6.A 本文第七段講述了做夢與性別的關係。第二句更指出男人和女人做的夢是不同的。
7.B 最後一段的倒數第二句講的是：夢可能會有意義，但並不表示一些恐怖事情就一定會發生。因而不能預測未來。
參考譯文：
幾百年來，人們都對他們夢到的奇異的事情感到疑惑。一些心理學家認為，這種大腦的夜間活動並沒有特殊含義，另一些人則認為，夢是生命重要的一部分。實際上，許多專家認為，夢能揭示人的心理和情感活動。
近代以前，很多人認為夢傳遞的是上帝的資訊。直到20世紀，人們才開始從科學的角度研究夢。
奧地利心理學家西格蒙德•弗洛伊德或許是第一個用科學的方法研究夢的人。在他的著作《 夢的解析》(1900) 中，弗洛伊德寫道，夢是一個人願望的表達。他認為夢打開了一扇窗，讓人們得以表達在生活中不敢表達的`情感、思想和恐懼。
瑞士精神病學家卡爾 •榮格曾是弗洛伊德的學生，但他對夢的看法與弗洛伊德不同，他認為，夢的作用是給做夢的人傳遞一種資訊，而人們通過自己的夢，可以對自己有一個更深刻的瞭解。比如，如果一個人夢到從高處墜落，那麼他應該反思自己是不是自視過高。反過來，如果夢中自己成了英雄，應該想想平時可能太看低自己了。
現代心理學家還在繼續發展關於夢的理論，來自位於聖克魯茲的加利福尼亞大學的威廉• 多姆霍夫就是其中一位。他認為，夢境和一個人的日常生活、思想和行為都緊密相關，比方說，一個罪犯就可能夢到犯罪。
多姆霍夫還認為，夢和年齡也有關係。他的研究表明，孩子不像成人那麼多夢。他認為，做夢也是一項心理機能，也隨著年齡增長而發展。
多姆霍夫還發現夢和性別之間的關係。通過研究. 他發現男性和女性的夢境常常是不同的。例如，在男性夢境中出現的通常是其他男性，而且常與打鬥有關，而女性的夢境則不是這樣。多姆霍夫研究了全世界來自11種不同文化的古今案例，得出了上述結論。
夢能幫助我們更好地瞭解自己嗎?心理學家還在嘗試通過不同方式來解答這個問題，不過，有一件事他們是意見一致的：如果你夢到有不好的事要發生，不要慌張。夢確實有含義，但也不意味著你夢到的事真的會發生。要記住，夢中的世界並不是真實的世界。
