单选题 Questions 57 to 61 are based on the following passage.
"The interpretation of dreams is the royal road to a knowledge of the unconscious activities of the mind. " So said Sigmund Freud. Today,most researchers reject his belief that dreams are expressions of our unconscious desires, but the fascination with why we dream is stronger than ever.
Dreams are not meaningless, and they are certainly not useless. For a start, they are crucial for processing emotions. "Dreams modulate the emotions--they keep them within a certain range," says Patrick McNamara of Boston University. New research has found that naps consolidate emotional memories-and the greater the amount of rapid-eye-movement(REM) dream sleep, the greater the processing of these memories.
One idea is that REM dreams allow us to relive powerful emotional memories, but without the rush of stress hormones that accompanied the real experience. In this way, we keep the memory but the emotion accompanying it gradually lessens.
REM dreaming also helps other types of memory and problem solving. People are better able to recall lists of related words and the connections between them after a night's sleep than after the same time spent awake during the day.
It has recently become apparent that not all dreaming occurs in REM sleep, and there are hints that non-REM dreams have their own special function. By waking students during both REM and non-REM sleep, McNamara and colleagues have discovered that REM dreams are more story-like, with more emotion, more aggression and more unknown characters than non-REM dreams, which often involve friendly social interactions. McNamara thinks that by simulating aggressive encounters, REM dreams help us cope with real aggression,whereas non-REM dreams support cooperative behavior.
The content of dreams can be influenced by external factors such as scents, or even the Earth's geomagnetic field, but there seem to be some reoccurring themes. Many REM dreams contain unknown males, usually in aggressive social interactions with the dreamer. The discovery of universal themes could predict a return to the study of the meaning of dreams, this time based on science. "It suggests that a certain kind of dream interpretation may be possible," McNamara says.
单选题 Which aspect of dreams do researchers focus on these days?
  • A. What we can interpret from dreams.
  • B. What causes people to dream.
  • C. The expression of our unconscious desire.
  • D. The different types of dreams.
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】[解析] 根据题干关键词dreams，focus on，these days定位到原文第一段第三句：Today，most researchers reject his belief that dreams are expressions of our unconscious desires，but the fascination with why we dream isstronger than ever．可知，如今研究者不再过多研究梦的解析，而是热衷于研究做梦的原因，B) 项符合文意。 [避错指导] A) 项“我们能从梦中知道什么”和C) 项“我们潜意识欲望的表现”是研究者不再重视的内容。D) 项“梦的不同种类”也不符合文意。
单选题 According to Patrick McNamara,how do dreams work with people's emotions?
  • A. they help people to forget upset things within a period
  • B. they help people to remember what happened already
  • C. they can keep emotional memories away from people
  • D. they can adjust the emotions within a moderate range
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】[解析] 根据题干关键词Patrick Mcnamara，emotions定位到原文第二段第三句：“Dreams modulate the emotions—thev keep them within a certain range，”says Patrick McNamara of Boston University．可知，Patrick认为梦能够调整人们的情绪，使之处于一定的范围，D) 项符合文意。 [避错指导] A) 项“他们能够使人们忘记一定阶段内的烦恼”歪曲了原文的意思；B) 项“帮助人们记住发生的事情”和C) 项“他们能使人们远离情绪记忆”与原文意思相悖。
单选题 All of the following are the dreams' positive functions in people's life EXCEPT that
  • A. they help people experience the powerful emotional memories
  • B. they build certain connections between experiences and memories
  • C. they help people remember things and solve problems of certain types
  • D. they enable people to release the emotion accompanying the memory
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】[解析] 根据题干关键词REM，dreams，function定位到原文第三段第一句和第四段第一句：One idea is that REM dreams allow us to relive powerful emotional memories，but without the rush of stress hormones thataccompanied the real experience…REM dreaming also helps other types of memory and problem solving．可知REM睡眠期所做的梦会使人们重温强烈的情绪记忆，但它不会产生随着现实体验而急剧增加的应激激素。并对其他形式的记忆和问题解决有帮助。B) 项“他们能在经历和记忆之间建立联系”不包括在上述的内容之列。 [避错指导] A) 项“他们帮助人们重温强大的情绪记忆”，C) 项“他们有助于其他类型的记忆和解决某种类型的问题”和D) 项“帮助人们减轻伴随记忆的情绪”都能与原文对应。
单选题 What do we know about non-REM dreams according to McNamara?
  • A. Non-REM dreams support friendly and cooperative conduct.
  • B. Non-REM dreams drive people more emotional and aggressive.
  • C. Non-REM dreams help us by stimulating aggressive encounters.
  • D. Non-REM dreams help people to have friendly social interactions.
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】[解析] 根据题干关键词non-REM dreams，REM dreams定位到第五段第二、三句：MeNamara and colleaguas have discovered that…non-REM dreams，which often involve friendly social interactions…McNamara thinks that by simulating aggressive encounters，REM dreams help US cope with real aggression，whereas non-REM dreams support cooperative behavior．可知，…而非REM梦境，内容通常是友好的社会交往。麦克纳马拉以为，REM梦境通过模拟攻击性行为，帮助我们应付生活中真正的攻击，而非REM梦境则支持合作性行为。故选A) 项“非REM梦境支持友好合作的行为”。 [避错指导] B) 项“非REM梦境是人更感性和有攻击性”意思与原文恰恰相反；C) “非REM梦境模拟攻击性行为对人们有帮助”是REM梦境的特征；D) “帮助人们进行友好的社会交往”是对原文意思的曲解。
单选题 Which of the following statements would logically conclude the last paragraph?
  • A. The content of dreams are rather obscure and can't be predictable.
  • B. Researchers can explain dreams before finding the content of dreams.
  • C. The discovery of universal themes makes dream interpretation possible.
  • D. Researchers will never explain dreams until they figure out a common theme.
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】[解析] 根据题干关键词the last paragraph定位到原文最后一段。文章提到，研究者发现了一些主题会在梦中反复出现，这将可能帮助解析梦的意思。故选C) 项。 [避错指导] A) 项“梦的主题十分模糊，无法预测”和B) 项“在发现梦的主题前研究者可以预测梦”与文意相反；D) 项“除非找到共同主题，否则研究者无法对梦进行解析”，也与文意不符，文章中已经找到共同主题。