智课网TOEFL备考资料托福阅读机经背景文化类：驯服噩梦Inthenewmovie,'Inception,'amasterthiefisabletoinfiltratepeoples'dreamsandstealtheirsubconscioussecrets--evenplantadreamideathey'llthinkistheirown.Asfantasticalasthatseems,anevolvingareaofsleepresearchholdsthatitispossibleforpeopletodirecttheirowndreams,inalimitedway.Forexample,peoplewhosufferfromrecurringnightmarescanlearntosubstitutehappierendings.Practitionersofluciddreaming--whotrainthemselvestobeawarethattheyaredreaming--saytheycantryoutfantasieslikeflying.在新电影《盗梦空间》(Inception)中，大盗能够潜入人们的梦中，偷走他们潜意识中的秘密──甚至还能植入梦的构思，让人们以为那是自己的梦。正如它所展现的奇妙想象一样，一个发展之中的睡眠研究领域认为，人们可以有限地指挥自己的梦。例如，反复做噩梦的人可以学会用更快乐的梦境结局取而代之。清醒梦境的实践者──训练自己意识到在做什么梦的人──说，他们可以在梦中尝试像飞行这样的幻想。Orderingupadreamaboutanaggingpersonalproblemisdifficult,butpossible,saysRobertStickgold,anassociateprofessorofpsychiatryatHarvardMedicalSchool.'Asyougotobedtonight,reallythinkaboutsomeofthoseemotionalissuesthatyouhaven'twantedtodealwith.You'vegotabouta10%to20%shot.'哈佛医学院(HarvardMedicalSchool)的精神病学副教授罗伯特斯蒂克戈尔德(RobertStickgold)说，控制关于烦人的个人问题的梦很难，但却是可能的。“如果你今晚上床时考虑过某些你不想处理的感情问题，那么你梦到这些问题的几率约为10%至20%。”Thatfitswiththecurrentunderstandingofwhatdreamsareandwhywehavethem.Oncethoughttorepresentrepressedsexualurges,orsimplyneuronsfiringrandomly,dreamsarenowbelievedtobemash-upscreatedbytheunconsciousmindasitprocesses,sortsandstoresemotionsfromtheday.'Wetakeourproblemstosleepandweworkthroughthemduringthenight,'saysRosalindCartwright,anemeritusprofessorofatRushUniversityMedicalCenterinChicago,whohasspentnearly50yearsstudyingsleepanddreams.这与目前人们对梦是什么以及我们为何会做梦的理解相符。人们曾经认为梦表示被压抑的性冲动，或只是随机的神经元放电，但现在人们认为，梦是由潜意识处理、分类和储存白天的情感时产生的混合产物。“我们带着问题入睡，在夜里处理这些问题，”位于芝加哥的拉什大学医学中心(RushUniversityMedicalCenter)的神经学荣誉退休教授罗莎琳德卡特赖特(RosalindCartwright)说。她曾花了近50年的时间研究睡眠和梦。Hernewbook,'TheTwenty-FourHourMind,'explainsthatthemindlatchesontosomethreadofunfinishedemotionalbusinessfromtheday.Then,inREMsleep(therapideyemovementperiodwhenmostdreamingoccurs),itcallsupbitsofoldermemoriesthataresomehowrelated,andmeldsthemtogether.'That'swhydreamslooksopeculiar.YouhaveoldmemoriesandnewmemoriesScotch-plaidedintoeachother,'shesays.'Theyareemotionalconnectionsratherthanlogicalones.'她的新书《24小时思维》(TheTwenty-FourHourMind)解释说，思想依附于某些白天未完成的情感事务的线索。然后，在快速眼动睡眠(多数梦产生时的快速眼球运动时期)中，它将唤起一些有关系的旧记忆，并将其糅合起来。“这就是为什么梦看来如此奇特。你的旧记忆和新记忆相互交织着”，她说。“这种联系是情感联系，而不是逻辑联系。”Usually,peopleworkthroughthemostnegativeemotionsfirst,andtheirdreamsbecomemorepositiveasthenightgoeson.(Howdoresearchersknowthat?'Theold-fashionedway.Wewakethemupandaskthem,'Dr.Cartwrightsays.)Butnightmaresinterruptthatprocess;peopleusuallywakeupbeforethefrighteningemotionisresolved,sothedreamkeepsrepeating.通常，人们首先解决最负面的情感，当夜渐深时，梦就会变得更积极。(研究人员是如何知道这个的?“最老套的方法。我们把他们叫醒，然后问他们...