我們?yōu)槭裁醋鰤暨@個問題沒有明確的答案，但有不同的理論。這些理論包括記憶儲存、日常情緒的處理以及幫助我們?yōu)槿粘毫η榫尺M行演練。本文就此展開討論。

詞匯：dreams 夢

There are no clear answers to the question of why we dream, but there are different theories. Dreaming is?extraordinary?and strange: you?hallucinate, believe impossible things, and people you know may?merge?into one another. And then, to top it off, you will likely forget all about it.

我們?yōu)槭裁磿鰤暨@個問題沒有明確的答案，但有不同的理論。做夢是非凡而奇怪的:你會產(chǎn)生幻覺，相信不可能的事情，你認識的人可能會彼此融合。然后，最糟糕的是，你可能會把它忘得一干二凈。

Memory storage?could be one reason for why we dream. When you are asleep, the brain decides what information you should move to your?long-term memory?and what should be?unlearnt. In a TED Talk, psychologist Amy Adkins described a 2010 experiment involving participants studying how to get out of a complex 3D?maze. It was found that they were much better at attempting it if they had had?a nap?and dreamt of the maze.

記憶儲存可能是我們做夢的原因之一。當你睡著的時候，大腦會決定你應該將哪些信息轉移到長期記憶中，哪些信息應該被遺忘。在TED演講中，心理學家艾米·阿德金斯(Amy Adkins)描述了2010年的一項實驗，參與者研究如何走出一個復雜的3D迷宮。研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，如果他們小睡一下，并夢見迷宮，他們在嘗試迷宮時表現(xiàn)得更好。

Another purpose of dreams could be the?processing?of our daily emotions, which may add to emotional memory?consolidation. In 2003, the Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience published research that experimented with the idea of dreams being a?replication?of our daily lives.?Diary entries?and?dream journals?of 29 healthy young adults over a two-week period were compared, and it was discovered that?emotional themes?from the day were replicated in dreams 35-55% of the time.

夢的另一個目的可能是處理我們的日常情緒，這可能會增加情緒記憶的鞏固。2003年，《認知神經(jīng)科學雜志》(Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience)發(fā)表了一項研究，該研究對夢是我們日常生活的復制這一觀點進行了實驗。研究人員對29名健康年輕人兩周內的日記和夢境日志進行了比較，發(fā)現(xiàn)當天的情緒主題在35-55%的時間里會在夢境中重復出現(xiàn)。

Antti Revonsuo, a Finnish scientist, has suggested that dreaming helps us to prepare for and deal with stressful situations. He studied children’s?nightmares, giving an example of being continuously?chased?by wolves. He believes dreams like this?stem from?our?ancestors?and could be a?rehearsal?for daily?struggle?and survival. In modern times, dreams and nightmares may be preparing us for social situations such as having a fight with a friend, going on a date or having a job interview.

芬蘭科學家Antti Revonsuo認為，做夢可以幫助我們準備和處理壓力情況。他研究了孩子們的噩夢，舉了一個不斷被狼追趕的例子。他認為這樣的夢源于我們的祖先，可能是日常斗爭和生存的預演。在現(xiàn)代，夢和噩夢可能會讓我們?yōu)樯缃粓龊献鰷蕚洌热绾团笥殉臣?、約會或面試。

With such a variety of theories on why we dream, it seems that more research is needed before we can completely understand their purpose.

關于我們?yōu)槭裁醋鰤舻睦碚撚羞@么多，在我們完全理解它們的目的之前，似乎還需要更多的研究。

詞匯表

extraordinary 奇特的，非凡的
hallucinate 產(chǎn)生幻覺
merge 使合并、融合
memory storage 記憶儲存
long-term memory 長期記憶
unlearnt 忘卻
maze 迷宮
a nap 小睡，打盹
processing 處理
consolidation 鞏固
replication 復制
diary entries 日記
dream journal 夢境日志
emotional theme 情感主題
nightmare 噩夢
chased 被追趕
stem from 由…造成，源自
ancestor 祖先
rehearsal 演練
struggle 掙扎，奮斗

測驗與練習

1.?閱讀課文并回答問題。

1. Why is dreaming described as strange?

2. What does the brain do with memory when you are asleep?

3. True or false??In a 2010 experiment, participants were better at an activity if they hadn’t had a nap.

4. How did researchers find out that emotional themes from the day could be replicated in dreams?

5. What example of a children’s nightmare is given?

2.?選擇意思恰當?shù)膯卧~或詞組來完成下列句子。

1. The two companies are planning to _______ into one.??

hallucinate? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?merge? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?process? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? chase

2. If you’re tired, why don’t you take a _______?

maze? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? nap? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?dream? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?nightmare

3. There was a power _______ between the two owners of the company.

struggle? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? replication? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?themes? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? memory

4. Don’t wake the baby! She’s finally _______.

unlearnt? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? stressful? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? extraordinary? ? ? ? ? ? ?asleep

5. His health problems _______ an accident he had when he was a child.

deal with? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?stem from? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? prepare for? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? understand

答案

1.?閱讀課文并回答問題。?

1. Why is dreaming described as strange?
Because you might hallucinate and believe impossible things.

2. What does the brain do with memory when you are asleep?
The brain decides what information you should move to your long-term memory and what should be unlearnt.

3. True or false??In a 2010 experiment, participants were better at an activity if they hadn’t had a nap.
False. Participants were better at attempting to get out of a maze if they had had a nap and dreamt of the maze.

4. How did researchers find out that emotional themes from the day could be replicated in dreams?
Participants wrote a diary of the day’s events and a dream journal and these were compared.

5. What example of a children’s nightmare is given?
Being chased by wolves.

2.?選擇意思恰當?shù)膯卧~或詞組來完成下列句子。

1. The two companies are planning to?merge?into one.?

2. If you’re tired, why don’t you take a?nap?

3. There was a power?struggle?between the two owners of the company.

4. Don’t wake the baby! She’s finally?asleep.

5. His health problems?stem from?an accident he had when he was a child.??

文章來源BBC，侵權刪。