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The Mystery of Dreams
What is a dream?
The dictionary defines this word as 'a series of thoughts,
images, and feelings that you experience when you are asleep'.
In other words dreams are imaginary sleeping visions. People
spend one third of their lives asleep but they don't fully
understand the purpose of dreams. Freud believed that dreams are
people's unconscious wishes that they are not allowed to express
in real life. Some scientists think that dreams allow us to
solve problems, to create new ideas and to find answers to the
most complicated questions. There are some corroborations of
this theory. For example a famous Russian scientist Dmitri
Mendeleyev invented the periodic table after he had seen it in
his dream. The modern theory is that dreams are the brain's way
of organizing the events of the day and deleting the information
that it doesn't need. It is like the cleaning-up operations of
computers.
Some of our
dreams are very strange and don't make sense at all. When we
sleep, some areas of our brain are active while others are not.
Scientists have proved that the frontal lobes that control
emotion, memory, and experiences are active, but the areas that
control rational, logical thought are not active at all. Our
dreams depend on our emotional state as well. When we are
depressed, we usually have dreams which make our sleep
disturbed. When we fear something, we may have a nightmare. We
can experience intense feelings while sleeping: a sense of
exhilaration, joy and excitement or anxiety, trepidation and
alarm. The more we think about a person, the more likely we are
to dream about him. If we are preoccupied with some problems, we
will continue thinking about them while sleeping. That's why the
Chinese say, 'What you think during the daytime you will dream
at night'.
People's dreams
have various scripts but there are some common themes. For
example most people dream about flying, being chased, falling or
not being able to move. People have always sought meaning in
dreams and considered them to be predictions of the future.
There are a lot of books trying to interpret our dreams and to
explain what the future holds. So if we dream about being
chased, we are running away from something in real life. A dream
about crossroads symbolizes that soon we will have to make an
important decision about business or love. Finding money may
symbolize a birth. Crossing a river means a fundamental change
of lifestyle. Dreaming about a rainbow predicts good news.
Doctors assert
that if a person wants to be healthy and to live long, he must
sleep 8 hours per night. But some people (for example
night-shift workers) are deprived of normal sleep. Some of us
suffer from insomnia because of the distortion of the natural
rhythm of sleep occasioned by noise, anxiety, excessive
tiredness or excitement and many other factors. But a person
needs his amount of sleep and he can do without it only
temporarily. If he has missed a lot of sleep, he looks tired,
becomes absent-minded and makes many mistakes. So sleep is
important both to our body and mind.
1. Read the following sentences and circle TRUE or FALSE:
1) People spend half of their lives asleep.
- T F
2) Scientists understand the purpose of dreams.
- T F
3) When we sleep, all areas of our brain are active.
- T F
4) If we are preoccupied with some problems, we will continue
thinking about them while sleeping.
- T F
5) People's dreams have various scripts but there are some
common themes.
- T F
6) People can do without sleep for a long time without any
damage to their health.
- T F
2. Complete each sentence (A-H) with one of the endings
(1-8):
A. Freud believed that dreams are
B. Some scientists think that dreams allow us
C. The modern theory is that dreams are the brain's way of
D. Our dreams depend on
E. The more we think about a person, the more likely we are
F. People have always sought meaning in dreams and considered
them
G. Doctors assert that if a person wants to be healthy and to
live long, he must
H. If a person has missed a lot of sleep
1. our emotional state.
2. to be predictions of the future.
3. to solve problems, to create new ideas and to find answers to
the most complicated questions.
4. sleep 8 hours per night.
5. people's unconscious wishes that they are not allowed to
express in real life.
6. to dream about him.
7. he looks tired, becomes absent-minded and makes many
mistakes.
8. organizing the events of the day and deleting the information
that it doesn't need.
3. Give the definitions of the following words
• lobes • alarm
• nightmare • prediction
• exhilaration • insomnia
• trepidation • distortion
4. What does it mean if you dream about:
— being chased;
— crossroads;
— finding money;
— crossing a river;
— a rainbow?
5. Answer the questions
1) What is the purpose of dreams to your mind?
2) Why are dreams so strange?
3) How do dreams depend on our emotional state?
4) What feelings can we experience while sleeping?
5) Do you agree that 'what you think during the daytime you will
dream at night'? Explain your point of view.
6) What common themes are there in people's dreams?
7) Why do people have insomnia?
8) Why is it necessary to sleep 8 hours per night?
6. Read and translate the quotations below. Choose any
statement and comment on it
• 'Dreams are today's answers to tomorrow's questions.'
(Edgar Cayce)
• We all dream; we do not understand our dreams, yet we act as
if nothing strange goes on in our sleep minds, strange at least
by comparison with the logical, purposeful doings of our minds
when we are awake.' (Erich Fromm)
'Dreams are illustrations... from the book your soul is writing
about you.' (Marsha Norman)
'The best way to make your dreams come true is to wake up.'
(Paul Valery)
'When you dream, you dialogue with aspects of yourself that
normally are not with you in the daytime and you discover that
you know a great deal more than you thought you did.' (Toni Cade
Bambara)
'Anyone can escape into sleep, we are all geniuses when we
dream, the butcher's the poet's equal there.' (Emile M. Cioran)
Make a list of tips for people suffering from insomnia.
■ Go to bed at the same time every night (not later than 11
PM).
■ Don't eat too much in the evening.
■ Have a glass of warm milk with honey.
■
■
■
A.
Read the questions below and answer them. Tick the questions
that you would like to discuss with your group mates. Organize
the discussion after reading the text.
QUESTIONNAIRE
1. Do you usually sleep less than hours 8 per night?
2. Are your dreams colourful?
3. Do you often have nightmares?
4. Do you always remember your dreams?
5. Do you often dream about flying?
6. Do you believe that dreams are predictions of the future?
7. Have you ever had prophetic dreams?
8. Do you often try to interpret your dreams?
9. Do you have a dream diary?
10.
Do you often get insomnia?
B. Read the text 'The Mystery of Dreams' and say what new
information you have learnt about dreams.
Из учебного пособия
"Открывая
мир с английским языком. Современные темы для обсуждения.
Готовимся к ЕГЭ" Юнёва С.А. 2012г.
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