Exercises
A. Determining the main idea.
Choose the best answer. Do not refer to the text.
The article aims to tell us _______. ( C )
(a) that desirable results have been achieved in the study of dreaming
(b) that there are several hypotheses for the function of dreaming
(c) the latest breakthrough in the study of dreaming
(d) that scientists have begun to study dreams
B. Comprehending the text.
Choose the best answer.
1. The first to take interest in dreams is/are ______. ( B )
(a) Freud
(b) philosophers and poets
(c) psychiatrists and psychologists
(d) biologists and neurophychologists
2. Dr. Jouvet became interested in dreams ______. ( C )
(a) when he was young
(b) because of Freudian theories
(c) when he was testing Pavlov’s theories
(d) with the help of Dr William Dement
3. We can know from the passage that Dr. Jouvet ______. ( C )
(a) tried to cut off the whiskers of the cats
(b) was doing physiological studies of cats
(c) cooperated with many others apart from Kleitman and Dement
(d) attempted to challenge Pavlov’s theories of conditioning
4. All mammals are similar in that ______. ( B )
(a) adults dream more than new-born infants
(b) new-born infants dream 50% of their sleeping time
(c) new-born infants spend more than 50% of their time sleeping
(d) new-born infants dream 50% more than adults
5. Which of the following seem to have no dreams? ( C )
(a) new-born animals
(b) birds
(c) frogs
(d) pandas
6. In the presence of a muscular tone, the subject may ______. ( D )
(a) do whatever conforms to dreaming world
(b) be dreaming
(c) fall into water
(d) be sleeping
7. According to the passage, ______. ( B )
(a) sleep occurs whenever the nervous system is off duty
(b) dreams take place more than one time in sleep
(c) sleepwalking takes place in the period of dreaming
(d) REM signals the beginning of sleeping
8. Dreams _________. ( B )
(a) are misinformed images and symbols of daily occurrences
(b) are symbolized recurrences of daily happenings
(c) are to be classified in a file cabinet
(d) are a period of sleep
9. Dr. Jouvet knows for sure that _________. ( A )
(a) dreams can be studied in laboratories
(b) there is a brain center responsible for sleep
(c) why infants dream more frequently than adults
(d) dreams are possessed by all animals
C. Understanding vocabulary.
Choose the correct definition according to the context.
1. ... probably the least tangible and the least comprehensible function of the body, dreaming. ( D )
(a) imaginable
(b) conceivable
(c) concrete
(d) perceptible
2. One of these is a Frenchman, Dr. Michel Jouvet, whose research at the medical school of Lyons is internationally recognized as authoritative and on the same plane as that of Professor Nathaniel Kleitman in the United States. ( C)
(a) having the same findings
(b) boarding the same plane
(c) on the same level
(d) having engaged in the same experiment
3. During their sleep we noted an unexpected phenomenon that occurred sporadically. ( B )
(a) continuously
(b) occasionally
(c) spontaneously
(d) simultaneously
4. Discovery of this tracing gave rise to the term " paradoxical phase," which we apply to sleep in the dreaming state. ( A )
(a) self-contradictory
(b) opposing
(c) confusing
(d) consistent
5. We are now convinced that dreams play an important physiological role, although we are not yet in a position to say just what that role is.
( B )
(a) allowed
(b) well-grounded
(c) possible
(d) qualified
6. In recent times we have made great progress in localizing the centers responsible for the phenomena that accompany dreaming activity. ( D )
(a) restricting
(b) defining
(c) detecting
(d) locating
7. The center controlling muscular tone, which is no bigger than a grape seed, lives his dreams. ( A )
(a) acts out
(b) experiences
(c) outlives
(d) activates
8. It had not yet been decided whether there is a brain center responsible for sleep or whether simple inhibition of the waking centers is what causes it. ( C )
(a) relaxation
(b) participation
(c) restraint
(d) intake
9. In this experiment you can appreciate the importance of this center: its role in dreaming is primordial.( B )
(a) ordinary
(b) primeval
(c) significant
(d) remarkable
10. Neurohumoral processes of the brain are immensely intriguing to present-day research men. ( A )
(a) fascinating
(b) confusing
(c) exciting
(d) encouraging
11. In the waking state our nervous system, particularly the brain, perceives a certain number of sensations and records or memorizes them in chemical form by synthesizing molecules of specific proteins. ( C )
(a) separating
(b) dividing
(c) combining
(d) producing
D. Discussing the following topics.
1. What do you know about dreams? Do you think dreaming is exhausting?
答案
Although dreaming is a complicated phenomenon, I would like to share what I know about dreams with you. Have you ever dreamed of being chased or of falling off a high place? If so, you're not alone. Researchers say these are the two most common dreams. People also share other dreams. Many people dream about being seen in public wearing nothing but their underwear--or worse, with no clothes on at all. Whew! It's just a dream! Flying is common in dreams, too. Besides helping you escape monsters, it can mean you are feeling extra confident or good about yourself. People often dream of things they want badly. A boy rises from bed and roams around his room. He opens doors and picks things up. His eyes are open, but he's not awake. He's sleepwalking! Sleepwalking happens between stages of sleep while a person is sleeping but not dreaming. Sleepwalking seems to run in families. It is most common with children, who usually outgrow it. The biggest problem for sleepwalkers is falling down or tripping. They may accidentally hurt themselves because they're not really aware of what they're doing. If you see a sleepwalker, gently lead the person back to bed. The next morning sleepwalkers usually don't remember anything about it. I don't think dreaming is exhausting. These sleepy fantasies can be fun or weird. Dream researchers have several theories: Dreams may help you sort out the events of your daily life, uncover your deepest feelings, or refresh your mind. Dreams may also inspire. If you have nightmares frequently, you should consult a psychiatrist.
2. What do you think the importance of studying dreams is?
To study dreams is to study one of the brain's most mysterious functions, to know an important physiological role and to define what that role is. Probably, studying dreams can also help us explain certain mental illnesses and many other things.
3. Several hypotheses have been mentioned in the passage. Try to name two of them.
One important hypotheses provided in this text is: dreaming activity is inseparable from other activities of the nervous system. There are not separate states of waking, sleeping dreaming; these phenomena make up a continuum that is characteristic of certain creatures. In the waking state our nervous system, particularly the brain, perceives a certain number of sensations and records or memorizes them in chemical form by synthesizing molecules of specific proteins. This synthesis takes place through a highly complex process. This conversion of incoming information into a coded chemical schema is not instantaneous. The chemical factory of our brain needs time to store, select and classify information according to a code that is still to be defined. We might say that the waking state is equivalent to recording information on a dictaphone; during deep sleep this information is typed out; and in the course of dreaming, each page or each sentence, or even each word is classified in a file cabinet along with previous information that is stored away in terms of a careful, previously-established code. This would explain why our dreams contain numerous images corresponding to impressions received in the waking state, and also why some of this information is completely deformed or symbolized. This synthesis of events of the day in dreams would imply a "trituration" of information, together with a review of previous information already classified and coded. This hypothesis would also explain why newborn infants and young animals have a high percentage of dreaming time ─ more than twice as much as adults. This hypothesis, although it links dreams to learning and memory, encounters a number of obstacles, it fails to explain why this function suddenly appears in the evolution of species with the bird, to be magnified in a kind of explosion with the mammals.
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