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2024英语寒假作业·高一年级
第1周 第5天
【外刊精读】
原文
Your night life prepares you for what’s to come.
What are dreams for A handful of theories predominate. Sigmund Freud famously contended that they reveal hidden truths and wishes. More recent research suggests that they may help us process intense emotions, or perhaps sort through and consolidate memories, or make sense of random neuron activity, or rehearse responses to threatening situations. Others argue that dreams have no evolutionary function, but simply dramatize personal concerns.
Despite being largely unsupported by evidence, Freud’s view maintains a strong following around the world. Researchers found that students in the U.S., South Korea, and India were much more likely to say that dreams reveal hidden truths than to endorse better-substantiated theories. Relatedly, people put great stock in their dreams: In the same study, respondents said that dreaming about a plane crash would cause them more anxiety than an official warning about a terrorist attack.
Even if dreams can’t foretell the future, they seem to expose our shared fascinations. The majority of dreams occur during REM sleep cycles, of which the average person has four or five a night. Anxiety is also rife: A study of Canadian university students found the most common dream topics to be school, falling, being chased, and arriving too late for something.
For all the commonalities dreams exhibit, they vary across time — people who grew up watching black-and-white TV are more likely to dream in black and white — and culture. A 1958 study determined that compared with Japanese people, Americans dreamed more about being locked up, losing a loved one, finding money, being inappropriately dressed or nude, or encountering an insane person. Japanese people were more likely to dream about school, trying repeatedly to do something, being paralyzed with fear, or “wild, violent beasts.” (For their part, beasts almost certainly have nightmares too: Just about all mammals are thought to dream, as are birds, some lizards, and — unique among invertebrates — cuttlefish. The dreamiest member of the animal kingdom is the platypus, which logs up to eight hours of REM sleep a day.)
If human dreams sound bleak, bear in mind that even negative ones can have positive effects. In a study of students taking a French medical-school entrance exam, 60 percent of the dreams they had beforehand involved a problem with the exam, such as being late or leaving an answer blank. But those who reported dreams about the exam, even bad ones, did better on it than those who didn’t.
So the next time you dream about an education-related experience in which you are both falling and being chased, don’t worry: It’s probably totally meaningless. Then again, your brain might be practicing so you’ll be ready if such an event ever comes to pass.
（选自《大西洋月刊》）
文本精读
Your night life (结合全文可知是指晚上梦中的内容场景等) prepares you for what’s to come.
prepare sb. for sth./to do sth. 使某人有准备应对某事/做某事
请翻译上文：
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What are dreams for A handful of theories predominate. Sigmund Freud famously contended that they reveal hidden truths and wishes. More recent research suggests that they may help us process intense emotions, or perhaps sort through and consolidate memories, or make sense of random neuron activity, or rehearse responses to threatening situations. Others argue that dreams have no evolutionary function, but simply dramatize personal concerns.
predominate v. 占主导地位；有最大影响（或重要性）[文中是指关于梦是什么，有几个主要的（主流的）理论。]
contend v. 认为，声称，主张
reveal v. 揭示，显露，透露
sort through 翻查，规整
consolidate v. 使加强，使巩固[consolidate memory加强记忆]
neuron n. 神经元
rehearse v. 排练，排演
dramatize v. 把（小说、事件等）改编为戏剧（电影）[文中指将个人的所思所想转化为戏剧]
contend/suggest/argue虽然用词和行文不同，但都是为引出关于梦是什么的理论，一个是弗洛伊德的观点，一个是最近的研究，一个是其他人的观点。
请翻译上文：
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Despite being largely unsupported by evidence, Freud’s view maintains a strong following around the world. Researchers found that students in the U.S., South Korea, and India were much more likely to say that dreams reveal hidden truths than to endorse better-substantiated theories. Relatedly, people put great stock in their dreams: In the same study, respondents said that dreaming about a plane crash would cause them more anxiety than an official warning about a terrorist attack.
following n. 拥护者，追随者（通常用单数）
endorse v. （公开）赞同，支持，认可
substantiate v. 证实，证明[文中是过去分词作定语，表示经证实的]
put great stock in 相信，信任[文中指人们很相信自己的梦，梦到飞机坠毁比官方宣布有恐怖袭击还让人焦虑]
respondent n. 受访者，调查对象
请翻译上文：
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Even if dreams can’t foretell the future, they seem to expose our shared fascinations. The majority of dreams occur during REM sleep cycles, of which the average person has four or five a night [快速眼动睡眠周期。即便不知道REM sleep cycle是什么，但是可以从sleep cycle和后面的定语从句中了解一二，大概是一个人平均每晚会经历的四到五个什么睡眠周期。阅读中有时术语不知道什么意思，可以看看有没有定语从句、同位语从句帮你理解。]. Anxiety is also rife: A study of Canadian university students found the most common dream topics to be school, falling, being chased, and arriving too late for something.
foretell v. 预知，预言（同predict）
fascination n. 令人着迷的事物，吸引力
rife adj. （坏事或讨厌的事）普遍存在，流行的
请翻译上文：
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
For all the commonalities dreams exhibit, they vary across time — people who grew up watching black-and-white TV are more likely to dream in black and white — and culture. A 1958 study determined that compared with Japanese people, Americans dreamed more about being locked up, losing a loved one, finding money, being inappropriately dressed or nude, or encountering an insane person. Japanese people were more likely to dream about school, trying repeatedly to do something, being paralyzed with fear, or “wild, violent beasts.” (For their part, beasts almost certainly have nightmares too: Just about all mammals are thought to dream, as are birds, some lizards, and — unique among invertebrates — cuttlefish. The dreamiest member of the animal kingdom is the platypus, which logs up to eight hours of REM sleep a day.)
commonality n. 共性，共同特征
insane adj. 精神失常的，精神错乱的；愚蠢的，疯狂的
paralyze v. 使瘫痪，是麻痹；使不能正常工作[文中指极度害怕的一种状态，被吓到身体瘫软]
nightmare n. 噩梦（也可指可怕的经历）
mammal n. 哺乳动物
lizard n. 蜥蜴
invertebrate n. 无脊椎动物
cuttlefish n. 墨鱼
platypus n. 鸭嘴兽
log v. 正式记录（时间、事实等）
请翻译上文：
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
If human dreams sound bleak, bear in mind that even negative ones can have positive effects. In a study of students taking a French medical-school entrance exam, 60 percent of the dreams they had beforehand involved a problem with the exam, such as being late or leaving an answer blank. But those who reported dreams about the exam, even bad ones, did better on it than those who didn’t.
bleak adj. 没有希望的，令人沮丧的；阴冷的，阴郁的
beforehand adv. 预先，事先
请翻译上文：
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So the next time you dream about an education-related experience in which you are both falling and being chased, don’t worry: It’s probably totally meaningless. Then again, your brain might be practicing so you’ll be ready if such an event ever comes to pass.
come to pass 发生，出现
请翻译上文：
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参考答案：
你的夜生活让你为即将到来的事情做好准备。
梦到底是什么？少数理论占主导地位。西格蒙德·弗洛伊德（Sigmund Freud）有一句名言，即它们揭示了隐藏的真相和愿望。最近的研究表明，它们可以帮助我们处理强烈的情绪，或者整理和巩固记忆，或者理解随机的神经元活动，或者排练对威胁情况的反应。其他人则认为，梦没有进化功能，而只是夸大了个人的担忧。
尽管在很大程度上没有证据支持，但弗洛伊德的观点在世界范围内受众诸多。研究人员发现，美国、韩国和印度的学生更有可能说梦揭示了隐藏的真相，而不是支持更有根据的理论。与此相关的是，人们非常重视自己的梦境：在同一项研究中，受访者表示，梦见飞机失事会比官方警告有恐怖袭击更让他们焦虑。
即使梦想不能预言未来，它们似乎也暴露了我们共同的兴趣。大多数梦发生在快速眼动睡眠周期中，普通人每晚有四到五个。焦虑也很普遍：一项针对加拿大大学生的研究发现，最常见的梦境主题是上学、跌倒、被追赶和迟到。
尽管梦境表现出所有共性，但它们会随着时间和文化的不同而变化——看黑白电视长大的人更有可能做黑白梦。1958年的一项研究确定，与日本人相比，美国人的梦更多是被关起来，失去挚爱，赚钱，着装不当或裸体，或遇到一个疯子。日本人更有可能梦到校园，反复尝试做某事，被吓呆了，或“狂野、暴力的野兽”。（就野兽而言，几乎可以肯定的是，它们也会做噩梦：几乎所有的哺乳动物都被认为会做梦，鸟类、一些蜥蜴和在无脊椎动物中罕有做梦的乌贼也是如此。动物王国中最能做梦的是鸭嘴兽，据记录它每天有长达八小时的快速眼动睡眠。）
如果人类的梦听起来很黯淡，请记住，即使是消极的梦也会产生积极的影响。在一项针对参加法国医学院入学考试的学生的研究中，他们考试前做的梦中有60%与考试有关，例如迟到或有题没答。但是那些报告梦见考试的人，即使是坏梦，也比那些没有做梦的人考得更好。
因此，下次当你梦见与教育经历有关的梦时，在梦中你既跌倒又被追逐，别担心：这可能完全没有意义。话又说回来，你的大脑可能正在练习，所以如果这样的事件发生，你会做好准备。

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