- 引領公眾輿論的那些美文（環球時代美文讀本）
- 吳中東 宮玉波
- 1985字
- 2020-08-20 09:56:26
03 The Controllable Dream可控制的夢
導讀
文章開篇就說夢的原理以及夢是可以控制的，第一段開始就確立了話題以及作者的態度。整篇文章都是圍繞著第一段展開的。然后講夢與情感的關系，結尾再次強調夢是可以控制的。
Of all the components of a good night's sleep, dreams seem to be least within our control. In dreams, a window opens into a world where logic is suspended and dead people speak. A century ago, Freud formulated his revolutionary theory that dreams were the disguised shadows of our unconscious desires and fears; by the late 1970s, neurologists had switched to thinking of them as just“mental noise”, the random byproducts of the neural-repair work that goes on during sleep. Now researchers suspect that dreams are part of the mind's emotional thermostat, regulating moods while the brain is “off-line”. And one leading authority says that these intensely powerful mental events can be not only harnessed but actually brought under conscious control, to help us sleep and feel better. “It's your dream.” says Rosalind Cartwright, Chair of Psychology at Chicago's Medical Center. “If you don't like it, change it.”
Evidence from brain imaging supports this view. The brain is as active during REM (rapid eye movement) sleep—when most vivid dreams occur—as it is when fully awake, says Dr. Eric Nofzinger at the University of Pittsburgh. But not all parts of the brain are equally involved, the limbic system (the “emotional brain”) is especially active, while the prefrontal cortex (the center of intellect and reasoning) is relatively quiet. “We wake up from dreams happy or depressed, and those feelings can stay with us all day.” says Stanford sleep researcher Dr. William Dement.
The link between dreams and emotions shows up among the patients in Cartwright's clinic. Most people seem to have more bad dreams early in the night, progressing toward happier ones before awakening, suggesting that they are working through negative feelings generated during the day. Because our conscious mind is occupied with daily life, we don't always think about the emotional significance of the day's events—until it appears, we begin to dream.
And this process need not be left to the unconscious. Cartwright believes one can exercise conscious control over recurring bad dreams. As soon as you awaken, identify what is upsetting about the dream. Visualize how you would like it to end instead, the next time it occurs, try to wake up just enough to control its course. With much practice people can learn to, literally, do it in their sleep.
At the end of the day, there's probably little reason to pay attention to our dreams at all unless they keep us from sleeping or “we wake up in a panic, ” Cartwright says. Terrorism, economic uncertainties and general feelings of insecurity have increased people's anxiety. Those suffering from persistent nightmares should seek help from a therapist. For the rest of us, the brain has its ways of working through bad feelings. Sleep—or rather dream—on it and you'll feel better in the morning.
在確保高質量睡眠的所有因素中，夢似乎是最無法控制的一個。在夢中，窗戶通向的世界里，邏輯暫時失去了效用，死人開口說話。一個世紀前，弗洛伊德闡述了革命性的理論——夢是人們潛意識中欲望和恐懼經偽裝后的預示；到了20世紀70年代末期，神經病學家們轉而認為夢是“精神噪聲”，即睡眠時進行的神經修復活動的一種雜亂的副產品。目前，研究人員猜想夢是大腦情感自動調節系統的組成部分，當大腦處于“掉線”狀態時對情緒進行規整。一名主要的權威人士說，夢這種異常強烈的精神活動不僅能被駕馭，事實上還可以有意識地加以控制，以幫助我們更好地睡眠和感覺。“夢是你自己的，”芝加哥醫療中心心理學系主任羅薩琳德·卡特萊特說，“如果你不喜歡，就改變它。”
大腦造影的證據支持了以上觀點。匹茲堡大學的埃里克·諾夫齊格博士說，在出現清晰夢境的快速眼動睡眠中大腦和完全清醒時一樣活躍。但并非大腦的所有部分都一樣，腦邊緣系統（“情緒大腦”）異常活躍，而前額皮層（思維和推理的中心地帶）則相對平靜。斯坦福睡眠研究員威廉·德門特博士說：“我們從夢中醒來，或者高興或者沮喪，這些情緒會伴隨我們一整天。”
夢和情緒之間的聯系在卡特萊特的診所的病人身上顯露出來了。多數人似乎在晚上入睡的較早階段做更多不好的夢，而在快睡醒前會逐漸做開心一些的夢，這說明人們在夢里漸漸克服了白天的不良情緒。因為清醒時我們的頭腦被日常瑣事占據著，所以并不總是想到白天發生的事情對我們情緒的影響，直到我們開始做夢，這種影響才出現。
這一過程不一定是無意識的。卡特萊特認為人們可以練習有意識地控制噩夢的重演。你一醒來就立刻確定夢中有什么在困擾你，設想一下你所希望的夢的結局，下次再做同樣的夢時，試圖醒來以控制它的進程。通過多次練習，人們完全可以學會在睡覺時這樣做。
卡特萊特說，說到底，只要夢不使我們無法睡眠或“從夢中驚醒”，就沒有理由太在意所做的夢。恐怖主義、經濟不確定及通常的不安全感都增加了人們的焦慮。那些長期受到噩夢折磨的人應該尋求專家幫助，而對其他人來說，大腦有自動消除不良情緒的方法。安心睡覺，再做個好夢，早上醒來時你會感覺好多了。
Cloze
完形填空
At the 1 of the day, there's probably little reason to pay attention to our dreams at all 2 they keep us from sleeping or “we wake up in a panic, ”Cartwright says Terrorism, economic uncertainties and general feelings of insecurity have increased people's anxiety. Those 3 from persistent nightmares should seek help from a therapist. For the rest of us, the brain has its ways of working 4 bad feelings. Sleep—or rather dream—on it and you'll feel 5 in the morning.
Key
1. end 2. unless 3. suffering 4. through 5. better
Translation Practices
翻譯練習
（1）Textual Translation（篇章翻譯）
夢和情緒之間的聯系在卡特萊特的診所的病人身上顯露出來了。多數人似乎在晚上入睡的較早階段做更多不好的夢，而在快睡醒前會逐漸做開心一些的夢，這說明人們在夢里漸漸克服了白天的不良情緒。因為清醒時我們的頭腦被日常瑣事占據著，所以并不總是想到白天發生的事情對我們情緒的影響，直到我們開始做夢，這種影響才出現。
_______________
（2）Sentence Translation（句子翻譯）
①子曰：“學而時習之，不亦說乎？有朋自遠方來，不亦樂乎？人不知，而不慍，不亦君子乎？”
_______________
②曾子曰：“吾日三省吾身。為人謀而不忠乎？與朋友交而不信乎？傳不習乎？”
_______________
參考譯文
(1) The link between dreams and emotions shows up among the patients in Cartwright's clinic. Most people seem to have more bad dreams early in the night, progressing toward happier ones before awakening, suggesting that they are working through negative feelings generated during the day. Because our conscious mind is occupied with daily life, we don't always think about the emotional significance of the day's events—until it appears, we begin to dream.
(2) ①Confucius said, “Learn something and then review and practice it frequently. Isn't it a pleasure? Have friends coming from afar. Isn't it a joy? Not being well understood, but I neither complain nor get angry. Isn't it a gentleman bearing?”
②Zeng Zi said, “Every day I examine myself many times. Do I do my best when doing things for others? Am I honest and reliable when associating with friends? Do I review and practice what my teachers teach me?”