Dreaming is believing, claim researchers of a new study, who found that dreams have an effect on people’s behavior, judgment and they might contain important hidden truths as well.
“Psychologists’ explanations of the meaning of dreams vary widely. But our findings show that people believe their dreams provide meaningful insightinto themselves and their world,” said a lead author of the study Carey Morewedge, an assistant professor at Carnegie Mellon University.
In six different studies, researchers surveyed nearly 1,100 people about their dreams. One of the studies focused on general beliefs about dreams and involved 149 university students. All students were asked to rate different theories about dreams. The experts found that a surprising majority of the participants supported the theory about dreams revealing(揭示) the hidden truths about themselves and the rest of the world.
In a second experiment, they surveyed 182 people at a Boston train station, and asked them to imagine one out of four possible situation that could have occurred the night before a scheduled airline trip. Most of the participants said that dreaming of a plane crash would be more likely to affect their travel plans than would just thinking about a crash, or being warned by the government of a terrorism risk. They said a dreamed crash would influence their travel plans just as much as learning about a real crash on their planned route would.
Another experiment involved 270 men and women from across the United States. In a short online survey, they were asked to recall one of the dreams they had seen about any person they knew.
The findings showed that people were more likely to remember and describe pleasant dreams about a person they liked, rather than a person they disliked. Meanwhile, in most cases they tended to consider an unpleasant dream as more meaningful if it was about a person they disliked.
“In other words,” said Morewedge, “people attribute meaning to dreams when it corresponds (与……一致) with their pre-existing beliefs and desires.”
The researchers say that more investigation is needed to fully understand how people interpret their dreams. According to Morewedge, most people realize that dreams are not predicting their future, but they still try to find some meaning in there.. The purpose of the studies is to .
| A．determine when people tend to remember their dreams |
| B．research whether dreams have anything to do with real life |
| C．find out how people explain their dreams and what impact that has |
| D．understand what causes people to dream and how to interpret dreams |
According to the second experiment, what might influence people’s travel plans most?
| A．Thinking about a past plane crash. |
| B．Dreaming about a plane crash. |
| C．Hearing a government’s warning of a terrorism risk. |
| D．Imagining a plane crashing on their planned route. |
. What can be concluded from the study?
| A．Dreams can be a useful tool for learning and problem solving. |
| B．Most people disagree that dreams help them better know themselves and the world. |
| C．A majority of people believes that dreams can predict their future and try to find their meaning. |
| D．When a dream conflicts with people’s existing beliefs and desires, they tend to attribute less meaning to it. |
. Which kind of dream is seen as more meaningful than the rest?
| A．A pleasant dream about a person the dreamer likes. |
| B．A pleasant dream about a person the dreamer dislikes |
| C．An unpleasant dream about a person the dreamer likes. |
| D．An unpleasant dream about a person the dreamer dislikes. |
When it comes to relationship, we spend a lot of time discussing their joys, but rarely talk about the pain when they break down. Yet most people have a story about a broken relationship.
For Jane Black, a six-year friendship ended when her friend was rude to one of her children. “After quite a few drinks at a party in my house, she said something rude to my child. I ended the friendship face to face at the party,” she says. “I didn’t realize what I was doing at the time, I was simply standing up for my child, but in her eyes any challenge was a betrayal.”
When Angela Thompson noticed a seven-year friendship disappearing, she let it go. “I didn’t know how to deal with the issue. I didn’t sit down for a grown-up conversation; I just walked away quietly.” The decision caused a reaction among Thompson’s other friends. “The other friends in the circle are the worst people when you are trying to break up with a friend,” she says. “They don’t want you to stop being friends, because it puts them in a difficult position. You get told to just get it over.”
Though we have plenty of measures for handling conflict at work or family fight, we still don’t have good ways of ending friendships. Do we sit down and properly break up, or just walk away? Psychologist Serena Cauchy has the following advice.
Don’t blame.
Talk about your needs and feeling rather than talking like a Dutch uncle.
Do talk about your needs.
Talk about why the friendship is not working for you—about how your needs aren’t being met.
Don’t gossip.
Negative talk hurts everyone involved and in some cases can make matters worse.
Don’t be so accessible.
If there is a common wish to conclude the friendship, then you can remove it.How did Angela Thompson deal with her friendship when it went wrong?
| A．She ended it face to face. |
| B．She left it as it was. |
| C．She turned to her friends for advice. |
| D．She made a direct challenge. |
According to the third paragraph, we learn the other friends________.
| A．will help you to fix a broken friendship |
| B．will choose either of the sides who broke up |
| C．will ask you to forgive each other |
| D．will be the worst people to break up with you at the same time |
Which is NOT mentioned by Psychologist Serena Cauchy?
| A．End the friendship if it can’t be renewed. |
| B．Don’t complain behind one’s back. |
| C．Express what you want and expect. |
| D．Sincerely talk about friends’ shortcomings. |
What would be the best title for the passage?
| A．A True Friendship |
| B．When Friendships disappear |
| C．How Friendships Last |
| D．Ways to Fix Friendships |
On August 16, 1977, Elvis Presley saved me.
The previous afternoon, I played with my six-year-old peers in Heather Peters’ backyard. I was enjoying my cake, when Heather asked me where my sleeping bag was. Only then did I know this party was a sleepover. The word “sleep-over” to a six-year-old bed-wetter is like what “cancer” means to an adult. But what if I told them I was a bed-wetter? At least with cancer, people gather at your bedside instead of running from it.
I thought of a way to escape. I would explain that I needed my mother’s permission to spend the nights. But as I called my Mom, Heather stood beside me to listen. She granted permission! Then I would be sleeping in the same living room as the other girls. I didn't bring my own nightdress, so Mrs. Peters offered me Heather's nightdress.
As the other girls drifted into their sweet dreams, I tried to stay awake. “Do I need to go again? I’ll stay up to go one more time...”. Of course, I finally fell asleep.
The next morning, I was the first to wake up. I was warm! I lay in panic for what seemed like hours before the other girls started to wake up. I did the only thing I could do—I pretended that the bed-wetting didn't happen. I got up, took off Heather's nightdress and changed into my clothes like the other girls.
Mrs. Peters walked into the room, and before she could say anything, she stepped right onto the pile of my wet nightdress. My heart stopped as I watched her face burn red. “WHO DID THIS?” She screamed, with a look so scary. Should I answer? And that was when it happened—Mr. Peters came in and grabbed his wife, “Elvis Presley died!”
The news of the King’s death overtook Mrs. Peters, and I was narrowly excused. Then, we left Peters’ together but without the other girls knowing what had happened.The author had to spend the night at Peters’ because ________.
| A．they had fun together and played too late |
| B．she was offered the nightdress |
| C．the famous singer Elvis Presley died that night |
| D．she and her friends were having a sleepover party |
Mrs. Peters got angry because ________.
| A．she found the nightdress wet |
| B．Elvis Presley died that morning |
| C．her husband grabbed her |
| D．not all the girls behaved themselves |
From the story, we know Mrs. Peters was ________.
| A．a crazy and strict woman |
| B．a devoted fan of Elvis Presley |
| C．a woman for perfection |
| D．a woman with a strong fear of getting dirty |
What is the main idea of the passage?
| A．How I escaped Mrs. Peters’ punishment. |
| B．How Elvis Presley saved my life. |
| C．An embarrassing escape in my life. |
| D．An unforgettable party in my memory. |
My wife passed away seven and a half years ago, and I went through a huge depression (消沉), the worst time in my life. I even wanted to end my life. I continued to work as a small-town doctor at my medical clinic in Kilauea, Hawaii. My kids had gone to live on the mainland, and I was alone. On a family trip, we turned on the TV and saw the second plane crash into the World Trade Center. I said to my kids, “I’m going to Afghanistan.” International Medical Corps sent me to set up 20 clinics in some provinces where people had no health care. Eventually, the clinics were serving 27,000 patients a month. I had such a sense of accomplishment, a sense of purpose. My depression went completely away.
I go wherever disasters strike: Indonesia after the tsunami, Pakistan after the earthquake. I was just in Kenya. After their presidential election, at least a thousand people were killed and hundreds of thousands were forced out. We set up mobile clinics in an area with 19,000 refugees (难民).Measles broke out, one of the biggest killers of kids in refugee camps, and it spread like wildfire. Water and medical equipment were also problems.
When my wife passed away, I thought my life was done. But really, it was just getting started. At the end of her life, my wife fell into a coma (昏迷). I held her head in my hands and told her of all the places we would visit, the exciting adventures we would have. I think about this moment many times during my “adventures”. I did not know then how prophetic (先知的) those words would be. She is with me still. The first country where the author provided people with medical care is _____
| A．Indonesia | B．Pakistan | C．Kenya | D．Afghanistan |
The underlined word “Measles” in Paragraph 2 probably refers to ____
| A．a kind of fire | B．a kind of polluted water | C．a kind of medicine | D．a kind of disease |
The author and his wife ______.
| A．experienced a lot of exciting adventures |
| B．loved each other very much |
| C．lived on the mainland |
| D．would travel to many places together |
From this passage we know that the author _____
| A．is a famous doctor | B．got over his wife’s death |
| C．is always in depression | D．experienced many disasters |
Which of the following word can best describe the story in this passage?
| A．Sad. | B．Exciting. | C．Inspiring. | D．Disastrous. |
Before Alaska became part of the U.S., it had been owned by Russia. Trading posts and small settlements were scattered along the coast. The rest of land was left unexplored. The Russians were mainly interested in the wealth of furs from the vast herds of seals they found there.
By the mid-1800’s, most of the seal herds had been wiped out, and Russia no longer wanted to keep Alaska. William Seward, Secretary of State for President Johnson, believed the United States should buy Alaska from Russia. President Johnson wasn’t so sure it was a wise way to spend U.S. money, but he agreed to let Seward discuss it with the Russians. Acting quickly, Seward made a deal. On March 30, 1867, he signed an agreement for the U.S. to pay seven million dollars for the land.
Many people thought it was a foolish waste of America’s money. They called the deal “Seward’s folly”. Then gold was discovered in Alaska and public opinion changed quickly.
Seward did not live to see the true value of Alaska. He died in 1872, five years after making the purchase (购买). Each year, Alaska’s natural resources(资源) have brought in many times the $7,000,000 paid for it. Natural gas, coal, oil, lumber, seafood and other minerals, besides the gold first found, have made it a valuable addition to the United States. In 1959, Alaska became the 49th state of the United States. The Russians wanted to sell Alaska because ______.
| A．they thought it wasn’t a good place |
| B．they thought it didn’t belong to Russia |
| C．they couldn’t find enough seals there |
| D．they wanted to earn more money from the U.S. |
When Seward signed the agreement, many people thought ______.
| A．it was a successful deal | B．it had its true value |
| C．he wasted U.S. money | D．he was clever |
Which of the following things was found first in Alaska?
| A．Gas. | B．Coal. | C．Oil. | D．Gold. |
Before 1959, the United States had ______.
| A．37 states | B．48 states | C．49 states | D．50 states |
The best title for this passage would probably be ______.
| A．Alaska, a beautiful place | B．Alaska with natural resources |
| C．Alaska, the 49th state of the U.S. | D．Alaska, home to seals |
The Great Fire of London started in the very early hours of 2 September 1666 ．In four days it destroyed more than three-quarters of the old city , where most of the houses were wooden and close together ．Over one hundred people became homeless , but only a few lost their lives .
The fire started on Sunday morning in the house of the King’s baker（面包师）in Pudding Lane ．The baker , with his wife and family , was able to get out through a window into the roof ．A strong wind blew the fire from the bakery（面包房）into a small hotel next door ．Then it spread quickly into Thames Street ．That was the beginning.
By eight o’ clock three hundred houses were on fire ．On Monday nearly a kilometer of the city was burning along the River Thames ．Tuesday was the worst day ．The fire destroyed many well-known buildings, old St Paul’s and the Guildhall among them .
Samuel Pepys , the famous writer , writer about the fire , “People threw their things into the river ．Many poor people stayed in their houses until the last moment ．Birds fell out of the air because of the heat .”
The fire stopped only when the King finally ordered people to destroy hundreds of buildings in the path of the fire．With nothing left to burn, the fire became weak and finally died out.
After the fire, Christopher Wren, the architect(建筑师), wanted a city with wider streets and fine new houses of stone．In fact, the streets are still narrow, but he did build more than fifty churches, among them the new St Paul’s
The fire caused great pain and loss, but after it London was a better place: a city for the future and not just of the past.The fire began in .
| A．a hotel | B．the palace | C．Pudding Lane | D．Thames Street |
The underlined word‘family’in the second paragraph means .
| A．home | B．children | C．wife and husband | D．wife and children |
It seems that the writer fo the text was most sorry for the fact that ________.
| A．some people lost their lives |
| B．the birds in the sky were killed by the fire |
| C．many famous buildings were destroyed |
| D．the King’s bakery was burned down |
Why did the writer cite(引用)Samuel Pepys?
| A．Because Pepys was among those putting out the fire. |
| B．Because Pepys also wrote about the fire. |
| C．To show that poor people suffered most. |
| D．To give the reader a clearer picture of the fire. |
How was the fire put out according to the text?
| A．The King and his soldiers came to help. |
| B．All the wooden houses in the city were destroyed. |
| C．People managed to get enough water from the river. |
| D．Houses standing in the direction of the fire were pulled down. |