All About Dreams

              关于梦的一切

                                                                                 by Gerry Hooper             

                                                                        翻译：叶林

Why Do We Dream?

People have been trying to discover the truth about dreams for centuries, and the simplest answer is this: dreams are basically stories and pictures our brains create when we’re asleep.

Most dreams happen during the times of night when we are deeply asleep, and our eyes begin to move around quickly under our eyelids[眼睑]. This is called Rapid Eye Movement (REM). Researchers used to think that REM was the only time people dream, but now most experts agree that we can dream at almost any time of night.

我们为什么做梦？

长期以来，人们一直试图找出有关梦的真相，而最简单的答案就是：梦主要是我们睡着时大脑产生的故事和图象。

大多数的梦都发生在夜晚我们熟睡的时候，那时我们的眼睛开始在眼皮下快速转动。这叫做急速眼球运动（REM）。过去研究人员认为人们只在REM期间做梦，但现在大多数专家认同做梦几乎可以在晚上任何时候发生。

Experts disagree on why we dream. Here are some of their theories[理论]:

·         Some say dreams don’t really have a purpose; they’re just one of those things that seem to happen for no reason.

·         Some say dreams are our brains “twitching[抽搐].” Because our brains are basically huge collections[搜集] of information, pictures, and feelings, when they “twitch” in the night, all kinds of strange things come out and get thrown into dreams.

·         Some say dreams are a way to process[处理] all the events and emotions of the day, and are important to our mental[精神的] and physical health. It’s like when you leave a computer on, it sometimes runs programs to clean up its hard drive.

·         Other experts say that dreams exist to solve[解决] specific[特殊的] problems in our lives.

专家在我们为什么做梦这点上存在分歧，这里是其中一些理论：

·         一些专家说梦并非真的有目的；它们只是那些似乎无缘无故发生的事情之一。

·         一些专家说梦是大脑在“抽搐”。因为大脑收集了大量信息、图象和感觉，所以当它们在晚间“抽搐“时， 所有奇怪的东西就会出现并进入我们的梦里。

·         有些专家说梦是处理一天中所有事件和感情的一种方式，它们对我们的精神及身体健康很重要。这就像你开着电脑，有时候它就会执行清理硬盘的程序。

·         另外一些专家说梦的存在是为了解决我们生活中的具体问题。

What Do Dreams Mean?

Many dreams are so strange and interesting that it seems like they must have some deep meaning or contain important messages. Experts have very different opinions about this. Some believe that dreams aren’t connected to our real emotions or thoughts. Others think that what we see in our dreams has a very specific meaning for our lives. Dreams, they feel, are like a window into our deepest desires[欲望] and biggest fears, and interpreting[解释] our dreams can help us figure out[了解] what’s really going on in our brains.

Many dream researchers have views that are somewhere in between these two opinions. Dreams, they say, are not always filled with meaning. Sometimes dreams are just your mind playing with thoughts and images from your life, or things you may have read or seen on TV. But at other times, dreams are a special opportunity for you to make sense of[理解，明白] your life, especially things that you want to achieve[完成], or things that cause you trouble or stress.

梦有什么意义？

许多梦都很奇怪、有趣，以至于人们觉得它们肯定包含着某些深层含义或重要的信息。关于这点，专家有很多不同的意见。一些专家相信梦与我们的真实情感或想法没有关联。另一些则认为我们在梦中的所见对我们的生活有很特殊的含义。他们觉得，梦就像通往我们最深层欲望和恐惧的一扇窗口，而分析我们的梦能够帮助我们搞清楚自己的大脑正在想什么。

很多研究人员的看法处于前面两种意见之间。梦，他们说，不一定总是隐含着意义。有时梦只是你的头脑在玩弄生活中的想法和图象，或是你读到或在电视上看到的东西。但有些时候，梦是你了解自己生活的一次独特机会，特别是那些你想得到的东西，或者导致麻烦或压力的东西。