Lesson 19 The stuff of dreams

第十九课话说梦的本质

  by CHRISTOPHER EVANS

form The Listener

19-1. It is fairly clear that sleeping period must have some function, and because there is so much of it the function would seem to be important.

【译文】显而易见，睡眠必然具有某种作用。睡眠占去那么多时间，其作用似乎还很重要。

【讲解】第二个it指sleeping period。另请掌握重要句型It is fairly clear that…。

19-2. Speculations about its nature have been going on for literally thousands of years, and one odd finding that makes the problem puzzling is that it looks very much as if sleeping is not simply a matter of giving the body a rest.

【译文】人们对睡眠作用的种种猜测确有数千年之久。一项使人对该问题感到困惑的奇怪发现是，睡眠在很大程度似乎并不仅是为使身体得以休息。

【讲解】about is nature作speculations的定语。its nature指the nature of sleeping。that makes the problem puzzling系定语从句，修饰finding。that it looks…a rest作look的表语从句。very much修饰表语从句，意为“很像……”。it指sleeping。

【单词和短语】

speculations：推测，猜测，推断（when you guess about the possible causes or effects of something without knowing all the facts, or the guesses that you make），例如：

Such speculations no longer belong to the realm of science.

这些推测已超出了科学的范畴。

His absence arouses speculations in the academic circle.

他的消失在学术界引发猜测。

We heard all kinds of speculations about the causes of his death.

我们听到关于他死亡原因的种种猜测。

The President’s resignation leads to extensive speculation.

总统的辞职引起了人们的广泛猜测。

literally：确实地，真正地，不加夸张地（used to emphasize that something, especially a large number, is actually true），例如：

I am literally penniless. 我确实身无分文了。

They were literally starving to death. 我们真的快要饿死了。

odd：奇特的，古怪的，奇怪的（different from what is normal or expected, especially in a way that you disapprove of or cannot understand），例如：

an odd taste in pets 对宠物非同一般的喜爱

It is odd that I cannot remember his mobile phone number.

奇怪的是我竟然记不起他的手机号码。

19-3. 'Rest', in terms of muscle relaxation and so on, can be achieved by a brief period lying, or even sitting down.

【译文】“休息”，从放松肌肉等方面看，只要稍微躺躺，甚至坐坐就能实现。

【讲解】in terms of muscle relaxation and so on作状语，修饰整个句子。lying, or even sitting down作定语，修饰period。

【单词和短语】

in terms of：

1. 用……话，用……的字眼/措辞（used to show that you are describing or considering a subject in a particular way or from a particular point of view），例如：

She condemned the protest in strong terms.

她以激烈的措辞谴责这场抗议。

express in terms of science 用科学术语表达

Give the answer in terms of a percentage.

以百分数回答这个问题。

2. 根据，按照，用……的思想方法，在……方面，从……方面说来（if you explain or describe something in terms of a particular fact or event, you are explaining or describing it only in relation to that fact or event），例如：

The events are not to be explained in terms of what happened last week.

不能用上周发生的情况解释这些事件。

measure the value of material goods in terms of money

用金钱计量有形物的价值

It has been a terrible year in terms of business.

以生意论，这是很糟糕的一年。

In terms of art treasures, France is one of the richest countries in the world.

就艺术宝藏而言，法国是世界上最富有的国家之一。

19-4. The body's tissues are self-repairing and self-restoring to a degree, and function best when more or less continuously active.

【译文】人体组织一定程度上能自我修补和自我恢复，有张有弛地连续活动时功能最佳。

【讲解】to a degree作状语，修饰self-repairing和self-restoring。function的主语是the body's tissues。when和more之间省略了the tissues are。

【单词和短语】

function：工作，活动，运转（to work in the correct or intended way），例如：

A government functions through numerous divisions.

政府通过许多部门进行工作。

The machine won’t function well if you don’t oil it.

你若不给机器加油，它就不能很好运转。

19-5. In fact a basic amount of movement occurs during sleep which is specifically concerned with preventing muscle inactivity.

【译文】事实上，睡眠状态下仍有着基本的活动量，专门防止肌肉停止活动。

【讲解】which is specifically…muscle inactivity系定语从句，修饰movement。

【单词和短语】

inactivity的形容词形式是inactive。

19-6. If it is not a question of resting the body, then perhaps it is the brain that needs resting?

【译文】如果问题不是使身体得到休息，那么也许是大脑需要休息？

【讲解】it is the brain that needs resting系强调句，被强调部分是the brain。

19-7. This might be a plausible hypothesis were it not for two factors.

【译文】若不是下面两点因素的话，这种假使似乎是合理的。

【讲解】were it not for two factors是条件句，if被省略了。省略if时，要用倒装语序。自然语序是if it were not for…。

【单词和短语】

plausible：

1. （论点等）貌似有理的，（说法等）貌似真实的（reasonable and likely to be true or successful），例如：

a plausible excuse 貌似有理的借口

a plausible plot 貌似真实的情节

2.（人）貌似可信的，花言巧语的（someone who is plausible is good at talking in a way that sounds reasonable and truthful, although they may in fact be lying），例如：

a plausible commentator/liar 花言巧语的评论员/说谎大王

plausible的反义词是implausible，名词形式是plausibility。

19-8. First the electroencephalograph (which is simply a device for recording the electrical activity of the brain by attaching electrodes to the scalp) shows that while there is a change in the pattern of activity during sleep, there is no evidence that the total amount of activity is any less.

【译文】第一点，脑电图记录仪（不过是一种把电极接到头皮上记录脑电活动的仪器）显示，人在睡眠时大脑活动的方式有变化，但没有迹象表明其活动总量有任何减少。

【讲解】which is…to the scalp系定语从句，修饰electroencephalograph。while意为“虽然”。

19-9. The second factor is more interesting and more fundamental.

【译文】第二点更有趣，也更重要。

19-10. Some years ago an American psychiatrist named William Dement published experiments dealing with the recording of eye-movements during sleep.

【译文】数年前，美国精神病学家William Dement发表了关于记录人在睡眠期间眼睛活动的实验报告。

【讲解】dealing with…during sleep作定语，修饰experiments。

【单词和短语】

由psychiatrist（精神病学家）联想到psychiatry（精神病学）和psychiatric（精神病的）。

19-11. He showed that the average individual's sleep cycle is punctuated with peculiar bursts of eye-movements, some drifting and slow, others jerky and rapid. People woken during these periods of eye-movements generally reported that they had been dreaming.

【译文】他指出，常人的睡眠周期中不时伴有一阵阵奇特的眼睛活动，有的动作飘忽而缓慢，有的动作急剧而快速。在眼睛活动期间被弄醒的人都说自己在做梦。

【讲解】some drifting and slow和others jerky and rapid是两个独立主格结构，作eye-movements的同位语。some和other都指movements，后面均省略了being。woken during these periods of eye-movements是过去分词短语，作定语，修饰people。

【单词和短语】

punctuate：

1. 不时打断（to be interrupted by something, especially when this is repeated），例如：

a speech punctuated with applause 不时为掌声打断的演讲

The steady click of her needles punctuated the science.

她那编织针有规律的嗒嗒声不时打破寂静。

He punctuated his solemn remarks with a few well-chosen jokes.

他在严肃的讲话中穿插了一些恰到好处的笑话。

2. 强调，使突出（give point to; emphasize; accentuate），例如：

He punctuated his remarks with gestures.

他借用手势来加强语势。

Tear-soaked letters punctuated the first week away from home.

离家后的第一个星期总是留着眼泪写家信。

19-12. When woken at other times they reported no dreams.

【译文】其余时间被唤醒的人们则说没做梦。

【讲解】when woken at other times中when和woken中间省略了they are。

19-13. If one group of people were disturbed from their eye-movement sleep for several nights on end, and another group were disturbed for an equal period of time but when they were no exhibiting eye-movements, the first group began to show some personality disorders while the others seemed more or less unaffected.

【译文】如果一组人连续几夜在眼睛活动时被叫醒；另一组人在相同的一段时间里在眼睛没有活动的睡眠中被叫醒，结果第一组人开始出现性格失常，而第二组人似乎没受什么影响。

【讲解】when they were no exhibiting eye-movements作time的定语。

【单词和短语】

disturb：扰乱，滋扰，打扰，使骚动，使激动（to interrupt someone so that they cannot continue what they are doing），例如：

Heavy truck traffic disturbed the neighbourhood.

重型卡车的来来往往扰乱了这一带的安宁。

Do not disturb the baby；he is asleep. 不要打扰婴儿，他睡着了。

strikes disturbing the country 使全国动荡的罢工

have the power to disturb sb’s heart 具有激动某人人心的力量

disturb的名词形式是disturbance。

disorder：（身心、机能的）失调，紊乱，不适，病（a mental or physical illness which prevents part of your body from working properly），例如：

a nutritional disorder caused by a lack of phosphorus

由缺磷引起的营养失调

a mild stomach disorder 轻度胃病

19-14. The implications of all this were that it was not the disturbance of sleep that mattered, but the disturbance of dreaming.

【译文】所有这一切表明：要紧的是做梦受干扰而非睡眠受干扰。

【讲解】it was not the disturbance of sleep that mattered, but the disturbance of dreaming是强调句，被强调的部分是not the disturbance of sleep和but the disturbance of dreaming。but和the之间省略了it was。dreaming后省略了that mattered。

【单词和短语】

implication：暗示，暗指（a situation in which it is shown or suggested that someone or something is involved in a crime or a dishonest act），例如：

a polite implication 客气的暗示

make an implication 作暗示

implication的动词形式是implicate。