What Are Dreams?
Read What Are Dreams? and check the IELTS Reading answers. Thousands of years ago, dreams were seen as messages from the gods, and in many cultures, they are still considered prophetic. In ancient Greece, sick people slept at the temples of Asclepius, the god of medicine, in order to receive dreams…
Passage preview
Thousands of years ago, dreams were seen as messages from the gods, and in many cultures, they are still considered prophetic. In ancient Greece, sick people slept at the temples of Asclepius, the god of medicine, in order to receive dreams that would heal them. Modern dream science really began at the end of the 19th century with Sigmund Freud, who theorized that dreams were the expression of unconscious desires often stemming from childhood. He believed that exploring these hidden emotions through analysis could help cure mental illness. The Freudian model of psychoanalysis dominated until the 1970s when new research into the chemistry of the brain showed that emotional problems could have biological or chemical roots, as well as environmental ones. In other words, we weren't sick just because of something our mothers did (or didn't do), but because of some imbalance that might be cured with medication.
Vocabulary from this passage
11 words worth learning before you sit the test, each with the sentence it appears in.
- coherent adjective
Logical, orderly, and consistent, with all parts connecting together clearly and making complete sense.
The patient struggled to articulate a coherent narrative of the events following their sudden awakening.
- diffuse verb
To reduce the intensity of an emotion or situation, or to spread out pervasively.
Engaging in regular physical exercise can help diffuse psychological stress accumulated during the work week.
- discrepancy noun
An illogical lack of compatibility, consistency, or agreement between two or more facts or data points.
The accountant noticed a significant discrepancy between the company's recorded expenses and the actual bank statements.
- epiphenomenon noun
A secondary effect or byproduct that arises from but does not causally influence a primary process.
Some cognitive scientists argue that subjective consciousness is merely an epiphenomenon of complex neural activity.
- extraneous adjective
Irrelevant, unrelated, or separate from the subject being dealt with; coming from the outside.
When analyzing the experimental data, researchers filtered out extraneous noise to ensure accurate results.
- internal milieu noun
The internal physiological environment of an organism, which must be kept stable for survival.
The nervous system constantly monitors the body's internal milieu to maintain optimal temperature and pH balance.
- nocturnal adjective
Occurring, active, or happening during the night rather than during daylight hours.
Researchers used specialized infrared cameras to monitor the nocturnal behavior of the sleep study participants.
- physiological function noun
The normal biological operations, processes, and activities performed by an organism's organs and tissues.
Deep sleep plays a crucial role in regulating essential physiological functions like cellular repair and hormone release.
- prophetic adjective
Accurately predicting or forecasting what will happen in the future; divinely inspired.
In ancient civilizations, unusual celestial events were often interpreted as prophetic signs of political upheaval.
- ubiquitous adjective
Present, appearing, or found everywhere simultaneously; existing pervasively throughout a particular domain.
Mobile internet access has become ubiquitous, transforming how people access information globally.
- unconscious desire noun
A hidden feeling, wish, or urge that influences behavior without the individual being consciously aware of it.
Freudian psychoanalysis focuses on bringing an individual's unconscious desire into conscious awareness to resolve trauma.
Answers with explanations
- 27. E
Paragraph E describes a patient, Yuval Chamtzani, who **doesn't remember any dreams** due to a brain injury. He is cited as an example of an individual with highly versatile talents, being **a lawyer, a painter and the editor of a puzzle column**.
- 28. F
Paragraph F notes that while the exact function of REM sleep remains debated, it is broadly experienced across the animal kingdom. The text states it is **ubiquitous - at least in mammals and birds**, directly addressing the prevalence of this state in animals.
- 29. G
Paragraph G discusses the therapeutic applications of dreaming and notes its emotional benefits. It states that people with vivid dreams are **less likely to remain depressed**, strongly linking the act of dreaming with mental wellbeing and emotional recovery.
- 30. D
Paragraph D details how the REM stage is being investigated today. It specifically mentions the use of **advanced scientific technology**, explicitly naming **PET and fMRI technology** to observe the brain while a person is dreaming.
- 31. C
Paragraph C introduces the "activation-synthesis hypothesis," which views dreams as random nerve signals. This perspective put a "crimp in dream research," prompting the questioned concern: **if dreams were meaningless nocturnal firings, what was the point of studying them?**
- 32. B
The text in Paragraph A states that thousands of years ago, **dreams were seen as messages from the gods**, and that they were considered **prophetic**. This aligns perfectly with option B: "communication with gods and chance to predict the future."
- 33. D
Paragraph D discusses brain activity during REM sleep and notes that the **prefrontal cortex** is much less active. It explicitly defines the prefrontal cortex as the region **associated with logical thinking**, which is synonymous with reasoning.
- 34. A
In Paragraph F, Jerry Siegel points out the difference between mammals/birds and cold-blooded animals regarding REM sleep. He notes that mammals and birds regulate body temperature, and links this to the observation that **REM sleep heats up the brain**. This matches Option A.
- 35. E
Jerry Siegel (Person E) describes dreams as a mere **extraneous byproduct; like foam on beer**. This vividly captures the idea that they come along with REM sleep as nothing more than a "trivial attachment" (epiphenomenon), matching the statement.
- 36. F
Clara Hill (Person F) argues that exploring a patient's dreams provides a "backdoor" into their thinking. By stating that dreams **reveal stuff about you that you didn't know was there**, she supports the idea that therapy benefits from uncovering unconscious thought.
- 37. D
Eric Nofzinger (Person D) discusses the activity of the anterior cingulate cortex during REM sleep. He believes this neurological function explains why **people often figure out thorny problems in their dreams**, directly linking dreaming to coping with daytime difficulties.
- 38. A
Sigmund Freud (Person A) pioneered the psychoanalytic view that dreaming was tied deeply to early life. He theorized that dreams act as the expression of **unconscious desires often stemming from childhood** ("early days").
- 39. G
Rosalind Cartwright (Person G) studies depression and the emotional weight of dreams. She asserts that the storytelling aspect of dreaming **helps diffuse strong emotions**, serving as a critical "mental-health activity" for the body.
- 40. B
Allan Hobson (Person B) proposed the "activation-synthesis hypothesis," arguing that dreams are **essentially random**. This view led to doubts about their research value, begging the question: **what was the point of studying them?**