The stuff of dreams

原文

It is fairly clear that sleeping period must have some function, and because there is so much of it the function would seem to e important. Speculations about is 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. 'Rest', in terms of muscle relaxation and so on, can be achieved by a brief period lying, or even sitting down. The body's tissues are self-repairing and self-restoring to a degree, and function best when more or less continuously active. In fact a basic amount of movement occurs during sleep which is specifically concerned with preventing muscle inactivity.

If it is not a question of resting the body, then perhaps it is the brain that needs resting? This might be a plausible hypothesis were it not for two factors. 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. The second factor is more interesting and more fundamental. Some years ago an American psychiatrist named William Dement published experiments dealing with the recording of eye-movements during sleep. 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. When woken at other times they reported no dreams. 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. The implications of all this were that it was not the disturbance of sleep that mattered, but the disturbance of dreaming.

--CHRISTOPHER EVANS The stuff of dreams from The Listener --

译文

显而易见，睡眠期必定具有某种功能，而且由于它占去如此多的时间，这个功能似乎颇为重要。关于其本质的种种推测，已延续了数千年之久，而一个令人困惑的奇异发现是，睡眠似乎并非仅仅是为了让身体得到休息。“休息”，就肌肉松弛等方面而言，可以通过短暂的躺卧，甚至只是坐下便可实现。身体的组织在一定程度上具有自我修复和自我恢复的能力，而且在大致持续活动时发挥最佳效能。事实上，睡眠过程中会发生一定量的基本运动，其目的正是为了防止肌肉不活动。

如果不是为了让身体休息，那么或许是大脑需要休息？这个假设本来颇有道理，但有两个因素使之站不住脚。首先，脑电图仪（这是一种通过在头皮上附着电极来记录大脑电活动的一种简单装置）显示，虽然睡眠期间活动模式有所改变，但并无证据表明总活动量有所减少。其次，这个因素更有趣也更根本。多年前，一位名叫威廉·德门的美国精神病学家发表了有关记录睡眠中眼球运动的实验。他证明，普通人的睡眠周期中会 interspersed with 奇异的眼球运动爆发，有些缓慢飘忽，有些急促抖动。在这些眼球运动期被唤醒的人，一般报告说他们正在做梦。而在其他时候被唤醒，他们则报告没有做梦。如果一组人连续数夜被从眼球运动睡眠中打扰，而另一组人在同样长的时间内被打扰，但那时他们并未显示眼球运动，那么，第一组人开始出现某些个性障碍，而另一组人似乎几乎不受影响。所有这些的含义是，关键不在于睡眠的打扰，而在于做梦的打扰。

--CHRISTOPHER EVANS The stuff of dreams from The Listener --

词汇表

sleeping

形容词, gerund (verb form)

英:/ˈsliːpɪŋ/

美:/ˈsliːpɪŋ/

定义

1. 睡觉的 - The state of being asleep or the act of sleeping.

例子: Sleeping for eight hours helps improve concentration.

例子: The sleeping child looked peaceful in the crib.

2. 睡眠过程 - Used as a gerund to describe the process of sleep.

例子: Sleeping is essential for health and recovery.

例子: He studies the science of sleeping patterns.

近义词

dozing: 强调短暂的打盹，通常比 'sleeping' 更随意和短暂。

resting: 更侧重于休息而非深度睡眠，可能包括清醒状态的放松。

slumbering: 更诗意或文学化，常用于描述平静的睡眠，与 'sleeping' 的日常用法相比更正式。

反义词:

waking, alert, vigilant

用法

常用于描述睡眠状态或过程，常见于健康、科学或日常语境中，如 'sleeping habits'（睡眠习惯）。在正式语境中可能涉及文化背景，如某些文化强调睡眠的恢复性。

形式:

复数形式: N/A (作为形容词或动名词), 过去式: slept (作为动词)

关键句型 "It looks as if [clause]"

定义

此句型用于表达某事似乎是某种情况，意思是“看起来好像”或“似乎”。结构为：It looks as if + [clause]（一个从句）。根据《剑桥英语语法指南》，这个句型常用于描述观察到的现象或推测，类似于“It seems that”，但更强调视觉或表象上的可能性。它是一种表示推测的复杂句型，帮助学习者表达不确定性。

例如，在文章中，“it looks very much as if sleeping is not simply a matter of giving the body a rest”展示了这种用法。

用法

此句型主要用于描述事物表面现象或间接推测，常出现在叙述性或解释性语境中，如科学文章、日常对话或故事中。规则：It looks as if 后跟一个完整的从句，通常用一般现在时或一般过去时，表示当前或过去的可能性。

在语法体系中，它属于表示推测的句型，与其他表达不确定性的结构如 "It seems that" 或 "It appears that" 相关。横向比较：与 "It seems that" 相比，It looks as if 更侧重于视觉或外在表现（如文章中的睡眠现象），而 "It seems that" 更泛化；与 "Perhaps [clause]" 相比，此句型更正式和结构化，便于连接复杂句子。

跨语法联系：它涉及从句的使用，学生可以联系名词从句或时间状语从句，进一步扩展到条件句的学习。例如，在科学讨论中，它能与情态动词结合，如 "It looks as if it might rain"，增强表达的细腻度。

注意事项

学生常犯的错误包括：将 as if 与 as though 混淆（两者相似，但 as if 更常见于非正式语境）；或错误使用时态，如用将来时在从句中（应保持一致，如 "It looks as if it is happening" 而非 "It looks as if it will happen"）。纠正建议：练习时注意从句的时态一致，并避免随意替换为简单句。

另一个常见问题是用法过于生硬，导致句子不自然。建议通过阅读练习观察语境。

错误示例：It looks as if I will be late.  (应为一般现在时)
正确示例：It looks as if I am going to be late.

练习

原创例子：假设你在观察天气时说："It looks as if it's going to rain soon." 学生可以替换 [clause] 为其他场景，如 "It looks as if my friend is upset," 并在日常对话中练习，例如在朋友聚会时说："It looks as if everyone is having a good time."

通过替换关键词，学生能更好地适应不同语境，比如在学习文章时改写为："It looks as if sleep has more functions than we think."

额外内容

背景知识：这个句型源于英语中表示假设或推测的传统，常见于文学和科学写作，如文章中的科学推测。对比分析：与中文的“看起来好像”类似，但在英语中更结构化；与法语的 "Il semble que" 相比，英语版本更直接，不需额外动词变化。这能帮助学生理解英语的表达方式，丰富跨文化沟通能力。