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Predicting the trends of the future is very important for business. All of the world's major companies spend considerable amounts of time and money trying to work out what will (1) ____ necessary or popular in the future, and how they can (2) ____ their ideas and make them available to the public (3) _____ other companies do. They try to (4) ____ up with ideas for products or services that no one else can offer. In business, there is nothing better than being the market leader, and new products that sell well are what every company wants.
But there's a problem with predictions. If you get them right, you look like a genius. If you get them wrong, however, you look a bit ridiculous. (5) _____ the early 1990s, some people said that the motor car would never replace the horse; yet, here we are over 100 years (6) ____ with more than 600 million cars on roads around the world. In 1943, the chairman of IBM - today, one of (7) ______ world's biggest computer companies - said that there was a world market for only five computers! He had no idea that computers (8) _____ become smaller, more efficient and more affordable, or that they would be as widespread and popular as they are today.
1. a have   b show   c be   d make
2. a development   b developed   c developing  d develop
3. a before   b when   c while   d until
4. a back    b come   c hook   d set
5. a In   b at    c On   d To
6. a later   b earlier   c sooner   d better
7. a a   b an   c no   d the
8. a shall   b would   c will   d won't

1
16 tháng 12 2021

Predicting the trends of the future is very important for business. All of the world's major companies spend considerable amounts of time and money trying to work out what will (1) ____ necessary or popular in the future, and how they can (2) ____ their ideas and make them available to the public (3) _____ other companies do. They try to (4) ____ up with ideas for products or services that no one else can offer. In business, there is nothing better than being the market leader, and new products that sell well are what every company wants. But there's a problem with predictions. If you get them right, you look like a genius. If you get them wrong, however, you look a bit ridiculous. (5) _____ the early 1990s, some people said that the motor car would never replace the horse; yet, here we are over 100 years (6) ____ with more than 600 million cars on roads around the world. In 1943, the chairman of IBM - today, one of (7) ______ world's biggest computer companies - said that there was a world market for only five computers! He had no idea that computers (8) _____ become smaller, more efficient and more affordable, or that they would be as widespread and popular as they are today. 1. a have b show c be d make 2. a development b developed c developing d develop 3. a before b when c while d until 4. a back b come c hook d set 5. a In b at c On d To 6. a later b earlier c sooner d better 7. a a b an c no d the 8. a shall b would c will d won't

1. Read the text. Choose the right words and write them on the lines Airports You can fly to places all over (1) ................. world from airports. Planes and helicopters leave and arrive (2) .................. day. You often take a plane from an airport when you go to (3) .................. country on holiday or for work. Some people go to airports because they (4) ............... watching planes there. You can get to airports (5) ................ bus, taxi or car. Sometimes you go there...
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1. Read the text. Choose the right words and write them on the lines

Airports

You can fly to places all over (1) ................. world from airports. Planes and helicopters leave and arrive (2) .................. day. You often take a plane from an airport when you go to (3) .................. country on holiday or for work. Some people go to airports because they (4) ............... watching planes there. You can get to airports (5) ................ bus, taxi or car. Sometimes you go there to meet friends (6) .................. are arriving from other places. In most airports there are shops, cafés and toilet. People (7) ................. buy things before they get on the plane. These things are usually cheaper in airports (8) .................... in other shops. You have to wait in a place called the 'departure lounge' befor you fly. A lot of people (9) ................... in airports. People have to clean them all the time because (10) .................... are very big and a lot of people use them. You can see pilots there, too. There are (11) ..................... policemen and policewomen, and mechanics who work on the planes before they fly.

1. a / an / the

2. some / every / any

3. many / another / other

4. enjoys / enjoy / enjoyed

5. by / for / with

6. what / which / who

7. can / are / have

8. that / than / then

9. works / working / work

10. they / it / you

11. twice / also / together

1
10 tháng 8 2017

Airports

You can fly to places all over (1) ................. world from airports. Planes and helicopters leave and arrive (2) .................. day. You often take a plane from an airport when you go to (3) .................. country on holiday or for work. Some people go to airports because they (4) ............... watching planes there. You can get to airports (5) ................ bus, taxi or car. Sometimes you go there to meet friends (6) .................. are arriving from other places. In most airports there are shops, cafés and toilet. People (7) ................. buy things before they get on the plane. These things are usually cheaper in airports (8) .................... in other shops. You have to wait in a place called the 'departure lounge' befor you fly. A lot of people (9) ................... in airports. People have to clean them all the time because (10) .................... are very big and a lot of people use them. You can see pilots there, too. There are (11) ..................... policemen and policewomen, and mechanics who work on the planes before they fly.

1. a / an / the

2. some / every / any

3. many / another / other

4. enjoys / enjoy / enjoyed

5. by / for / with

6. what / which / who

7. can / are / have

8. that / than / then

9. works / working / work

10. they / it / you

11. twice / also / together

You should call the police when you believe a crime is about to be committed or has been comitted. Cops would much rather hear from people BEFORE the crime than after the crime. For example, if you see a person you don't recognize as a neighbor, in your neighborhood looking into parked cars, call the cops. We would rather try to catch him and identify him before he steals the car, rather than have to chase him (endangering lives) after he steals it.You should also call the cops about disturbing...
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You should call the police when you believe a crime is about to be committed or has been comitted. Cops would much rather hear from people BEFORE the crime than after the crime. For example, if you see a person you don't recognize as a neighbor, in your neighborhood looking into parked cars, call the cops. We would rather try to catch him and identify him before he steals the car, rather than have to chase him (endangering lives) after he steals it.

You should also call the cops about disturbing choices people make that can effect your quality of life. If someone puts their stereo on so loud it bothers you, you should go ask him to turn it down, and if he doesn't then call the cops. If there is a loud party next door and they keep waking you up, call the cops to make them turn down the noise or break up the party. Call in if you have drug dealing or prostitution in your neighborhood. You should not have to put up with that crap.

There are many ways to get your local cops to help you, that is what they are there for, you dont necessarily have to call. If it is an ongoing problem a letter or email to the chief will usually get the ball going. Or you can wave down an officer and tell them what the problem is, they are public servants that work for the citizens. A lot of serious crimes have been solved because a citizen passed along information to an officer.

DICH GIUM VOI 

0
9 tháng 4 2020

The ladies' club always had a (1)…meeting .every Friday afternoon and someone came to talk to them about important things. After that they had (2)…cookies…….and asked questions.
One Friday, a (3)...man………….came and talked to the club about (4)……food….. "There is not (5)……enough....food in the world for everybody", he said. " More than (6)…half….the people in the world are hungry. And when they get more food, they have more (7)..energy….so they never stop being hungry. Somewhere in the world, a woman is (8)..having….a baby every minute, day and night. What are we going to do about it ?" He waited for a few (9)..moments(seconds/minutes)….before he continued, but before he began to speak again, one of the ladies said, " Well, why don't we find that woman and (10)K I L L…….her ?"

23 tháng 4 2020

The ladies' club always had a (1) meeting every Friday afternoon and someone came to talk to them about important things. After that they had(2) tea and asked questions.One Friday, a (3) gentleman came and talked to the club about(4) food "There is not (5) enough food in the world for everybody", hesaid. " More than (6) half the people in the world are hungry. And when they getmore food, they have more (7) babies so they never stop being hungry.Somewhere in the world, a woman is (8) having a baby every minute, day andnight. What are we going to do about it ?" He waited for a few (9) seconds before hecontinued, but before he began to speak again, one of the ladies said, " Well, why don't we find that woman and (10) stop her ? "

I. Read and answer the question Television enables us to see things in distant places. It is indeed one off the most wonderful things that man has ever invented. Television not only entertains people but also teaches people a variety of important things. Through this wonderful invention we learn about people and events thousands of miles away. Pictures taken in all pát of the world are also shown on television for entertainment as well as for instruction. Short films based on popular...
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I. Read and answer the question

Television enables us to see things in distant places. It is indeed one off the most wonderful things that man has ever invented.

Television not only entertains people but also teaches people a variety of important things. Through this wonderful invention we learn about people and events thousands of miles away. Pictures taken in all pát of the world are also shown on television for entertainment as well as for instruction. Short films based on popular stories are often shown which entertain millions of people all over the world.

In some countries television is used to teach pupils and students many useful lessons. Students who cannot go to school because of transport or other problems are taught all their lessons at home through television.

As television appeals to the eye instead of the ear, people enjoy watching more than listening to radio . Listening requires knowledge of many things, but what we see with our eyes expains that itself .

For all these reasons, there is no doubt that television will continue to be popular for a long time.

Question :

1. What is television connsidered as ?

2. What do we learn through television ?

3. What do people prefer, watching or listening ?

4. How can students obtain knowledge if they cannot go to school ?

5. What is the difference between listening and watching ?

II. Read again and complete the sentences.

1. Television allows us to see things in ............. places.

2. Television shows pictures taken in all parts of the world for the purpose of ................and .................... .

3. Millions of people around the world are ...............by films based on famous stories.

4. Television appeals to the eye while ..........appeals to the ear.

5. It is easy to understand knowledge on TV as what people see can ........... itself.

6. There is no doubt that television will keep being ................... for a long time.

Cảm ơn trc những ng đã giúp mik ạ ^^

0
18 tháng 4 2018

1 . Because a robot cannot think or do things alone.

2 . It can help us save a lot of time and work.

3 . They are expensive.

4 . No, they don't.

18 tháng 4 2018

A robot can not think or do things alone . People use a computer to control it .Today , robots are not very popular because they are too expensive ,but they are very useful .They can help us save a lot of time and work . A robot can do the same work for 24 hours , and yet , it does not complain or get tired . In the US , people use robots to guard some important places . There robots can listen to certain noises and send signals for help if there's trouble or danger.In Japan , people use robots in factories to build cars .In the future , scientists will design many types of intelligent robots . Thier robots will be able to do many more complicated things .However , some people do not like robots . They fear that one day robots will be too powerful.

1.Why do people useba computer to control a robot?

=>A robot can not think or do things alone

2.What can a robot help us?

=>They can help us save a lot of time and work .

3.Are robots cheap or expensive ?

=>they are expensive

4.Do all people like robots?

=>No ,they don't

A robot cannot think or do things alone. People use a computer to control it. Today, robots are not very popular because they are too expensive, but they are very useful. They can help us save a lot of time and work. A robot can do the same work for 24 hours and yet it does not complain or get tired . In the US, people use robots to guard some important places. These robots can listen to certain noises and send signals for help if there's troubleor danger. In Japan, people use robots in...
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A robot cannot think or do things alone. People use a computer to control it. Today, robots are not very popular because they are too expensive, but they are very useful. They can help us save a lot of time and work. A robot can do the same work for 24 hours and yet it does not complain or get tired . In the US, people use robots to guard some important places. These robots can listen to certain noises and send signals for help if there's troubleor danger. In Japan, people use robots in factories to buil cars. In the future, scientists will design many types of intelligent robots. Their robots will be able to do many morecomplicated things. However, some people do not like robots. They fear that one day robots will be too powerful.

1. Are robots cheap?

____________________________________

2. How long can a robot do the sae work?

_______________________________________

3. What can robots do to guard some important places?

________________________________________________

4. Do people in Japan use robts in factories to buil cars?

___________________________________________________

5. Why don't some people like robots?

__________________________________________

2
1 tháng 5 2017

A robot cannot think or do things alone. People use a computer to control it. Today, robots are not very popular because they are too expensive, but they are very useful. They can help us save a lot of time and work. A robot can do the same work for 24 hours and yet it does not complain or get tired . In the US, people use robots to guard some important places. These robots can listen to certain noises and send signals for help if there's troubleor danger. In Japan, people use robots in factories to buil cars. In the future, scientists will design many types of intelligent robots. Their robots will be able to do many morecomplicated things. However, some people do not like robots. They fear that one day robots will be too powerful.

1. Are robots cheap?

No, they aren't.

2. How long can a robot do the save work?

A robot can do the same work for 24 hours.

3. What can robots do to guard some important places?

These robots can listen to certain noises and send signals for help if there's troubleor danger.

4. Do people in Japan use robts in factories to build cars?

Yes, they do.

5. Why don't some people like robots?

Because they fear that one day robots will be too powerful.

1 tháng 5 2017

1. No, they aren't

2. A robot can do the same work for 24 hours

3.These robots can listen to certain noises and send signals for help if there's troubleor danger.

4. Yes , they do

5.Because they fear that one day robots will be too powerful.

12 tháng 6 2017

The ladies's club always had a meeting every Friday afternoon and someone came to talk to them about important things. After that they had tea and asked questions.

One Friday, a man came and talked to the club about the food problem "There is not enough food in the word for everybody" , he said. "More than half of the people in the word are hungry. And when they get more food, they have more babies so they never stop being hungry. Somewhere in the word, a woman is having a baby every minute, day and night. What are we going to do about it?" He waited for a few seconds before he continued , but before the began to speak again, one of the ladies said, "Well, why don't we find that woman and stop her ?"

Dịch:Some theories of the purpose of dreamsFreud believed that we dream so that we can release the deep, secret desires that we are not allowed to express in real life because of the rules of polite society. Most people know about Freudian dream analysis – a dream about a train going into a tunnel is a dream about sexual intercourse. But couldn’t it just be a dream about travelling on a train?Another theory is that dreams allow us to solve problems that we can’t solve in real life. We...
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Dịch:

Some theories of the purpose of dreams

Freud believed that we dream so that we can release the deep, secret desires that we are not allowed to express in real life because of the rules of polite society. Most people know about Freudian dream analysis – a dream about a train going into a tunnel is a dream about sexual intercourse. But couldn’t it just be a dream about travelling on a train?

Another theory is that dreams allow us to solve problems that we can’t solve in real life. We go to sleep with a problem and wake up with the answer. This may be more of a way to ‘use’ our dreams than a ‘purpose’ of dreaming. If you believe that your dreams are important then analysing them may help you to focus your mind on the problem and help you to find the solution.

The modern image is that dreams are the brain’s way of cleaning up the computer’s hard disk, organizing the events of the day into folders and deleting the rubbish that it doesn’t want to keep. But we all know that very little of what we dream every night is concerned with what happened to us that day.

Another idea is that dreams are the brain’s way of practising the behaviour that we need to survive. So we dream about being chased by a monster because one day it might happen! It’s a bit like a pianist practising her scales every day even though she doesn’t need to use them at that moment.

Others believe that dreaming is the brain’s way of exercising the pathways between the brain cells. This may be an important element in why we sleep rather than why we dream. We die if we don’t sleep but we can live without dreaming. Some patients with brain injuries lose the ability to dream but don’t seem to suffer any ill-effects.

REM and dreaming

Scientists used to think that dreaming only happened during Rapid Eye Movement sleep (REM). REM sleep is essential for all mammals. We all become irritable and depressed without it. If we don’t have enough REM one night, we will compensate by having more the next. REM is generated by the brainstem – the oldest and most primitive part of the brain. So scientists used to believe that dreaming was also caused by activity in the brainstem. We now know that dreaming can happen at any time during sleep. The only difference seems to be that it’s easier to remember dreams that happen during REM.

Babies have a lot more REM activity than adults, but research shows that they dream less. The same may be true of animals. We know that they have REM activity but that doesn’t mean they dream.

It also seems that dreaming is a skill that develops as you get older, like language for example. Young children’s dreams are very different from older children’s or adult’s dreams.

New research

Modern technology has allowed scientists to map the parts of the brain that are active when we dream. The primitive brainstem is very active, but so are other important areas at the front of the brain. These are the frontal lobes that control emotion, memory, and experiences that come through the senses like hearing and vision. If these areas are injured, the person stops dreaming. On the other hand, the areas that control rational, logical thought are not active at all. This could explain why dreams are so strange. They have no logical sequence or time, which makes them very difficult to explain to other people when we wake up. Dreams combine recent events with long past events and our emotions while we are dreaming are often very strong.

Psychologists have also done studies on people who kept dream diaries for long periods of time (up to fifty years in some cases) and have found that what we dream is very much connected with how we think and behave when we are awake. So an extrovert, adventurous person will have extrovert, adventurous dreams. A shy person will be a shy person in her dreams. People who are important to us will often be in our dreams and so will things that worry us or make us happy.

So what’s the conclusion?

Well, nobody really knows. But scientists are now suggesting that dreams have absolutely no purpose at all. When we are awake we are ‘thinking’ all the time. Some of this thinking is useful and has a purpose. But we often just ‘think’ about nothing in particular while we’re waiting for the bus or walking to work. And that’s what the brain is doing when we are asleep - just thinking. Sometimes it’s interesting and sometimes it’s boring.

Doing the research for this article has made me more interested in my dreams rather than less. I might even start a dream diary! But nothing that I’ve read explains why I sometimes have an embarrassing dream about finding myself standing completely naked at a bus stop. Fortunately, this has never happened to me in real life, and it isn’t something that I think about when I’m awake. I’m told that it’s an example of a ‘universal dream’ – a dream that is common to people all over the world. Dreaming about flying is another example. So what’s the explanation? We can’t all be ‘just thinking’ about the same thing, can we?

Find the new words and translate it

5
1 tháng 2 2018

Một số lý thuyết về mục đích của những giấc mơ

Freud tin rằng chúng ta mơ ước để chúng ta có thể giải toả những ham muốn sâu, bí mật mà chúng ta không được phép diễn đạt trong cuộc sống thực bởi vì các quy tắc của xã hội lịch sự. Hầu hết mọi người đều biết về phân tích giấc mơ của Freud - giấc mơ về một con tàu đi vào đường hầm là một giấc mơ về quan hệ tình dục. Nhưng liệu đó có phải chỉ là một giấc mơ khi du hành trên tàu?

Một lý thuyết khác là những giấc mơ cho phép chúng ta giải quyết những vấn đề mà chúng ta không thể giải quyết trong cuộc sống thực. Chúng tôi đi ngủ với một vấn đề và thức dậy với câu trả lời. Đây có thể là một cách để "sử dụng" ước mơ của chúng ta hơn là một mục đích "của mơ ước. Nếu bạn tin rằng giấc mơ của bạn là quan trọng thì việc phân tích chúng có thể giúp bạn tập trung suy nghĩ về vấn đề và giúp bạn tìm ra giải pháp.

Hình ảnh hiện đại là giấc mơ là cách để làm sạch ổ cứng của máy tính, tổ chức các sự kiện trong ngày vào các thư mục và xóa các rác mà nó không muốn giữ. Nhưng tất cả chúng ta đều biết rằng rất ít những gì chúng tôi mơ ước mỗi tối liên quan đến những gì đã xảy ra với chúng tôi ngày hôm đó.

Một ý tưởng khác là giấc mơ là cách hành xử của não đối với hành vi mà chúng ta cần phải tồn tại. Vì vậy, chúng tôi mơ ước được bị đuổi bởi một con quái vật bởi vì một ngày nào đó có thể xảy ra! Nó giống như một nghệ sĩ piano thực hành quy mô của cô ấy mỗi ngày mặc dù cô ấy không cần sử dụng chúng vào lúc đó.

Những người khác tin rằng giấc mơ là cách não thực hiện các con đường giữa các tế bào não. Đây có thể là một yếu tố quan trọng tại sao chúng ta ngủ nhiều hơn là tại sao chúng ta mơ ước. Chúng ta chết nếu chúng ta không ngủ nhưng chúng ta có thể sống mà không mơ mộng. Một số bệnh nhân bị thương não mất khả năng mơ ước nhưng dường như không bị ảnh hưởng xấu.

REM và mơ ước

Các nhà khoa học từng nghĩ rằng giấc mơ chỉ xảy ra trong giấc ngủ Mắt nhanh (REM). Giấc ngủ REM là điều cần thiết cho tất cả các động vật có vú. Tất cả chúng ta trở nên cáu kỉnh và chán nản nếu không có nó. Nếu chúng ta không có đủ giấc ngủ đêm REM, chúng tôi sẽ đền bù bằng cách có thêm thời gian tiếp theo. REM được tạo ra bởi bộ não - phần lâu đời nhất và nguyên thủy nhất của bộ não. Vì vậy, các nhà khoa học từng tin rằng giấc mơ cũng là do hoạt động trong não. Bây giờ chúng ta biết rằng giấc mơ có thể xảy ra bất cứ lúc nào trong suốt giấc ngủ. Sự khác biệt duy nhất có thể là dễ nhớ hơn những giấc mơ xảy ra trong REM.

Trẻ sơ sinh có nhiều hoạt động REM hơn người lớn, nhưng nghiên cứu cho thấy họ mơ ước ít hơn. Điều này cũng có thể đúng với động vật. Chúng tôi biết rằng họ có hoạt động REM nhưng điều đó không có nghĩa là họ mơ ước.

Nó cũng có vẻ như là mơ ước là một kỹ năng phát triển khi bạn lớn lên, chẳng hạn như ngôn ngữ ví dụ. Ước mơ của trẻ nhỏ rất khác so với giấc mơ của những đứa trẻ lớn tuổi hơn và người lớn.

Nghiên cứu mới

Công nghệ hiện đại đã cho phép các nhà khoa học lập bản đồ các bộ phận của não hoạt động khi chúng ta mơ ước. Giun sơ khai rất năng động, nhưng cũng là những khu vực quan trọng khác ở phía trước của não. Đây là những thùy trán điều khiển cảm xúc, trí nhớ và kinh nghiệm đi qua các giác quan như nghe và nhìn. Nếu những khu vực này bị thương, người đó ngừng mơ. Mặt khác, các lĩnh vực kiểm soát suy nghĩ hợp lý, hợp lý không hoạt động chút nào. Điều này có thể giải thích tại sao những giấc mơ thật kỳ lạ. Họ không có trình tự hoặc thời gian hợp lý, điều này khiến họ rất khó giải thích cho người khác khi chúng tôi thức dậy. Giấc mơ kết hợp các sự kiện gần đây với những sự kiện trong quá khứ và cảm xúc của chúng ta trong khi chúng ta đang mơ ước thường rất mạnh.

Các nhà tâm lý học cũng đã thực hiện các nghiên cứu về những người giữ nhật ký trong một thời gian dài (đến 50 năm trong một số trường hợp) và nhận thấy rằng những gì chúng ta mơ ước có liên quan rất nhiều đến cách chúng ta suy nghĩ và hành xử khi chúng ta tỉnh táo. Vì vậy, một người hướng ngoại, mạo hiểm sẽ có những giấc mơ hướng ngoại, mạo hiểm. Một người nhút nhát sẽ là một người nhút nhát trong những giấc mơ của mình. Những người quan trọng đối với chúng ta thường có trong giấc mơ của chúng ta và những điều đó sẽ làm chúng ta lo lắng hoặc làm cho chúng ta hạnh phúc.

Vậy kết luận là gì?

Vâng, không ai thực sự biết. Nhưng các nhà khoa học hiện đang cho thấy những giấc mơ hoàn toàn không có mục đích. Khi chúng ta tỉnh dậy chúng ta đang 'suy nghĩ' mọi lúc. Một số suy nghĩ này là hữu ích và có một mục đích. Nhưng chúng ta thường chỉ "nghĩ" về không có gì đặc biệt trong khi chúng ta chờ xe buýt hoặc đi bộ để làm việc. Và đó là những gì mà bộ não đang làm khi chúng ta đang ngủ - chỉ cần suy nghĩ. Đôi khi nó thú vị và đôi khi nó là nhàm chán.

Làm nghiên cứu cho bài viết này đã làm tôi quan tâm nhiều hơn đến ước mơ của tôi chứ không phải là ít hơn. Tôi thậm chí có thể bắt đầu một nhật ký trong giấc mơ! Nhưng không có gì tôi đã đọc giải thích tại sao đôi khi tôi có một giấc mơ xấu hổ vì thấy mình đang đứng khỏa thân hoàn toàn tại bến xe buýt. May mắn thay, điều này đã không bao giờ xảy ra với tôi trong cuộc sống thực, và nó không phải là điều mà tôi nghĩ về khi tôi thức. Tôi được nói rằng đó là một ví dụ về 'giấc mơ phổ quát' - một giấc mơ phổ biến cho mọi người trên thế giới. Giấc mơ bay là một ví dụ khác. Vậy giải thích là gì? Chúng ta không thể chỉ "suy nghĩ" về cùng một điều, phải không?

1 tháng 2 2018

Some theories of the purpose of dreams

Freud believed that we dream so that we can release the deep, secret desires that we are not allowed to express in real life because of the rules of polite society. Most people know about Freudian dream analysis – a dream about a train going into a tunnel is a dream about sexual intercourse. But couldn’t it just be a dream about travelling on a train?

Another theory is that dreams allow us to solve problems that we can’t solve in real life. We go to sleep with a problem and wake up with the answer. This may be more of a way to ‘use’ our dreams than a ‘purpose’ of dreaming. If you believe that your dreams are important then analysing them may help you to focus your mind on the problem and help you to find the solution.

The modern image is that dreams are the brain’s way of cleaning up the computer’s hard disk, organizing the events of the day into folders and deleting the rubbish that it doesn’t want to keep. But we all know that very little of what we dream every night is concerned with what happened to us that day.

Another idea is that dreams are the brain’s way of practising the behaviour that we need to survive. So we dream about being chased by a monster because one day it might happen! It’s a bit a pianist practising her scales every day even though she doesn’t need to use them at that moment.

Others believe that dreaming is the brain’s way of exercising the pathways between the brain cells. This may be an important element in why we sleep rather than why we dream. We die if we don’t sleep but we can live without dreaming. Some patients with brain injuries lose the ability to dream but don’t seem to suffer any ill-effects.

REM and dreaming

Scientists used to think that dreaming only happened during Rapid Eye Movement sleep (REM). REM sleep is essential for all mammals. We all become irritable and depressed without it. If we don’t have enough REM one night, we will compensate by having more the next. REM is generated by the brainstem – the oldest and most primitive part of the brain. So scientists used to believe that dreaming was also caused by activity in the brainstem. We now know that dreaming can happen at any time during sleep. The only difference seems to be that it’s easier to remember dreams that happen during REM.

Babies have a lot more REM activity than adults, but research shows that they dream less. The same may be true of animals. We know that they have REM activity but that doesn’t mean they dream.

It also seems that dreaming is a skill that develops as you get older, language for example. Young children’s dreams are very different from older children’s or adult’s dreams.

New research

Modern technology has allowed scientists to map the parts of the brain that are active when we dream. The primitive brainstem is very active, but so are other important areas at the front of the brain. These are the frontal lobes that control emotion, memory, and experiences that come through the senses hearing and vision. If these areas are injured, the person stops dreaming. On the other hand, the areas that control rational, logical thought are not active at all. This could explain why dreams are so strange. They have no logical sequence or time, which makes them very difficult to explain to other people when we wake up. Dreams combine recent events with long past events and our emotions while we are dreaming are often very strong.

Psychologists have also done studies on people who kept dream diaries for long periods of time (up to fifty years in some cases) and have found that what we dream is very much connected with how we think and behave when we are awake. So an extrovert, adventurous person will have extrovert, adventurous dreams. A shy person will be a shy person in her dreams. People who are important to us will often be in our dreams and so will things that worry us or make us happy.

So what’s the conclusion?

Well, nobody really knows. But scientists are now suggesting that dreams have absolutely no purpose at all. When we are awake we are ‘thinking’ all the time. Some of this thinking is useful and has a purpose. But we often just ‘think’ about nothing in parular while we’re waiting for the bus or walking to work. And that’s what the brain is doing when we are asleep - just thinking. Sometimes it’s interesting and sometimes it’s boring.

Doing the research for this arle has made me more interested in my dreams rather than less. I might even start a dream diary! But nothing that I’ve read explains why I sometimes have an embarrassing dream about finding myself standing completely naked at a bus stop. Fortunately, this has never happened to me in real life, and it isn’t something that I think about when I’m awake. I’m told that it’s an example of a ‘universal dream’ – a dream that is common to people all over the world. Dreaming about flying is another example. So what’s the explanation? We can’t all be ‘just thinking’ about the same thing, can we?