Section A

Conversation 2

M: Do you think dreams 【Q5】have special meanings?

W: No. I don't think they do.

M: I don't either, but some people do. I would say people who believe that dreams have special meanings are superstitious, especially nowadays. In the past, during the times of ancient Egypt, Greece or China, people used to believe that dreams could foresee the future. But today, with all the scientific knowledge that we have, I think it's much harder to believe in these sorts of things. ?

W: My grandmother is superstitious, and she thinks dreams can predict the future. Once, 【Q6】she dreamed that the flight she was due to take the following day crashed. Can you guess what she did? She didn't take that flight. She didn't even bother to go to the airport the following day. Instead, she took the same flight but a week later. And everything was fine of course. No plane ever crashed.

M: How funny! Did you know that flying is actually safer than any other mode of transport? It's been statistically proven. People can be so irrational sometimes.

W: Yes, absolutely. But, even if we think they are ridiculous, 【Q7】emotions can be just as powerful as rational thinking.??

M: Exactly. People do all sorts of crazy things because of their irrational feelings. But in fact, some psychologists believe that our dreams are the result of our emotions and memories from that day. I think it was Sigmund Freud who said that children's dreams were usually simple representations of their wishes, things they wished would happen. 【Q8】But in adults', dreams are much more complicated reflections of their more sophisticated sentiments.

W: Isn't it interesting how psychologists try to understand using the scientific method something as bazaar as dreams? Psychology is like the rational study of irrational feelings.

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Q5: What do both speakers think of dreams?

Q6: Why didn't the woman's grandmother take her scheduled flight?

Q7: What does the woman say about people's emotions?

Q8: What did psychologist Sigmund Freud say about adults' dreams?