雅思阅读第082套P2Just_relax

雅思阅读第082套P2Just relax ...

Reading Passage 2

You should spend about 20minutes on Questions 14-28 which are based on this passage.

Just relax ...

Hypnosis is an intriguing andfascinating process. A trance-like mental state is induced in one person by another,who appears to have the power to command that person to obey instructionswithout question. Hypnotic experiences were described by the ancient Egyptiansand Greeks, whilst references to deep sleep and anaesthesia have been found inthe Bible and in the Jewish Talmud. In the mid-1700s, Franz Mesmer, an Austrianphysician, developed his theory of 'animal magnestism’, which was the beliefthat the cause of disease was the 'improper distribution of invisible magneticfluids’. Mesmer used water tubs and magnetic wands to direct these supposedfluids to his patients. In 1784, a French commission studied Mesmer’s claims,and concluded that these 'cures’ were only imagined by the patients. However,people continued to believe in this process of 'mesmerism’ and it was soonrealised that successful results could be achieved, but without the need formagnets and water.

The term hypnotism was firstused by James Braid, a British physician who studied suggestion and hypnosis inthe mid-1800s. He demonstrated that hypnosis differed from sleep, that it was aphysiological response and not the result of secret powers. During this sameperiod, James Esdaile, a Scottish doctor working in India, used hypnotisminstead of anaesthetic in over 200 major surgical operations, including legamputations. Later that century, a French neurologist, Jean Charcot,successfully experimented with hypnosis in his clinic for nervous disorders.

Since then, scientists haveshown that the state of hypnosis is a natural human behaviour, which can affectpsychological, social and/or physical experiences. The effects of hypnotismdepend on the ability, willingness and motivation of the person beinghypnotised. Although hypnosis has been compared to dreaming and sleepwalking,it is not actually related to sleep. It involves a more active and intensemental concentration of the person being hypnotised. Hypnotised people cantalk, write, and walk about and they are usually fully aware of what is beingsaid and done.

There are various techniquesused to induce hypnosis. The best-known is a series of simple suggestionsrepeated continuously in the same tone of voice. The subject is instructed tofocus their attention on an object or fixed point, while being told to relax,breathe deeply, and allow the eyelids to grow heavy and close. As the personresponds, their state of attention changes, and this altered state often leadsto other changes. For example, the person may experience different levels ofawareness, consciousness, imagination, memory and reasoning or become moreresponsive to suggestions. Additional phenomena may be produced or eliminatedsuch as blushing, sweating, paralysis, muscle tension or anaesthesia. Althoughthese changes can occur with hypnosis, none of these experiences is unique toit. People who are very responsive to hypnosis are also more responsive toSuggestions when they are not hypnotised. This responsiveness increases duringhypnotism. This explains why hypnosis takes only a few seconds for some, whilstother people cannot be easily hypnotised,

It is a common misunderstandingthat hypnotists are able to force people to perform criminal or any other actsagainst their will. In fact, subjects can resist suggestions, and they retaintheir ability to distinguish right from wrong. This misunderstanding is oftenthe result of public performances where subjects perform ridiculous or highlyembarrassing actions at the command of the hypnotist. These people are usuallyinstructed not to recall their behaviour after re-emerging from the hypnoticstate, so it appears that they were powerless while hypnotised. The point toremember, however, is that these individuals chose to participate, and thesuccess; of hypnotism depends on the willingness of a person to be hypnotised.

Interestingly, there aredifferent levels of hypnosis achievable. Thus deep hypnosis can be induced toallow anaesthesia for surgery, childbirth or dentistry. This contrasts to alighter state of hypnosis, which deeply relaxes the patient who will then followsimple directions. This latter state may be used to treat mental healthproblems, as it allows patients to feel calm while simultaneously thinkingabout distressing feelings or painful memories. Thus patients can learn newresponses to situations or come up with solutions to problems. This can helprecovery from psychological conditions such as anxiety, depression or phobias.Sometimes, after traumatic incidents, memory of the events may be blocked. Forexample, some soldiers develop amnesia [loss of memory] as a result of theirexperiences during wartime. Through hypnosis these repressed memories can beretrieved and treated. A variation of this treatment involves age regression,when the hypnotist takes the patient back to a specific age. In this waypatients may remember events and feelings from that time, which may beaffecting their current well-being.

Physicians also have made useof the ability of a hypnotised person to remain in a given position for longperiods of time. In one case, doctors had to graft skin onto a patient’s badlydamaged foot. First, skin from the person’s abdomen was grafted onto his arm;then the graft was transferred to his foot. With hypnosis, the patient held hisarm tightly in position over his abdomen for three weeks, then over his footfor four weeks. Even though these positions were unusual, the patient at notime felt uncomfortable!

Hypnosis occasionally has beenused with witnesses and victims of crime to enable people to remember importantclues, such as a criminal’s physical appearance or other significant detailsthat might help to solve a crime. However, as people can. both lie and makemistakes while hypnotised, the use of hypnotism in legal situations can causeserious problems. Also hypnosis cannot make a person divulge secret informationif they don’t want to. This was confirmed by the Council on Scientific Affairsof the American Medical Association, which, in 1985 reported that memoriesrefreshed through, hypnosis may include inaccurate information, false memories,and confabulation (fact and fantasy combined)

SECTION 2: QUESTIONS 14-28

Questions 14-18

The passage has eight sectionsA-H.

Choose the most suitableheading for sections B-F from the list of headings below.

Write the appropriate numbers (i-x).

There are more headings thansections, so you will not use all of them.

EXAMPLE Answer

Section A x

14 ___________Section B

15 ___________Section C

16 ___________Section D

17 ___________Section E

18 ___________Section F

List of Headings

Use of hypnotism in criminal cases

The normality of hypnotised subjects’ behaviour

iii

Early medical experiments with hypnotism

Early association of hypnosis with psychology

Dangers of hypnotism

How to hypnotise

vii

Hypnosis and free will

viii

Difference between mesmerism and hypnotism

Therapeutic uses of hypnosis

Origins of hypnosis (Example)

Questions 19-23

Complete the notes on thehistory of hypnosis using NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage.

References to hypnotism can be found in both the Talmud and the 19 _________________. Even when Mesmer’s 20 _________________ were not used, successful results occurred without them. Braid identified hypnosis as a natural 21 _________________ response, rather than magical or mystical. Early psychological studies showed the difference between sleep and hypnosis. Successful hypnosis requires the subject’s active 22 _________________. Consequently subjects can speak or move around and are 23 _________________ of their surroundings.

Questions 24-28

Choose the correct letter A-D.

24In order to induce hypnosis, the hypnotistwill ...

Aencourage the person to relax using arepetitively even tone of voice.

Bsay a specific set of words in a specialtone of voice.

Csay any words but in a particular tone ofvoice.

Dencourage the person to relax whilefocussing on a slowly moving object.

25Hypnotised subjects can be instructed to...

Ado something they have previously said isagainst their wishes.

Bdemonstrate physical strength they wouldnormally not have.

Creveal confidential information againsttheir will.

Ddo something that they would not normallybe opposed to doing.

26Past events are recalled under hypnosis...

Ato entertain the hypnotist.

Bto allow subjects to reassess them withoutdistress.

Cto help the subjects improve theirmemories.

Dto make the subject feel younger.

27After surgery, hypnosis may be used ...

Ato make drugs unnecessary.

Bto keep the patient mobile.

Cto make the patient forget to move.

Dto minimise patient's discomfort whileimmobile.

28The American Medical Association reportedthat ...

Apeople lie when giving evidence underhypnosis.

Bpeople should be hypnotised before givingevidence.

Cevidence given, when hypnotised may beunreliable.

Dsecret evidence can be obtained throughhypnosis.

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