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Waking Nightmares 都是阿飘惹的祸？

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Waking up in the middle of the night, you realize to your horror that you’re ___1___ to move a muscle. Then you sense, or maybe even catch sight of, an evil ___2___ in the bedroom with you! This nightmare scenario is apparently experienced by almost one third of us at some point. Traditionally ___3___ in Chinese culture as a “ghost pressing on the body,” it is known in scientific circles as “sleep paralysis.”

半夜醒来时，竟然发现自己全身一动也不能动因而感到心惊胆跳。接着，你隐约感觉到、或甚至看到宛如鬼魅的东西此时正与你共处一室！其实有三分之一的人都曾有过这种宛若恶梦般的可怕经验。此现象俗称「鬼压身」，在医学上属于一种「睡眠瘫痪」的症状。

Rather than ___4___ by ghosts, this phenomenon is the direct result of a kind of “dreaming malfunction.” When you are in a state of REM (rapid eye movement) sleep, the ___5___ during which most dreaming occurs, your body naturally becomes paralyzed. Occasionally, however, your brain will ___6___ from this state while your body remains asleep. Understandably, this can induce panic, which ___7___ gives rise to hallucinations. This explains why people often report witnessing ghosts or alien creatures at such times. Possible ___8___ of sleep paralysis include stress and irregular sleep schedules combined with sleeping in an upwards position.

「鬼压身」现象的成因其实与鬼怪无关，而是罹患一种睡眠障碍所致。当睡眠进入REM「快速动眼期」，也是「做梦期」的阶段时，身体也会跟着进入麻痹的状态。不过，大脑偶尔却会在这个时候从睡眠状态里苏醒过来，而此时身体仍持续处于休眠状态中。想当然尔，这种情况会引起睡眠者的恐慌，进而让人产生幻觉。这也解释了为什么有人在遇到这种情况时，常宣称自己看到了鬼魅或怪物。「睡眠瘫痪」可能是因为压力过大、作息不正常，再加上睡觉时身体正面朝上而引起。

So, if you’re unlucky enough to undergo this unsettling experience sometime in the future, you can at least ___9___ yourself that you’re not being attacked by ghosts or aliens. Just remember that it’s a ___10__ harmless condition, and that all nightmares come to an end.

因此，日后你要是不幸得体验这种胆颤心惊的感觉，至少可以放心自己不是被鬼缠身。记得这只是一种正常的生理现象，不会对身体造成不良影响，而所有的恶梦也会在清醒的剎那通通结束。

−by David Vickers

Vocabulary

单词发音

nightmare [ˋnaɪt͵mɛr] n. 梦魇；恶梦

catch sight of 看见, 瞥见

phenomenon [fəˋnɑmə͵nɑn] n. 现象

paralyze [ˋpærə͵laɪz] v. 使麻痹；使瘫痪

induce [ɪnˋdjus] v. 引起；导致

More Information

单词发音

to one's horror 令某人感到恐惧的是

scenario [sɪˋnɛrɪ͵o] n. 情节；剧本

paralysis [pəˋræləsɪs] n. 麻痹，瘫痪

malfunction [mælˋfʌŋʃən] n. 疾病; 机能不全

hallucination [hə͵lusnˋeʃən] n. 幻觉; 妄想，错觉

upward [ˋʌpwɚd] adj. 向上的

unsettling [ʌnˋsɛt!ɪŋ] adj. 扰乱的；使人不安的

reassure [͵riəˋʃʊr] v. 使安心﹐使放心; 使放心，使消除疑虑

in turn 转而

presence [ˋprɛzns] n. 存在

Sleep Paralysis Documentary

Sleep Paralysis - How to Stop it - Treatment - Help - Causes

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