The over 55s who grew up watching blackandwhite programs and films are more likely to dream in
grey, research suggests.
And the under 25s who have watched color TV all their lives tend to have colorful adventures in_the_
land_of_nod.
Research from the first half of the 20th century, especially in the 1930s and 1950s, suggested that most dreams are in black and white.
But results from tests in the 1960s and later suggested that up to 80 per cent of dreams contain some
colors.
Since this period marked the transition (过渡) from blackandwhite films and TV to widespread
Technicolor (彩色印片法), an obvious explanation was that television was influencing dreams, but
differences between the studies prevented the researchers from drawing any firm conclusions.
Later studies asked subjects (实验对象) to complete dream diaries immediately they woke up, but
the earlier research used questionnaires completed in the middle of the day, so the subjects might have
simply forgotten color elements in their dreams and assumed they were grey.
To solve the problem, psychologist Eva Murzyn asked 60 subjects, half of whom were under 25 and
half over 55, to answer a questionnaire on the color of their dreams and their childhood exposure (暴露)
to films and TV.
The subjects then recorded different aspects of their dreams in a diary every morning.
She found there was no significant difference between results drawn from the questionnaires and the
dream diaries.
She then analyzed data to find out whether an early exposure to blackandwhite TV or films could still
have a lasting effect on her subjects'dreams,40 years later.
Less than five per cent of the under25s'dreams were black and white.But the over55s who had access to
blackandwhite media in their younger days reported dreaming in black and white roughly a quarter of the
time.
Murzyn said, "There could be a critical period in our childhood when watching films has a big influence on the way dreams are formed." People's attention might be heightened during the time they are watching
TV or films.
1. "this period" in the fifth paragraph refers to________.
A. the 20th century
B. the 1930s
C. the 1950s
D. the 1960s and later
2 The underlined words "in the land of nod" in Paragraph 2 means________.
A. in the evening
B. during travelling
C. in a dream world
D. when they are thinking
3. Murzyn's study was different from other studies because ________.
A. more people of different ages were involved
B. both diaries and questionnaires were used
C. more advanced technology was used
D. subjects were given more time to record their dreams
4. From the passage, we can learn that________.
A. studies on the color of dreams have been going on for many years
B. the results of the previous studies on dreams couldn't be trusted
C. older people are more likely to be influenced by TV viewing
D. the colors of TV sets are more likely to appear in viewers'dreams
5. What is the main idea of the passage?
A. The color of people's dreams changes along with their ages.
B. TV viewing has different influences on different people.
C. Childhood TV viewing may determine the color of dreams.
D. Childhood TV viewing may influence a person's later life.
