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| Sweet Dream, baby |
IELTS Speaking Section Part 1 - Talking about Familiar Topics
Dreams
Let's talk about night time dreams
Do you dream a lot when you're asleep?
No, I don't. I usually dream when I feel tired, and it is usually a strange dream that I have, so strange that I simply forget the dream when I get up. I have bad dreams, occasionally, but it is not that bad as to keep me awake at night. Most of the time I would just brush it off and go back to sleep.
Do you remember those dreams?
Only some of them, usually the weirdest ones or the most vivid ones. One day I was dreaming about winning a sport bike and I tried riding it. The dream felt so real, I mean the excitement was real, the riding sensation was real, but then I woke up and had to go back to reality. I also remember the worst dreams that I had, like when I dreamt of being chased by snakes, a lot of snakes. I literally jolted up and began searching the entire room, afraid that those snakes were actually real. Thank God it was just a dream.
Can we learn anything from our dreams?
I suppose we can. In the case of a dream where I was chased by snakes, we should learn to be more careful and cautious. I don't know what triggered the dream in the first place, but I assumed it was because I got too tired. For me personally, having a weird dream often becomes an indication that I have to lighten up a little bit. May be I am too tired, physically, mentally, or both.
Is it common for people in your country to talk about their dreams?
Yes, because people always try to make sense of their dreams by relating them to what had happened or what will happen in real life. People who believe in superstition may come to those with supernatural power or whatever, just to find out the meaning of their dreams. I discussed one of my dream with my roommate one day, just because he appeared in that dream and he talked funny, so I just made some stupid jokes about it.
Can dreams become a reality?
Sometimes it can. For example, I had a weird dream about me talking to some of my friends about going on a vacation in a villa. We were going to do the usual stuff there, having a barbeque, playing billiard, going to the nearest waterfall, staying up late to watch movie and just having fun, basically. When I woke up, I didn't think much of it and soon, I forgot what I dreamt about the night before. But few days later, my friends were inviting me to go vacationing in a villa, and then I was reminded of my dream. In that dream, I wore the same clothes, sit in the exact same position as I did when talking to my friend, and remembered one of my friend's facial expression, in a very great detail. I couldn't help but saying 'This is exactly what happened in my dream' and my friends looked at me perplexed, not having any idea of what I meant. I don't know if it was merely a coincidence or if it can be explained logically. I heard that some other people have that kind of dream, a dream that strangely becomes a reality.
IELTS Speaking Section Part 2 - Self-Presentation
Remembering Dreams
Describe one of your dreams that you still remember
You should say:
What was it about?
When did you have it?
Why do you still remember that particular dream?
How do you feel about that dream?
What was it about?
One of the dreams that I still remember until now is a strange dream about mangosteen. I remember getting sick when I was a child, so I didn't go to school and just slept all day. I had a very vivid dream where my mother gave me some mangosteen. She said that she knew I was sick and needed something fresh to eat, because I was a little bit nauseated. So, she gave me those mangosteen, and I remember putting them near my pillow so I could eat them later, because I was very sleepy. When I woke up, the mangosteen were gone. I searched the entire house looking for them, thinking that someone had put them in the fridge. But I couldn't find them in the fridge either. When my mom went back from work, I asked her where my mangosteen were. Obviously, my mother was confused as she didn't remember giving anything to me that day, except my lunch and medication. She told me that it might be just a dream. I was so convinced that she really did give me the mangosteen and kept insisting that I had to have them. I was basically upset about not having the mangosteen, whether it was a dream or not.
When did you have it?
I had this strange mangosteen dream a long time ago, when I was a child. I remember I was still in elementary school when I had this dream.
Why do you still remember that particular dream?
I still remember this dream because it is very vivid. If I dream about seeing a ghost or being attacked by a monster, I will soon realize that it is just a dream, because it makes no sense at all. But this dream looked so vivid because I see myself there doing things that I normally do. I always want to eat fresh fruit when I am not feeling well and my mother is well aware of that. The fact that I dreamt about her giving me some fruit to eat when I was sick didn't look strange at all at that time. This is probably why I misunderstood it as a reality.
How do you feel about that dream?
IELTS Speaking Section Part 3 - Discussion
The Meaning of Dreams
Do dreams have meaning?
Yes, they do. Personally, I see dream as a sign of extreme exhaustion or health problem, because I always have weird dreams when I'm sick or tired. There is a belief among the people that certain dream has meaning, some sort of a sign of what will happen in the future. For example, when we dream about being chased by snakes and escaping from their bites, it means that we just escape from a dangerous situation like accident or sickness. I don't know if this is true or not. I myself have dreamt about being chased by snakes a couple times, but then nothing did happen and my life just went on as usual.
Can dreams affect someone's health? (and how)
Dreams can definitely affect someone's health especially when it is a bad dream. People who have recurrent bad dreams often find it hard to go back to sleep, so they may suffer sleep deprivation. I had a sleep paralysis occasionally and it is really hard to fall back to sleep because my mind keeps thinking about the horrible creature that I saw earlier in my dream. I know that creature isn't real, but the fear of not being able to move or breath properly while sleeping is extremely unsettling.
Can dream be explained scientifically?
I'm sure it can. I remember reading an article about Jung's theory about dreams, stating that our dreams have psychological significance. I can't provide more details about the theory though, but I firmly believe that dream is a phenomenon that can be explained by science.
Can dreams really make people do things?
I'm not really sure, but I think it might be true in the case of people who are mentally unstable. They may confuse dream with reality and do something unexpected. I heard a story about a guy who almost jumped out of a second floor window because he dreamt about a ghost running after him. Of course, there's no such ghost and he just dreamt about it. He was then treated and got better after taking some medications. So, I guess dreams can make people do things, sometimes crazy things, if they cannot go back to reality and haunted by their own dream.
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