I am a neuroscientist.I make a living by studying how the brain works.Although neuroscience has taken huge strides forward in the past decade，it is a long way from being able to address the problems dealt with by psychotherapy.3) Neuroscience cannot yet explain how we feel，and it is a long way from being able to prescribe what a miserable person must do to feel better.So，as a neuroscientist，I feel I should have a conclusion about the alternative approach.

　　The first question I must answer is：“What do psychotherapies have to offer?”First，let us deal with the scientific angle.The best way to start is by assessing a claim that has cropped up several times over the year.It was first made of psychoanalysis，but it has been extended to other psychotherapies.It is the claim that psychoanalysis is the successor to religion，that it gives a scientific，rather than a superstitious，answer to the question of how best to lead a happy，fulfilled life.

　　1 would say this claim is at best half right.Psychoanalysis may indeed answer the question of how best to lead a happy life，but it has a lot more in common with religion than it has with science.In fact，psychoanalysis is not the successor to religion，it is just another religion.

　　This assessment is based on the way religions and sciences deal with fundamental truths.In religions，truths are laid down by God and revealed to the prophets who，in their turn，pass them on to the faithful.They are sacred mysteries that cannot be questioned.In science，on the other hand，truths are nothing if not questionable.The laws of science are deduced from the results of experiments and can be used to predict new experimental results.If new results go against the prediction，they show the law to be false.A new experimental result，or a new theory for deriving predictions from the results，can change the accepted truths.If a scientific statement cannot，in principle，be proved wrong then it tells us nothing.

　　Psychoanalysis suffers from just this problem.4)It is a maxim that our psychological problems are rooted in past conflicts，and that the repressed memories of these conflicts emerge from the unconscious in coded forms that can be interpreted by the analyst.But the codes are so obscure and so flexible that they defy rational explanation.There is no way the maxims could be disproved.They may not be sacred，but they are definitely mysteries.

　　Many other therapies are based on untestable theories.Of course，that doesn‘t necessarily prevent them from working.There is no doubt thousands of people feel that psychoanalysis has helped them to lead fuller and happier lives.But the number of satisfied customers is no guide to scientific validity;if it were，religion would come out way ahead.

　　1. The author considers his role as a neuroscientist____.

　　[A]irrelevant to that of a psychoanalyst

　　[B]different from that of a psychoanalyst

　　[C]of the same importance as that of a psychotherapeutist

　　[D]purely imaginary and impractical

　　2. According to the author，psychoanalysis is another religion in that____.

　　[A]it does nothing towards revealing fundamental truth

　　[B]its conclusions are seldom capable of being tested

　　[C]it has too many prophets and blind believers

　　[D]it takes over many doctrines from religious beliefs

　　3. By saying that“Psychoanalysis suffers from just this problem”(Para.5)the author means that____.

　　[A]psychoanalysis deals with problems or conflicts inside the unconscious

　　[B]the assertions in psychoanalysis cannot be disproved

　　[C]psychoanalysis attaches no importance to doing experiments

　　[D]psychoanalysts can not explain psychological problems to patients

　　4. Which of the following is a science according to the author?

　　[A]Neuroscience.

　　[B]Psychoanalysis.

　　[C]Psychotherapy.

　　[D]None of the above.

　　5. The main purpose of the passage is____.

　　[A]to refute the practical value of psychoanalysis

　　[B]to propose neuroscience as an alternative to psychoanalysis

　　[C]to compare the theories of psychoanalysis with religious doctrines

　　[D]to explain why psychoanalysis is not a science

　　參考答案：

　　1. [B] 在第一段作者指出，自己是一個神經科學家，隨后說明了這門科學目前存在的局限性。最后一句指出，作為一個神經學方面的科學家，他覺得有必要談一下另外一種方法究竟是個什么東西。這里所謂the alternative approach指上文提到的心理療法(psychotherapy)。根據第二段的論述，心理分析是心理療法的一個分支。而在第三段，作者將心理分析稱為一種宗教，認為它不是科學。

　　2. [B] 第四段說明了為什么心理分析是一種宗教而不是一門科學。由本段可以看出，科學與宗教的根本區別在于：科學是能被實驗證明真偽的，而宗教則不能。第五、六段接著列舉了心理分析與宗教的相似性。

　　3. [B] 句中this problem即指上一段最后一句提到的不能被證明真偽。

　　4. [A] 意為：神經科學。在第一段，作者稱自己為神經學科學家。由此看來，在他心目中，神經科學是一門科學，雖然它現在尚有許多問題解決不了。實際上，敢于承認其局限性，才是研究一門科學應有的態度。而自稱什么問題都能解決的心理分析學被作者稱為一種宗教。另外，在第二段第四句，作者使用了other psychotherapies這樣的措辭，說明作者將心理分析看做是心理療法的一個分支，二者都不是科學。

　　5. [D] 第一段最后一句提出本文旨在說明的主要問題，文章最后一段是文章的結論，其中尤其是該段最后一句。

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