新世纪大学英语2课文翻译4.chooseoptimism

ChooseOptimismRichDeVosclose1RTIfyouexpectsomethingtoturnoutbad,itprobablywill.Pessimismisseldomdisappointed.Butthesameprinciplealsoworksinreverse.Ifyouexpectgoodthingstohappen,theyusuallydo!Thereseemstobeanaturalcause-and-effectrelationshipbetweenoptimismandsuccess.选择乐观里奇·德沃斯假如你预料某事结局不妙，结果可能真会如此。悲观的想法很少落空。不过这个法则反过来也成立。假如你觉得会有好事发生，通常就会交上好运！乐观与成功之间似乎有一种天然的因果关系。close2RTOptimismandpessimismarewithpowerfulforces,andeachofusmustchoosewhichwewant,soastoshapeouroutlookandourexpectations.Thereisenoughgoodandbadineveryone'slife—amplesorrowandhappiness,sufficientjoyandpain—tofindarationalbasisforeitheroptimismorpessimism.Wecanchoosetolaughorcry,blessorcurse.It'sourdecision:FromwhichperspectivedowewanttoviewlifeWillwelookupinhopeordownindespair乐观和悲观都具有强大的力量，我们每个人必须选择其一，来塑造自己的前途和理想。每个人的生命中都有足够的幸运与不幸——丰富的哀伤和喜悦、充足的欢欣与痛苦——令我们找到或乐观或悲观的理由。我们可以选择哭或是笑、祝福或是诅咒。这完全取决于我们自己：用什么样的眼光去看待生活是积极向上，还是垂头丧气close3RTIbelieveintheupwardlook.Ichoosetohighlightthepositiveandsliprightoverthenegative.Iamanoptimistbychoiceasmuchasbynature.Sure,Iknowthatsorrowexists.Iaminmy70'snow,andI'velivedthroughmorethanonecrisis.Butwhenallissaidanddone,Ifindthatthegoodinlifeisfargreaterandmoreimportantthanthebad.我信守积极向上的态度。对积极的东西我浓墨重彩，对消极的东西则一笔带过。我是乐天派，既是天生如此，也因后天选择所致。诚然，我知道生命中会有伤痛。我已经七十多岁了，经历过不止一次的危机。但是，当一切尘埃落定，我发现生命中的美好远比丑恶多。close4RTAnoptimisticattitudeisnotaluxury;it'sanecessity.Thewayyoulookatlifewilldeterminehowyoufeel,howyouperform,andhowwellyouwillgetalongwithotherpeople.Conversely,negativethoughts,attitudes,andexpectationsfeedonthemselves;theybecomeaself-fulfillingprophecy.Pessimismcreatesasadandhopelessplacewherenoonewantstolivein.乐观的态度不是奢侈品，它是我们生活的必需品。你看待生活的方式将决定你的感受、你的表现，以及你与他人相处得怎样。反过来，悲观的想法、态度和期待也会自成因果：它们是能自我实现的预言。悲观会制造出无人愿往的黑暗之地。close5RTYearsago,Idroveintoaservicestationtogetsomegas.Itwasabeautifulday,andIwasfeelinggreat.AsIwalkedintothestationtopayforthegas,theattendantsaidtome,"Howdoyoufeel"Thatseemedlikeanoddquestion,butIfeltfineandtoldhimso."Youdon'tlookwell,"hereplied.Thistookmecompletelybysurprise.Alittlelessconfidently,ItoldhimthatIhadneverfeltbetter.Withouthesitation,hecontinuedtotellmehowbadIlookedandthatmyskinappearedyellow.多年前，我驱车去一个加油站加油。那天天气很好，我的心情也不错。当我走进加油站付油钱时，服务员问我：“你感觉怎样”这问题有点古怪，不过，我感觉很好，于是便照实回答了他。“你脸色不好，”他回答。这话让我大吃一惊。我告诉他我的感觉从未像现在这么好，但已不像开始那么底气十足了，而他则毫无顾忌地继续大讲我的气色如何差，还说我肤色发黄。close6RTBythetimeIlefttheservicestation,Iwasfeelingalittleuneasy.Aboutablockaway,Ipulledovertothesideoftheroadtolookatmyfaceinthemirror.HowdidIfeelDidIlookthatbadWaseverythingallrightBythetimeIgothome,Iwasbeginningtofeelalittlesick.DidIhaveabadliverHadIpickedupsomeraredisease在离开加油站的时候，我觉得有点心神不宁。驶出一个街区之后，我把车停在路旁，对着镜子看着自己的脸。我感觉如何我的脸色那么差吗一切都正常吗等我回到家里，我已经开始觉得有点想吐。我的肝脏出了毛病吗是不是染上了什么怪病close7RTThenexttimeIwentintothatgasstation,feelingfineagain,Ifiguredoutwhathadhappened.Theplacehadrecentlybeenpaintedabrightbutdisgustingyellow,andthelightreflectingoffthewallsmadeeveryoneinsidelookasthoughtheyhadhepatitis!IwonderedhowmanyotherfolkshadreactedthewayIdid.Ihadletoneshortconversationwithatotalstrangerchangemyattitudeforanentireday.HetoldmeIlookedsick,andbeforelong,Iwasactuallyfeelingsick.ThatsinglenegativeobservationhadaprofoundeffectonthewayIfeltandacted.再次光顾那个加油站时，我还是感觉很好，我弄明白了个中蹊跷。这个地方不久前把墙漆上了一种抢眼但又难看的黄色，墙面反射的光线使里面的每一个人看起来都像得了肝炎。不知道有多少人有过与我类似的反应。和一个根本不认识的人的一次短短对话竟然改变了我整整一天的心情。他说我面带病容，没过多久，我就真的觉得不舒服。那一句消极的话就大大影响了我的感觉和行为。close8RTTheonlythingmorepowerfulthannegativismisapositiveaffirmation,awordofoptimismandhope.OneofthethingsIammostthankfulforisthefactthatIhavegrownupinanationwithagrandtraditionofoptimism.Whenawholecultureadoptsanupwardlook,incrediblethingscanbeaccomplished.Whentheworldisseenasahopeful,positiveplace,peoplearegiventhepowertoattemptandtoachieve.唯一比否定态度更有力量的是积极的肯定，充满乐观与希望的话语。最让我心存感激的一件事情，就是我生长的这个国度有着伟大的乐观主义传统。如果一种文化从整体上采取积极向上的态度，不可思议的事情也能变成现实。人们若把世界看作光明与希望之地，他们将被赋予努力进取和成就功业的力量。close9RTOptimismdoesn'tneedtobenaive.Youcanbeanoptimistandstillrecognizethatproblemsexistandthatsomeofthemarenotdealtwitheasily.Butwhatadifferenceoptimismmakesintheattitudeoftheproblemsolver!Forexample,throughtheyearsI'veheardsomepeoplesaythatthemoneyspentonourspaceprogramhasbeenwasted."Insteadofspending＄455milliontoputamanonthemoon,"theysay,"whynotspendthatmoneyhereonearthonthepovertyproblem"Butwhenyouaskthemexactlyhowtheywouldspendthatmoneytosolvethepovertyproblem,mostofthemdon'thaveananswer."Givemeasolution,"Itellthem,"andI'llraiseyouthemoney."Thinkinpositivetermsabouthowtoaddresstheissueratherthancriticizingmoneyspentonanotherprogram,suchasAmerica'sspaceprogram,whichhasresultedinmanypositivediscoveriesthathavebenefitedmankind.乐观不意味着幼稚。在保持乐观的同时，你仍然能意识到问题的存在，意识到有些问题非常棘手。乐观带来的改变在于面对问题的态度。比方说，这些年我总是听到有人抱怨用于太空计划的钱是被白白浪费了。他们会说：“与其花4亿5千5百万美元把一个人送上月球，为什么不把这些钱用来解决地球上的贫穷问题呢”但当你追问他们打算如何用这些钱来消除贫困时，大多数人又会无言以对。我对他们说：“告诉我一个解决办法，我会为你们筹到钱。”以积极的方式思考如何解决问题，而不是对花在别的项目上的金钱妄加挑剔。实际上，美国的太空计划带来了许多有价值的发现，全人类都从中