双语有声阅读：做一个乐观者

If you change your mind - from pessimism¹ to optimism - you can change your life.Do you see the glass as half-full rather than half empty?Do you keep your eye upon the doughnut, ot upon the hole?Suddenly these cliches are scientific questions, as researchers scrutinize² the power of positive thinking.Research is proving that optimism can help you to be happier, healthier and more successful.Pessimism leads, by contrast, tohopelessness, sickness and failure, and is linked to depression,loneliness and painful shyness. If we could teach people to think more positively,it would be like inoculating³ them against these mental ills.

 

Your habits count but the belief that you can succeed affects whether or not you will.In part, that’s because optimists⁵ and pessimists⁷ deal with the same challenges and disappointments in very different ways.When things go wrong the pessimist⁶ tends to blame himself.“I’m not good at this.”“I always fail.”He would say. But the optimist⁴ looks for loopholes.Negative or positive, it was a self-fulfilling prophecy.If people feel hopeless they don’t bother to acquire the skills they need to succeed.

 

A sense of control is the litmus test for success. The optimist feels in control of his own life.If thingsare going badly, he acts quickly, looking for solutions, forming a new plan of action,and reaching out foradvice. The pessimist feels like fate’s plaything and moves slowly.He doesn’t seek advice, since he assumes nothing can be done.Many studies suggest that the pessimist’s feeling of helplessness undermines the body’s natural defenses,the immune system. Research has found that the pessimist doesn’t take good care of himself.Feeling passive and unable to dodge⁸ life’s blows, he expects ill health and other misfortunes,no matter what he does. He munches⁹ on junk food, avoids exercise, ignores the doctor, has another drink.

 

Most people are a mix of optimism and pessimism, but are inclined in one direction or the other.It is a pattern of thinking learned at our mothers’ knees.It grows out of thousands of cautions or encouragements, negative statements or positive ones.Too many “don’t” and warnings of danger can make a child feel incompetent¹⁰, fearful and pessimistic. Pessimism is a hard habit to break - but it can be done.

 

如果你能将悲观情绪转化为乐观情绪，那么你将改变自己的命运。你看到的是杯子中的半杯水，还是空着的另一半？你的眼睛盯着的是炸面包圈，还是它当中的圆洞？当研究者们详细检 测积极思维的作用时，突然之间这些陈词滥调都成为了科学问题。研究证实，乐观能够让你更加快乐、更加健康、更加成功。相反，悲观则会导致无望、疾病以及挫败;其与消沉、孤独和使人 痛苦的腼腆不无关系。假如我们能够教导人们更加积极地去思考，那就会像给他们注射预防这些心理疾病的疫苗。

 

你的诸多习惯固然重要，但是你能够成功的信念影响着你是否真的会成功。在某种程度上讲，这是由于乐观主义者和悲 观主义者以迥异的方式对待相同的挑战与失望。当出了问题之后，悲观主义者往往自我责备。他会说我不揸长做这种事”，“我总是失败”。但是乐观主义者则寻找疏漏之处。不管是消极还是积极的想法，都是一种本身会得以实现的预言。如果人们感觉毫无希望,那么他们就不会花费力气去获得成功所需要的技能。

 

有无攀控感是成功的试金石。乐观主义者感觉到能够攀握自己的命运。如果亊出不利，他立即作出反应，寻求解决办法，制定新的行动计划，而且主动去请教他人。悲观主义者则感觉到自己只能任凭命运摆布，行动起来拖拖拉拉。既然认为无计可施，他便不去寻求他人的意见。许多研究显示，悲观主义者的无助感会损害人体的自然防御体系，即免疫系统。研究发现悲观主义者不会很好地照顾自己。这种人消极被动，不会避幵生活中的打击,不管做什么都会担心身体不好或者其他灾祸降临。他吞吃着垃圾食品（不利子健康且营养价值低的食品）,逃避体 育锻炼，忽视医生的劝告，总是要再贪一杯。

 

在大多数人身上，乐观主义和悲观主义兼而有之，但总是更加倾向于其中之一。这是在母亲膝下之时就已经形成的思维模式。它源自千万次瞀告或者鼓励，积极的或者消极的话语。过多的"不许"和危险警告会让一个孩子感到无能、胆怯——以至于悲观。悲观是一种很难克服的习惯一但是其并非不能够克服。

1 pessimism   

n.悲观者，悲观主义者，厌世者

参考例句：

• He displayed his usual pessimism.他流露出惯有的悲观。
• There is the note of pessimism in his writings.他的著作带有悲观色彩。

2 scrutinize   

n.详细检查，细读

参考例句：

• Her purpose was to scrutinize his features to see if he was an honest man.她的目的是通过仔细观察他的相貌以判断他是否诚实。
• She leaned forward to scrutinize their faces.她探身向前，端详他们的面容。

3 inoculating   

v.给…做预防注射( inoculate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He attempted to investigate bidirectional streaming by inoculating two dishes with R. oryzae. 他试图研究双向流动的问题，他把未根霉接种于两个培养皿。 来自辞典例句
• Doctors examined the recruits but nurses did the inocuLating. 医生们给新兵检查了身体，护士们给他们打了预防针。 来自互联网

4 optimist   

n.乐观的人，乐观主义者

参考例句：

• We are optimist and realist.我们是乐观主义者，又是现实主义者。
• Peter,ever the optimist,said things were bound to improve.一向乐观的皮特说，事情必定是会好转的。

5 optimists   

n.乐观主义者( optimist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Even optimists admit the outlook to be poor. 甚至乐观的人都认为前景不好。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Optimists reckon house prices will move up with inflation this year. 乐观人士认为今年的房价将会随通货膨胀而上涨。 来自辞典例句

6 pessimist   

n.悲观者；悲观主义者；厌世

参考例句：

• An optimist laughs to forget.A pessimist forgets to laugh.乐观者笑着忘却，悲观者忘记怎样笑。
• The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity.The optimist sees opportunity in every difficulty.悲观者在每个机会中都看到困难，乐观者在每个困难中都看到机会。

7 pessimists   

n.悲观主义者( pessimist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Pessimists tell us that the family as we know it is doomed. 悲观主义者告诉我们说，我们现在的这种家庭注定要崩溃。 来自辞典例句
• Experts on the future are divided into pessimists and optimists. 对未来发展进行预测的专家可分为悲观主义者和乐观主义者两类。 来自互联网

8 dodge   

v.闪开，躲开，避开；n.妙计，诡计

参考例句：

• A dodge behind a tree kept her from being run over.她向树后一闪，才没被车从身上辗过。
• The dodge was coopered by the police.诡计被警察粉碎了。

9 munches   

v.用力咀嚼（某物），大嚼( munch的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• He tried to talk between munches on the sandwich. 他试图在吃三明治的当间儿讲话。 来自互联网
• A flying squirrel munches a meal on terra firma. 一只鼯鼠在地上贪婪的咀嚼着它的食物。 来自互联网

10 incompetent   

adj.无能力的，不能胜任的

参考例句：

• He is utterly incompetent at his job.他完全不能胜任他的工作。
• He is incompetent at working with his hands.他动手能力不行。