新世纪大学英语综合教程2课文4翻译.doc

Choose Optimism Rich Devos 选 择 乐 观 理查·狄维士 理查·狄维士(Rich Devos):全球最大的直销公司—安利公司创始人，NBA奥兰多魔术队以及WNBA奥兰多奇迹队老板。尤其令人佩服的是，三年前他以70高龄接受了心脏移植手术。成功的背后是什么呢？他的新作Hope of Heart或许就能解答这个问题。下文的节选部分就是答案之一 —— 乐观的态度不是一种奢侈品；它是我们生活的必需。 If you expect something to turn out badly, it probably will. Pessimism is seldom disappointed. But the same principle also works in reverse. If you expect good things to happen, they usually do! There seems to be a natural cause-and-effect relationship between optimism and success. 假如你预期某事会有不妙的结果，结局也许就真的不妙——悲观的想法很少落空。但这个法则反过来也同样成立：如果你自感鸿运当头，通常就会有好运降临！在乐观与成功之间似乎有一种天然的因果关系。 Optimism and pessimism are both powerful forces, and each of us must choose which we want to shape our outlook and our expectations. There is enough good and bad in everyone’s life－ample sorrow and happiness, sufficient joy and pain－to find a rational basis for either optimism or pessimism. We can choose to laugh or cry, bless or curse. It’s our decision: From which perspective do we want to view life? Will we look up in hope or down in despair? 乐观和悲观都是强大的力量，我们每个人都必须在两者之间作出选择，从而给我们对未来的展望和期待染上或明或暗的色彩，每个人的生命中都有足够多的幸与不幸——数不清的哀伤和喜悦、欢欣与痛苦——给我们以乐观或悲观的理由。我们可以选择哭或是笑、祝福或是诅咒。我们可以选择用什么样的眼光去看待生活—— 是在希望中昂首抑或在绝望中沉沦 。 I believe in the upward look. I choose to highlight the positive and slip right over the negative. I am an optimist by choice as much as by nature. Sure, I know that sorrow exists. I am in my 70s now, and I’ve lived through more than one crisis. But when all is said and done, I find that the good in life far outweighs the bad. 我喜欢向上看，我会把注意力集中在生活中光明的一面，忽略那些阴暗的角落。天性和个人选择使我成了一个乐观主义者。当然我知道生命中总有伤痛，年逾古稀的我曾不止一次经历过危机。但是，当一切尘埃落定，我发现生命中的美好远远超过丑恶。 An optimistic attitude is not a luxury; it’s a necessity. The way you look at life will determine how you feel, how you perform, and how well you will get along with other people. Conversely, negative thoughts, attitudes, and expectations feed on themselves; they become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Pessimism creates a dismal place where no one wants