2014年高考英语二轮复习专题精练——阅读理解8.docVIP

第二部分　阅读理解 专题十九　词义猜测 Passage 1(2013·杭州一模，A) Are you an optimist？Do you look at your glass and see it as half full？Do you believe that every cloud has a silver lining and that generally things turn out for the best？Do you believe that if something is meant to be，it will be？If you reply “yes” to all of these questions，then you are an optimist.You probably are enthusiastic，cheerful and outgoing.You may well be successful at work and in love. But you may be misguided because things dont turn out for the best.You may believe that when one door closes another one opens (for example，you may fail to land a new job，another chance will come around soon)．Wrong.When one door closes，another door slams in your face.Thats bitter reality. Now a book has been published which confirms what we pessimists(悲观者)have suspected all along.Its called The Positive Power of Defensive Pessimism.Its author argues that defensive pessimism can lead to positive results.Defensive pessimism is a strategy used to manage fear，anxiety and worry.Defensive pessimists prepare for things by setting low outcomes for themselves.They carefully consider everything that may go wrong and plan for ways to handle these problems.And this gives them a sense of control.Lawrence Sanno，a psychology professor，says，“Whats interesting about defensive pessimists is that they tend to be very successful people，so their low opinion of the situations outcomes is not realistic.They use it to motivate themselves to perform better.” So far，so good.This is not rocket science.Defensive pessimists prepare carefully and consider what might go wrong，whether at work，on a date or even in a sports game.It makes sense to have a back-up plan.There are many sayings in English urging caution.For example，“Dont put all your eggs in one basket.” and “Dont count your chickens until they hatch.” To have a confident and optimistic approach to lifes problems is good.But listen to what Woody Alien，the American comedian says，“Confidence is what you hav