新世纪大学英语第二册Unit2-Optimism-and-Positive-Thinking.ppt

Unit 2 Optimism and Positive Thinking Before Reading_ word web Before Reading_ word web 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 70’s now, and I’ve lived through more than one crisis. But when all is said and done, I find that the good in life is far greater and more important than the bad. 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 sad and hopeless place where no one wants to live in. Years ago, I drove into a service station to get some gas. It was a beautiful day, and I was feeling great. As I walked into the station to pay for the gas, the attendant said to me, “How do you feel?” That seemed like an odd question, but I felt fine and told him so. “You don’t look well,” he replied. This took me completely by surprise. A little less confidently, I told him that I had never felt better. Without hesitation, he continued to tell me how bad I looked and that my skin appeared yellow. By the time I left the service station, I was feeling a little uneasy. About a block away, I pulled over to the side of the road to look at my face in the mirror. How did I feel? Did I look that bad? Was everything all right? By the time I got home, I was beginning to feel a little sick. Did I have a bad liver? Had I picked up some rare disease? The next time I went into that gas station, feeling fine again, I figured out what had happened. The place had recently been painted a bright but disgusting yellow, and the light reflecting off the walls made everyone inside look as though they had hepatitis! I wondered how many other folks had reacted the