时差N小时 乐观的代价

Yael:My grandmother.

雅艾尔:我的祖母。

She's Miss Sunshine; always looking on the bright side of things, even now that she's ninety-eight years old.

她总是很阳光,总是看事情的光明面,即使现在她已经98岁高龄。

It's rather extraordinary.

这的确难能可贵。

Seems to me there couldn't be much to be happy about at that age, except that you're still alive I suppose.

我想要是除了你还活着，否则对我来说活到那个岁数也不可能会快乐。

Don:That's exactly what I'm talking about.

唐:那正是我接下来想谈论的话题。

Research shows that whether a person is an optimist¹ or a pessimist² is related to their quality of life, including their physical health.

研究表明,无论一个人是乐观主义者还是悲观主义者都和他们的生活质量息息相关,也括他们的身体健康。

The subjects involved first took personality tests in the 1960's and then thirty years later they completed a follow-up self-assessment of their health status.

受试者在20世纪60年代参与第一次性格测试，而30年后他们又完成了一次接下来的自我健康状况的评估。

Researchers found that not only did the optimists³ from the 1960's report better physical and mental functioning thirty years later, but that optimists also lived longer on average than pessimists⁴.

研究人员发现30年后不仅当年报告的乐观主义者具有更好的生理和心理功能,而且比悲观主义者的平均寿命要长。

It's hardly clear that there is a causal relationship between optimism and health;

乐观的生活态度与健康之间的因果关系并不明显;

it could be that they are related to the same underlying⁵ gene⁶ complex or set of mechanisms⁷.

有可能是相同的潜在复杂基因或机制所致。

Still, it sure is tempting⁸ to surmise⁹ that it's partly your grandmother's positive attitude that has kept her alive this long.

不过,当然很容易推测部分是你祖母的积极态度使她这么长寿。

It may actually be possible that a lot of what my parents have been telling me for years is true.

实际上可能多年来父母一直千咛万嘱我的是正确的。

If you think positively¹⁰, good things may happen to you.

如果你态度积极乐观，好运终会降临到你身上。

If you think negatively, then you may doom¹¹ yourself.

如果你自身消极,那么你可能会毁灭自己。

Yael:They also say that a positive or negative attitude can be contagious¹².

雅艾尔:他们也认为积极或消极的态度可以传染。

If that's true then I guess I ought to spend more time with my grandmother.

如果这是真的,那么我想我应该花更多的时间陪陪祖母。

I'm not getting any younger.

我已经不再年轻。

Don:Can I come too?

唐:我可以一起去吗?

1 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。

2 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。

3 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

4 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

5 underlying   

adj.在下面的，含蓄的，潜在的

参考例句：

• The underlying theme of the novel is very serious.小说隐含的主题是十分严肃的。
• This word has its underlying meaning.这个单词有它潜在的含义。

6 gene   

n.遗传因子，基因

参考例句：

• A single gene may have many effects.单一基因可能具有很多种效应。
• The targeting of gene therapy has been paid close attention.其中基因治疗的靶向性是值得密切关注的问题之一。

7 mechanisms   

n.机械( mechanism的名词复数 )；机械装置；[生物学] 机制；机械作用

参考例句：

• The research will provide direct insight into molecular mechanisms. 这项研究将使人能够直接地了解分子的机理。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He explained how the two mechanisms worked. 他解释这两台机械装置是如何工作的。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 tempting   

a.诱人的, 吸引人的

参考例句：

• It is tempting to idealize the past. 人都爱把过去的日子说得那么美好。
• It was a tempting offer. 这是个诱人的提议。

9 surmise   

v./n.猜想，推测

参考例句：

• It turned out that my surmise was correct.结果表明我的推测没有错。
• I surmise that he will take the job.我推测他会接受这份工作。

10 positively   

adv.明确地，断然，坚决地；实在，确实

参考例句：

• She was positively glowing with happiness.她满脸幸福。
• The weather was positively poisonous.这天气着实讨厌。

11 doom   

n.厄运，劫数；v.注定，命定

参考例句：

• The report on our economic situation is full of doom and gloom.这份关于我们经济状况的报告充满了令人绝望和沮丧的调子。
• The dictator met his doom after ten years of rule.独裁者统治了十年终于完蛋了。

12 contagious   

adj.传染性的，有感染力的

参考例句：

• It's a highly contagious infection.这种病极易传染。
• He's got a contagious laugh.他的笑富有感染力。