题文
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 things generally 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 be successful at work and in love.But you may be misguided because things don’t turn out for the best. You may believe that when one door closes another one opens (for example, you may fail to obtain a new job; another chance will come around soon). Wrong. When one door closes, another door slams (砰然关上) in your face. That’s bitter reality.
Now a book has been published which confirms what pessimists (悲观者) have suspected all along. It’s 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 the 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, “What’s interesting about defensive pessimists is that they tend to be very successful people, so their low opinion of the situation’s 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 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, “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.” And “Don’t count your chickens until they hatch.” To have a confident and optimistic approach to life’s problems is good. But listen to what Woody Alien, the American comedian says, “Confidence is what you have before you understand the problem.”
There are pros and cons to being an optimist and a pessimist. Don’t feel bad if you see the glass half empty. You are a realist. But lighten up and hook up with someone who sees the same glass half full.
小题1:What’s the passage mainly about?A．A book that has recently been published.B．How to become successful in life.C．The dangers of being too optimistic.D．The benefits of defensive pessimism.小题2:The underlined sentence “This is not rocket science” (Para. 4) means __________.A．it’s not a dangerous thing to doB．it is quite simple to understandC．the cost is not so highD．there is no real proof小题3:Which of the following English expressions would a defensive pessimist believe?A．Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.B．The glass is half full not half empty.C．Whatever will be, will be.D．Every cloud has a silver lining.小题4:The writer would probably describe himself as __________.A．an optimist B．a defeatist C．a realist D．a scientist 题型：未知难度：其他题型
答案
小题1:D
小题2:B
小题3:A
小题4:C
解析
本文是一篇说明文，说明了防御性悲观主义的积极力量，防御性悲观使用一个管理策略的恐惧、焦虑和担心。防御性悲观主义者为自己准备设定低的结果，他们仔细考虑处理这些问题的方法，这给了他们一个控制感
小题1:主旨大意题。文章在第一段提出了人应该乐观一点会更好，接着主要讨论了要做一个有意识的悲观者，因为这样的悲观者才会对以后的事情做好充分的准备，会有详细的计划和安排。那样才能有更好的结果。故D正确。
小题2:推理题。谚语This is not rocket science.中的rocket science指困难的事情，指那些很难以理解的事情。本句话的意思就是指这很好理解，不是那么难以理解的事物。故B正确。
小题3:推理题。根据文章倒数第二段3,4行There are many sayings in English urging caution. For example, “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket,”说明该谚语就是指那些表示谨慎的谚语，故A项符合那些pessimists (悲观者）的特点。故A正确。
小题4:推理题。根据第二段的最后三句：当上帝关上一扇门的时候，他会为你打开另外一扇门。但是实际上并不是总是如此，说明他对待一切是很现实的。以及文章后几段的内容可在C正确。
考点
据考高分专家说，试题“Are you an optimist?.....”主要考查你对 [日常生活类阅读 ]考点的理解。日常生活类阅读
日常生活类阅读的概念：
日常生活这一话题主要涉及人们衣食住行等方面的活动。这一话题的选材主要针对人们日常的工作，生活以及学习情况。做这一类题时，最主要的是要把握好人物的活动内容，时间和地点。
日常生活类阅读题答题技巧：
【题型说明】
该类文章内容涉及到人们的言谈举止、生活习惯、饮食起居、服饰仪表、恋爱婚姻、消遣娱乐、节日起源、家庭生活等。文章篇幅短小，追根溯源，探索各项风俗的历史渊源，内容有趣。命题也以送分题为主，如事实细节题、语义转换题、词义猜测题和简单推理判断题等。虽然这类文章读起来感觉轻松，试题做起来比较顺手，但绝不能掉以轻心。因为稍不留神，就会丢分。
【备考提醒】
为了保证较高准确率，建议同学们做好以下几点：
1、保持正常的考试心态。笔者在教学中发现，越是容易的试题，同学们越是容易失分。为什么呢？因为在这种情况下，同学们极易产生麻痹思想，认为题目好做，就不引起高度重视，于是思维不发散、不周密。而命题人就是利用同学们的这一弱点，设计陷阱题。所以，无论试题难易与否，我们都要保持正常的考试心态。试题容易，不欣喜；试题难，不悲观。
2、根据前面讲到的方法，认认真真、细细心心做好事实细节题。
3、做好语义转换题。这类题是根据英语中一词多义和某些词语在文中能表达一定的修辞意义的原则而设计的。要求同学们解释某生词的含义，确定多义词或短语在文中的意思，确认文中的某个代词所指代的对象，或者对英语中特有的表达、格言、谚语进行解释。这种题要求同学们一定要根据上下文猜测词义或理解句子，切不可望文生义。
4、做好简单推理判断题。简单推理判断题要以表面文字为前提，以具体事实为依据进行推理，做出判断。这种推理方式比较直接，只要弄清事实，即可结合常识推断出合理的结论。
