时间:2019-01-23 作者:英语课 分类:一起听英语


英语课

桌上放着半杯水,有的人是哀叹只剩半杯水,有的人则是庆幸还有半杯水。这就是悲观主义的乐观主义的区别。


Rob: Hello and welcome to 6 Minute English, I'm Rob and with me is Finn.


Finn: Hello Rob.


Rob: You sound very cheerful – so, how are you feeling?


Finn: I'm good thanks. Things are going well. I'm here in the studio with you, I'm going


on holiday next week, and I'm really enjoying this cold weather.


Rob: Really – I think it's miserable 1 outside but I suppose you're a good example of an


optimist 2 - someone who always looks at life from a positive point of view. It's a


good thing, Finn. The opposite of an optimist is, of course, a pessimist 3.


Finn: Well Rob, there is some hope for pessimists 4 because research is taking place to see


if people's attitude to life can be switched from negative to positive.


Rob: Well I'll drink to that! Finn, here's a glass of lemonade to celebrate – the only thing


is - it's half empty, there's not much left in there.


Finn: Stop complaining Rob – that's half full – look, there's still enough to enjoy.


Rob: If you say so. We'll explain more about that glass half empty saying shortly. But


first, how optimistic are you about getting today's question right?


Finn: Extremely positive.


Rob: OK. Well do you know who wrote this famous quote: "A pessimist sees difficulty in


every opportunity. An optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty". Was it:


a) Winston Churchill


b) Oscar Wilde


c) Charles Dickens


Finn: It's a good quote. I'm not sure but I'm think I'll say b) Oscar Wilde.


Rob: You sound optimistic! I'll give you the answer at the end of the programme. So we


are talking about being an optimist or a pessimist. It's not something that can be


easily measured; it more of a state of mind.


Finn: A state of mind is how you think or feel. There are many factors that can influence


– or affect this. Certain events in a person's life, such as someone you know dying,


or losing your job, can trigger – or cause – a negative feeling about life.


Rob: And people with depression – a medical condition where someone is very unhappy


– tend to be pessimistic.


Finn: Indeed. But scientists are now looking inside our heads to see what's going on and


if there is a way to change how we feel. 


6 Minute English © bbclearningenglish.com 2014


Page 2 of 3


Rob: A medical journalist and doctor called Michael Mosley has been looking into this. He


says our attitude to life – the positive or negative way we view life – affects our


personality.


Finn: What phrase does he use to describe the importance of optimism and pessimism 5 in


our characters?


Medical journalist and doctor, Michael Mosley:


Our personalities 6 are a complex interaction of character traits that affect behaviour, emotions


and ultimately the lives we lead. And one of the fundamental drivers is how optimistic or


pessimistic we are. This is also one of the hottest new areas of scientific research.


Rob: OK, so he says one of the fundamental drivers in shaping our personality is how


optimistic or pessimistic we are. A fundamental driver means the most important


thing that makes something happen.


Finn: So our outlook on life drives – or shapes – our behaviour, our emotions and


character traits – traits are the particular qualities we have. This subject is


described as 'one of the hottest new areas of research' – hottest here means latest


and most popular.


Rob: And the research may find a way to change people from seeing a glass being half


empty to one that is half full.


Finn: There's that phrase again! We sometimes say pessimistic people describe a glass of


water or beer as being half empty – they have already drunk half of it and there's


not much left.


Rob: But someone who is optimistic, like you Finn, would view the glass as being half full


– there is still half of the drink left to enjoy. It really depends on your point of


view – how you view things.


Finn: We asked our BBC Learning English audience how full or empty their glass is. What


have they been saying?


Rob: Mariola says "My glass is half full because I'm going on holiday next Friday!"


Finn: And Raquel says "My glass is always half full because it's the best way to be


happy!"


Rob: But Mon Tran says "My glass is half empty. I'm far away from my family and


missing them so much."


Finn: Well maybe scientists will be able to help Mon Tran and others to feel more


optimistic about life in the future? Well Rob, I'm optimistic that I got today's quiz


question right.


Rob: Let's find out. Earlier I asked who wrote this famous quote: "A pessimist sees


difficulty in every opportunity. An optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."


Finn: I said b) Oscar Wilde.


Rob: You are wrong. They were the words of Winston Churchill. Ok that's it for this


programme. Do join us again soon for more 6 Minute English from BBC Learning


English.


Both: Bye.



adj.悲惨的,痛苦的;可怜的,糟糕的
  • It was miserable of you to make fun of him.你取笑他,这是可耻的。
  • Her past life was miserable.她过去的生活很苦。
n.乐观的人,乐观主义者
  • 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。
n.悲观者;悲观主义者;厌世
  • 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。
n.悲观主义者( pessimist的名词复数 )
  • 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
n.悲观者,悲观主义者,厌世者
  • He displayed his usual pessimism.他流露出惯有的悲观。
  • There is the note of pessimism in his writings.他的著作带有悲观色彩。
n. 诽谤,(对某人容貌、性格等所进行的)人身攻击; 人身攻击;人格, 个性, 名人( personality的名词复数 )
  • There seemed to be a degree of personalities in her remarks.她话里有些人身攻击的成分。
  • Personalities are not in good taste in general conversation.在一般的谈话中诽谤他人是不高尚的。
学英语单词
(Robaxin)Methocarbamol
a. ophthalmica
aitcs
angular dispersion
antique-dealer
aureolarias
Banteay Chey
be mounted
bichats
bumper jar
butt-chin
cardiac disease in toxemia of pregnancy
cercis likiangensis chun
certificate of beneficial interest
Chang Kuo
changeless
chion-
colega
collie eye anomaly
component truss
comprehensive confirming house shipment policy
congenital retinal fold
contact insertion and withdrawal force
contractualises
deblending
design proposal
desklamps
desksize computer
diffuse choroidal sclerosis
disappear to
downward storke
dynamic discovery
earning related benefit
ensta
entergy
Erypin
essential enzyme
flat-topped ridge
flow dichroism
follower stud
four-legged friends
gailliard
gas seep
goes down the drain
golfdom
heavy tail
high pressure adjusting spring
hollow-point
home reservation
humariaceous
indicating potentiometer
ironless armature
isopia
jet channelling
kirchoff's law
metallocarboxypeptidase
micro-fiche
milky tea
mistaker
moity wool
multiplication of determimants
navigation system
NAVMEDATASERVCEN
neoprene sponge
nine-tracks
nodi lymphatici cervicales anteriores
oftmentioned
on maturity
on roder
osteohalisteresis
outer iteration
output of column
Pahārikhera
paramyoclonus multiplex
pda-based
perrutenate
personal supremacy
photoconductive thermal-plastic polymer material
phyllosticta amorphophalli
picoeukaryotes
plavacridin
polar positioning system
pterolophia lineatipennis
Putnam, Rufus
radioactive pericarditis
reckon sth up
Rhododendron noriakianum
ripeful
scintillatio albescens
self-ionization spectroscopy
stwe
Sulzbach an der Murr
swallow
Taitzehoia
technomic
trophic linkage
vascular glands
Viterbi decoder
vitriate
waltz turn
warns
wide-sense stationary random process