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 70s now, and I’ve lived through more than one crisis. But when all is said and done, I find that the good in life far outweighs the bad.

　　我喜欢向上看。我会把注意力集中在生活中光明的一面，忽略那些阴暗的角落。天性和个人选择是我成了一个乐观主义者。当然，我知道生命中总有伤痛，年逾古稀的我曾不止一次经历过危机。但是，当一切尘埃落定，我发现生命中的美好远远比丑恶为多。

　　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 dismal place where no one wants to live.

　　乐观的态度不是一种奢侈品;它是我们生活的必需。你看待生活的方式将决定你的感受、你的表现，以及你与他人相处得怎样。反过来，悲观的想法、态度和预期也会自成因果：它们是能自我实现的预言。悲观会制造出无人愿望的黑暗处所。

　　Optimism doesn't need to be naive. You can be an optimist and still recognize that problems exist and that some of them are not dealt with easily. But what a difference optimism makes in the attitude of the problem solver!

　　乐观不意味着幼稚。在保持乐观的同时，你仍然能意识到问题的存在，意识到有些问题非常棘手。乐观带来的改变在于面对问题的态度。

　　Optimism draws our attention away from negativism and channels it into positive, constructive thinking. When you're an optimist, you're more concerned with problem-solving than with useless fault-finding. In fact, without optimism, issues as big and ongoing as poverty have no hope of solution. It takes a dreamer — someone with hopelessly optimistic ideas, great persistence, and unlimited confidence — to tackle a problem that big. It's your choice.

　　乐观精神使我们的注意力从消极的否定态度转向积极的、建设性的思考。乐观主义者更关心如何解决问题，而不是毫无意义地怨天尤人。事实上，如果没有乐观精神，像贫穷这样严重而且现正存在的问题是无望解决的。解决这样的问题需要一个梦想家 —— 一个拥有九死不悔的乐观、矢志不移的坚韧和无限信心的人。何去何从，由你决定。

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（编辑：王美娇）