Question

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 do

B．it is quite simple to understand

C．the cost is not so high

D．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

Answer 1

小题1:D
小题2:B
小题3:A
小题4:C

试题分析：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。