Most people would define optimism as being endlessly happy, with a glass that’s perpetually half full. But that’s exactly the kind of false cheerfulness that positive psychologists wouldn’t recommend. “Healthy optimism means being in touch with reality,” says Tal Ben-Shahar, a Harvard professor. According to Ben-Shahar, realistic optimists are those who make the best of things that happen, but not those who believe everything happens for the best.
Ben-Shahar uses three optimistic exercises. When he feels down--say, after giving a bad lecture--he grants himself permission to be human. He reminds himself that not every lecture can be a Nobel winner; some will be less effective than others. Next is reconstruction. He analyzes the weak lecture, learning lessons for the future about what works and what doesn’t. Finally, there is perspective, which involves acknowledging that in the grand scheme of life, one lecture really doesn’t matter.
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【参考译文】
大多数人将乐观定义为永远欢乐，总觉得杯子里的水还有一半。但积极的心理学家并不提倡这种虚假的快乐。哈佛大学教授泰·本-沙哈说：“健康的乐观主义，与现实联系在一起。”在本-沙哈看来，现实的乐观主义者不管发生什么事，都会尽最大努力做好一件事，而不是相信每件事都会有最好的结果。
本-沙哈提出乐观训练的三个阶段。当他沮丧时——比如说，在发表完一次糟糕的演讲，他首先会告诉自己这是人之常情。他会提醒自己：并不是每一次演讲都可以获得诺贝尔奖，总会有一些演讲效果不如其他的。其次是重塑，他会分析这次效果不好的演讲，并且从那些起作用和不起作用的演讲中吸取教训为将来的演讲积累经验。最后是前瞻，我们要认识到在生命的宏伟蓝图中，一次演讲根本算不上什么。
【难句解析】
（1）Most people would define optimism as being endlessly happy, with a glass that's perpetually half full. But that's exactly the kind of false cheerfulness that positive psychologists wouldn't recommend. “Healthy optimism means being in touch with reality, "says Tal Ben-Shahar, a Harvard professor. According to Ben-Shahar, realistic optimists are those who make the best of things that happen, but not those who believe everything happens for the best.
【解析】在翻译第一句时只要知道单词的意义，基本上就可以顺着英文语序译成中文。注意第二句中的“that positive psychologists wouldn't recommend”是“the kind of false cheerfulness”的定语从句。第三句比较简单，只要把句子语序改为“哈佛教授泰·本-沙哈说……”即可。第四句虽然有点长，但句子结构还是比较清晰的。“who make the best of things that happen”和“who believe everything happens for the best”分别修饰分句中的“those”。注意perpetually 意为“永久地，接连不断地”；define..…as..…可译为“把……定义为……”；according to sb.可译为“在某人看来”；make the best of可译为“利用”。理顺这四句，在理解以上短语后，我们就可以翻译成通顺的汉语了。
（2）Ben-Shahar uses three optimistic exercises. When he feels down-say, after giving a bad lecture--he grants himself permission to be human. He reminds himself that not every lecture can be a Nobel winner；some will be less effective than others. Next is reconstruction. He analyzes the weak lecture, learning lessons for the future about what works and what doesn't. Finally, there is perspective, which involves acknowledging that in the grand scheme of life, one lecture really doesn't matter.
【解析】本段第一句和第四句都是简单句，按照正常语序翻译即可。第二句是举例说明其中一种方法。破折号中间是插入语，可译为“例如，做完一个糟糕的讲座”，其他的可以按照英语语序来翻译。“grants himself permission to be human”表示他允许自己犯错。第三句是两个独立的分句通过分号连接在一起，在第一个分句中，“that..winner”是“remind”的直接宾语。“learning lessons about..…”是伴随状语，其逻辑主语就是句子主语“He”。第六句中的which从句修饰“perspective”，从句中包含着宾语从句，宾语从句的主干是“one lecture really doesn't matter”。feel down意为“沮丧，心情低落”；learning lessons可译为“学习经验”；in the grand scheme of life意为“在人生的规划中”。
