单选题 Elaine Fox, a psychologist at the University of Essex in England and author of an informative new book on the science of optimism, Rainy Brain, Sunny Brain, says positive thinking is not the main thing about optimism. "What really makes the difference is action," she told me. "If you sit back passively, you won't get the job you want."
Her book includes the story of Madam C, J. Walker (1867-1919), born to former slaves, orphaned by age 7, married at 14 and divorced at 20. Undeterred by racism and sexism, she became perhaps America's first black millionaire by founding a company that made hair-care products.
"Madam Walker's rags-to-riches story was fueled primarily by her irrepressible can-do attitude," Dr Fox wrote. "Setbacks were tackled head on with tireless energy."
After Thomas Edison unsuccessfully tried more than 10,000 different ways to develop an electric lamp, Dr Fox wrote, "he famously proclaimed: 'I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work.'"
In an interview, Dr Fox said: "The important thing is having a sense of control over your life, your destiny. When you have a setback, you feel you can do something about it."
Or, as she wrote: "Optimism is not so much about feeling happy, nor necessarily a belief that everything will be fine, but about how we respond when times get tough. Optimists tend to keep going, even when it seems as if the whole world is against them."
Many people trying to enter (or re-enter) the job market have found that it helps to put yourself where you want to be, even if it involves a monetary sacrifice.
Robin Seligman-Schmidt of Manhattan was 52 when she decided to look for work in the fields she had studied in school: art and interior design.
She started by volunteering at the Leo Baeck Institute, a research library in New York that houses German-Jewish archives and art. "I worked with an art curator cataloging and doing odds and ends," she said, and that led to a paid position as consultant for "Destination Shanghai"—an exhibition of work by and about German and Austrian Jews who escaped to China during World War II, now on display at the institute.
"Through volunteering you might find something totally different that you'd never done before or even thought of before," was Ms. Seligman-Schmidt's advice to job seekers of all ages. "Do something to keep your mind going, and you might find something that really interests you."
Dr Fox has shown that while brain circuits vary from person to person, it is possible to strengthen what she calls the "sunny" brain and weaken the "rainy" brain.
Among the science-based "retraining" methods she describes in her book are these:
Face your fears head on. Step outside your comfort zone to help eliminate fear, anxiety and negative thoughts that can stand in the way of success.
Re-evaluate events in your everyday life. Tell yourself that maybe things aren't so bad.
Practice mindful meditation. Allow feelings and thoughts to pass through your mind without judging or reacting to them; that helps create a sense of detachment from negative experiences.
Take control over how you feel instead of letting feelings control you. A sense that you control your destiny can help you bounce back from setbacks and maximize your enjoyment of life.
Laugh. Use positive feelings to counter negative ones.
Be fully engaged. Get involved in activities that are meaningful to you, whether it's a career, hobby, sport or volunteering. Do it. Then learn how.

单选题 What is the passage mainly about?

A. Optimism does not come from positive thinking.
B. Action contributes more to optimism and brain can be trained to be positive.
C. People reentering the job market should be trained how to find a job.
D. Anyone can achieve his dream no matter what color his skin is.

单选题 Which of the following is NOT an effective way to retrain one's brain?

A. Use positive feelings such as laugh to counter negative ones.
B. Get fully engaged in activities that are meaningful to you.
C. Re-evaluate events in your everyday life.
D. Talk frequently with friends and family members.

单选题 According to Elaine Fox, what is the optimism mainly about?

A. Optimism is about feeling happy.
B. Optimism is a belief that everything will be fine.
C. Optimism is about how we respond when times get tough.
D. Optimism is about keeping laughing even when the whole world is against you.

单选题 Which kind of magazine is the passage probably taken from?

A. A health magazine.
B. A science magazine.
C. A medical magazine.
D. A psychology magazine.

单选题 What does the word "counter" mean?

A. To balance.
B. To be against.
C. To resolve.
D. To remove.