Having a positive attitude can also help change daily moods we get ourselves into. If a person is in a negative mood, he or she just needs to turn it around and determine not to feel bad any longer. Pretty soon he or she starts thinking positively instead. This method also works with other people. If you notice someone is in a bad mood, be positive and upbeat around that person, instead of letting that person influence you to begin thinking negatively.
Positive thinking and attitudes are contagious. Last year, I had a wonderful ninth grade English teacher, who was very upbeat and enthusiastic. We were beginning to learn how to diagram sentences. The first day we started diagramming she made the entire class stand up and repeat the phrase “Diagramming is fun!” until we looked enthusiastic enough to satisfy her. She explained that if you say something a lot, you start to believe it’s true. Every day when it was time to diagram, my teacher would stand up in front of the class with an enormous smile on her face, and she appeared to be having the best time of her life. Her attitude took something most kids see as boring and pointless and made it fun and exciting.
Soon I will undergo four major surgeries. I don’t know what the future holds for me but I know I will keep a positive attitude to help me get through it. A positive attitude makes all the difference!
“态度决定一切”是我每天都要遵守的生活法则。不管你处于什么样的环境，不同的态度会产生不同的结果。
我刚出生时，医生就发现我有些与众不同，我的四肢相对于正常人来说要短，他们便说我是个侏儒。几个月过去了，医生传达的又一个坏消息震惊了我的父母：我的视力有严重缺陷。
现在，我15岁了，站起来的身高是2英尺9英寸。时间告诉我，你可以用这三种东西来克服一切困难：上帝的帮助、决心，以及积极的态度。
过去的这几年中，我曾听人们说我将会一事无成。几乎每一次，我都证明了这种说法是错误的。只要拥有积极的态度和决心，一个人总能找到解决困难的方法。比如说，我想喝水，但够不着冰箱里的饮水机，我就问自己：“朱莉，你想喝水应该怎么办呢？”随后，我得出一个结论：我需要拿个梯凳。
这个世界有许多人，生活中出现了一些小小的挫折，不去寻找克服困难的方法，而是为他们的人生扼腕叹息。
拥有一种积极的态度，能帮我们变换每一天的心情。假如一个人情绪消极，他就需要调节一下，让自己不再郁闷，很快地，取而代之的则是积极的思考。这种方法同样适用于其他人，假如你注意到有人心情不好，不要让那个人的情绪影响到你，要积极乐观。
积极地进行思考，积极的态度是有感染力的。我九年级的英语老师非常好，她是一个极其乐观又很热情的人。那时候，我们正在学习怎样图解句子。开始学习的第一天，她就让全体同学站起来，重复着这句话“图解很有意思！”直至我们的热情达到她的要求。她解释道，假如你反复地说同一件事，你就会相信它是真的。每天，一到图解句子的时间，我的老师就会面带微笑地站在全班同学面前，仿佛这是她一生中最美好的时光。她的态度使大多数孩子把枯燥单调的东西变得刺激而有趣。
再过一段时间，我就要经历四次大的手术。我不知道将来会如何，可是我知道我会保持积极的态度让自己跨越难关。因为积极的态度会使结果完全不同。
心灵小语
只要我们自己不倒下，就没人能够把我们打倒。态度决定一切，积极面对就会有好结果，不要轻言放弃。
记忆填空
1. Through the years, I have been__ that I would never be able to do certain things. In almost every case, I have proven this__. All it took was a positive__ and determination.
2. There are a lot of people in this world__ have minor obstacles in their lives, and instead of looking for__ to climb over them, they simply feel__ for themselves their whole lives.
3. If a person is in a negative__, he or she just needs to turn it around and determine not to feel bad__ longer. Pretty soon he or she starts thinking positively instead. This method also__ with other people.
佳句翻译
1.“态度决定一切”是我每天都要遵守的生活法则。不管你处于什么样的环境，不同的态度会产生不同的结果。
译______________
2. 只要拥有积极的态度和决心，一个人总能找到解决困难的方法。
译______________
3. 拥有一种积极的态度，能帮我们变换每一天的心情。
译______________
短语应用
1. ...and instead of looking for ways to climb over them, they simply feel sorry for themselves their whole lives.
instead of：代替；而不是；不是……（而是）；而没有，而不
造______________
2. Every day when it was time to diagram, my teacher would stand up in front of the class...
in front of：面对；在……之前；在……面前
造______________
每个成功者都知道的秘密
Secrets Every Achiever Knows
佚名 / Anonymous
In October 1982, a 25-year-old woman finished the New York City Marathon. No big deal—until you learn that Linda Down has cerebral palsy and was the first woman ever to complete the 26.2-mile race on crutches. Down fell down half a dozen times, but kept going until she crossed the finish line, 11 hours after she started. Her handicap limited her speed but not her determination.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow once wrote, “Great is the art of beginning, but greater the art is of ending.” How nice it would be if we all had a genie who could help us finish what we begin. Unfortunately, we don’t. But what we do have is a dynamic called discipline—which extracts a high price. Following one of Paderewski’s performances, a fan said to him, “I’d give my life to play like that.” The brilliant pianist replied, “I did.”
Accomplishment is often deceptive because we don’t see the pain and perseverance that produced it. So we may credit the achiever with brains, brawn or lucky breaks, and let ourselves off the hook because we fall short in all three. Not that we could all be concert pianists just by exercising enough discipline. Rather, each of us has the makings of success in some endeavor, but we will achieve this only if we apply our wills and work at it.
How can we acquire stick-at-itiveness? There is no simple, fast formula. But I have developed a way of thinking that has rescued my own vacillating will more than once. Here are the basic elements:
“Don’t” power
This is as important as willpower. The ancient Chinese philosopher Mencius said, “Men must be decided on what they will not do, and then they are able to act with vigor in what they ought to do.”
Discipline means choices
Every time you say yes to a goal or objective, you say not many more. Every prize has its price. The prize is the yes; the price is the no. Igor Gorin, the noted Ukrainian-American baritone, told of his early days studying voice. He loved to smoke a pipe, but one day his professor said, “Igor, you will have to make up your mind whether you are going to be a great singer, or a great pipe-smoker, you cannot be both.” So the pipe went.
Delayed gratification
