It’s not easy being an optimist these days. It requires practice, like exercising a muscle. It’s why I like to think of reading the news as a kind of challenge, batting away(挡开，击退) the miserable updates with optimistic mental rebuttals(反驳，驳斥). Global heating on track to(有望，即将) exceed the 2C threshold(全球升温2摄氏度阈值)? “But we have the technology to turn this around!” I think. A well-funded global fascist network? “People have overcome worse!”
如今做个乐观主义者可不容易。这需要练习，就像锻炼肌肉一样。正因如此，我喜欢把读新闻当成一种挑战，用乐观的心理反驳把那些悲惨的消息一一挡开。全球变暖即将突破2摄氏度阈值？“但我们有技术扭转局面！”我心想。一个资金雄厚的全球法西斯网络？“人们克服过更糟的！”
And so it is that this week I find my optimism being put through its paces by the news of US superstar homemaker Martha Stewart and her offensive Halloween costume of a homeless person, complete with a dirt-smeared face and a sign reading “I AM HUNGRY HELP ME!!”.(于是本周，我的乐观主义被玛莎·斯图尔特那身冒犯性的流浪汉万圣节装扮新闻好好考验了一番——脸上抹着泥，还举着“我饿了，帮帮我！！”的牌子。)
于是，本周我的乐观主义就被一则新闻好好考验了一番：美国超级家政女王玛莎·斯图尔特那身冒犯性的万圣节流浪汉装扮——脸上抹着泥，手举一块写着“我饿了，帮帮我！！”的牌子。
How’s this for(这个怎么样（提出建议/解读）) a more upbeat(乐观的，欢快的) interpretation: she is preparing for her next chapter as an edgy(前卫的，标新立异的), anti-humour(反幽默，冷面幽默) one-woman act known as Martha Stewart Lee(对喜剧演员斯图尔特·李的戏仿). I can see it now: her Fringe show(爱丁堡艺穗节演出) – which I am calling Laundered – receiving rave reviews. “After decades of perfect tablescapes(餐桌布置艺术), Martha Stewart serves up(端上，提供) something truly unpalatable(难以下咽的；令人不快的): herself.” Five stars!
换个更乐观的解读如何：她正在为人生新篇章做准备——做一个名叫“玛莎·斯图尔特·李”的前卫反幽默单人喜剧演员。我都能想象：她的爱丁堡艺穗节演出——我给它起名《洗白》——好评如潮。“在几十年完美餐桌布置之后，玛莎·斯图尔特端上了一道真正难以下咽的菜：她自己。”五星好评！