Question

read the source of the allusion.
in voltaires 1759 novel candide, pangloss is a tutor whose worldview is relentlessly upbeat to the point of excessive optimism.
what is the meaning of the allusion in the sentence below?
as we hiked through the snow - covered woods, we remembered the weather forecasters predictions, which seemed in retrospect rather panglossian.
unfairly pessimistic
unreasonably positive

Explanation:

The source text says Pangloss has "excessive optimism". The word "Panglossian" in the sentence is an allusion to this. When they hiked through snow - covered woods (a situation that might not match the weather forecast), the forecast was "Panglossian", meaning it was overly positive. "Unfairly pessimistic" is the opposite.

Answer:

unreasonably positive