【推荐1】At the 1976 Olympics in Montreal, Romanian gymnast Nadia Comǎneci made history. She performed a routine ________ on the uneven bars (高低杠), scoring a perfect 10. She pursued ________ in her practice, which led to remarkable achievements in the game.

Perfectionism is generally ________ as a good quality. Therefore, it’s not surprising that perfectionism in society has been on the rise for years. And it is more ________ in certain professions like top athletes and medical specialists. Perfectionism can be seen as a ________ tendency. Perfectionists usually set extremely ________ standards for themselves and others. According to researchers, such behavior is rooted in ________. Many perfectionists worry that if they don’t pay enough attention to detail, it will hurt their performance. So they ________ their perfectionism even when it’s self-defeating.

Aiming for a high degree of success isn’t necessarily ________ as long as you behave reasonably. People with adaptive perfectionism work hard to meet ambitious goals, but are also able to tolerate mistakes, changes, and problems that they didn’t ________. When encountering ________, they stay flexible.

Maladaptive perfectionism, which ________ an intense desire for others’ approval, and a high level of concern over mistakes, is ________. It tends to weaken individual confidence and affects relationships and overall well-being. To overcome it, it’s crucial to shift your mindset. Start by being realistic and gaining a ________ perspective. Give yourself permission to loosen up a bit on certain matters, enabling you to prioritize what truly matters. ________ can be challenging, but it is indeed attainable.

Last Christmas, I didn’t get a single Christmas present. This wasn’t a _______ I had asked for. A week before Christmas, I decided that instead of _______presents, I wanted to buy presents for the _______ in the local orphanage (孤儿院).

When I told my family my plans, there was a lot of _______. On Christmas Day, however, the _______ shocked me.

As I knocked on the door of the orphanage that morning, I felt _______ and unprepared for what was coming. I almost _______, but then a woman opened the door and _______ as she led me in.

I’d heard a lot about how orphanages were _______ built but the reality was still a shock. I instantly ________ it. There were no smiles. It felt a bit like being in a huge house filled with forgotten, ________ kids.

I was taken to a room full of children, and was suddenly ________ at how empty it felt. I wanted to make these children smile. I felt________, and I was.

But then, as my presents were ________, the atmosphere in the room changed. I could see the ________ in the eyes of the children. My feeling of powerlessness ________. A little girl ran up to me and ________ my legs. I carried a little boy in my arms and he kissed me on the nose before lying ________ against my shoulder, which moved me to tears.

For many of us, Christmas is the best time of the year. The time I spent in the orphanage taught me that the________I felt at Christmases should not be taken for granted. It taught me to ________ everything that was mine.

【推荐3】It was 1:20 a.m. I had just gone to bed, a bit _________ after celebrating my 31st birthday. Before dinner, I’d placed _________ outside my garden door and prepared the cell phone just_________. After all, it had been _________ that week, resulting in flood warnings.

I was awakened by the _________ of rushing water. When I swung my legs off the bed, I was shocked to feel cold water already up to my knees and _________ fast.

Shaking in darkness, I _________ my phone and turned on its flashlight. Then by the light I could _________ water was from the garden door. It must have breached (在……上打开缺口) the sandbags. The river, usually such a quiet, slow moving river in my region, had _________ burst its banks. And now I had to __________!

I took __________ action. Any effects of the alcohol before sleep were gone; __________ sobers (使清醒) one up. After I went outside, I learned the river had flooded the neighbourhood. Therefore, if I had woken up just a few minutes later, I would have drowned.

In the end, I think the experience made me __________ and determined to live each day to its fullest. I came very close to drowning that day. But rather than dwell on (沉湎于) what happened, I prefer to __________ what my mother told me afterwards, “Don’t remember the day when you lost everything. Remember the day you __________. That day marked the beginning of a new chapter in your life.”