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 perfection in her practice, which led to remarkable ______ in the game.

Perfectionism is generally appreciated as a good quality. Therefore, it’s not ______ that perfectionism in society has been on the rise for years. And it is more common in certain ______ like top athletes and medical specialists. Perfectionism can be seen as a behavioral ______. Perfectionists usually set extremely high standards for themselves and others. According to researchers, such behavior is rooted in insecurity. Many perfectionists ______ that if they don’t pay enough attention to ______, 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 ______ mistakes, changes, and problems that they didn’t anticipate. When encountering barriers, they stay flexible.

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

2 . Like many young Chinese, Zuo had been raised from a young age to be “a good student”. As long as she followed the rules and worked hard, money and success would naturally followed. Zuo had followed the instructions to the_________. She aced exam after exam, winning a place at a prestigious college inBeijing. However, when Zuo sent out a sea of job applications , She didn’t just fail to_________her preferred role; she didn’t receive a single_________.

For Zuo, the failure came as a crushing_________. Being a high flier, she was emotionally unprepared for such a setback. She struggled with anxiety for months: unable to sleep,_________ by guilt, and feeling compelled to repeatedly apologize to her parents and teachers.

But the ordeal (磨难) has left a profound impression on Zuo. The former teacher’s pet has transformed into a passionate_________of what she calls the ”good student mentality.“ In January, Zuo set up a group on Douban named “Victims of the Good Student Mentality,” and it has quickly attracted a passionate following.

“Good students” like Zuo tend to be_________vulnerable (脆弱的) to mental health issues. Successive studies have found that high achievers are more likely to_________ anxiety, depression than the general population. This is because high achievers like Zuo often excessively rely on _________ validation (认可) to support their self-esteem, leaving them unable to cope with setbacks. Over time, students __________ the externa world’s evaluation criteria as their own standard for self-assessment.

It’s clear that a diverse range of young people can__________victim to the “good student mentality.” Luckily, in Chinese education system, there is growing __________that student anxiety is a serious problem. A teacher in Shanghai, surnamed Dong, tells that “the good student mentality” is becoming ever more prevalent, with well behaved, introverted children__________seeking praise and awards as a way to __________their self esteem. If they fail to meet the school’s incredibly high standards, there’s a risk that it will trigger an emotional __________.Hence, Zuo recently wrote a welcome message offering new members some advice: “Be kind to yourself; challenge the norms; treat yourself well.“ And, most importantly:” You can be a “bad” kid.

4 . In one elementary school, a class of four-and five-year-olds sit in rows, fascinated by their teacher. As part of the daily routine at the state primary school in Acton, West London, Ms Beshirian holds up cards printed with _____ sounds—“qu”, “k”, “w”—and the children chant them back to her in unison. Later they practise reading sentences made up of sounds they have _____ rehearsed. That is a lot of fish, runs an example.

This is phonics, a way of learning to read in which children are taught to decode words. Teachers have long _____ whether this approach is better than the previously favoured one, in which children learned to recognize _____ words, typically while someone read to them. To critics there is something Gradgrindian (功利的) about phonics, which they argue fails to transmit the joy of reading. _____ , over the past decade or so schools in England have adopted the method. When Nick Gibb, a minister, declared the “debate is over” earlier this year, _____ was silenced.

The shift arises from persuasive evidence. In 2005 a study in Scotland found that children who were taught using phonics were, by the end of the programme, seven months ahead of their _____ reading and spelling ability. Other work has supported the results. Rebecca Allen of the University of Oxford notes that few _____ are backed by such strong evidence.

The _____ is becoming apparent. England’s performance improved in the latest Progress in International Reading Literacy Study, a cross-country comparison. Sandra McNally, one of the authors, notes that, whereas the boost faded with time for better-off children, who would have ______ learned to read well anyway, it persisted for poor readers and those without English as a first language. “Other approaches rely on existing child vocabulary and life experiences,” says Lydia Cuddy Gibbs, head of early years at Ark, a charity which runs 38 state schools. “Phonics helps to put children on a(n) ______ playing field.”

Nor must phonics kill ______ . In Acton the children often play teacher, and phonics is their favourite class to re-enact. Some applaud their friends with teacherly ______ , says Sarah Charlton, who works at the school. “They’ll walk in and say, ‘Maria did amazing reading today,’” she laughs.

Arguments continue over the best way to teach phonics, and questions such as when whole words should be introduced. But ______ , phonics seems firmly embedded in English schools. “It’s very rare that you get a piece of education practice that you stick with and push over a number of years,” says Sir Kevan Collins of the Education Endowment Foundation. “That’s to be ______ . That’s unusual.”

5 . The world is experiencing a major health crisis. As the new coronavirus spreads, many countries are limiting their citizens’ activities. Travel has been ________ . Many schools are closed. In major cities around the world, restaurants and other businesses are shut down.

Public emergencies ________ a certain type of person—the panic shopper. Some people fear not being able to find basic needs for survival. ________ , they buy everything off supermarket shelves in preparation for the days to come. Bread is often among the first products to disappear in emergency situations.

So, if you have never made bread, now may be a good time to learn. Bread making is a ________ skill. With very few simple things—such as flour, salt and yeast—you can ________ a fresh loaf of bread for your family, neighbours or coworkers.

Baking is not just a useful survival skill. It can make you feel better at ________ times. ________ , baking and cooking have been used to treat people with mental health issues.

Julie Ohana is a(n) ________ worker. She offers what she calls culinary therapy to her patients in New York City. “I say’ therapy’ because to me cooking is so therapeutic. And ‘therapeutic’ really means something that makes you feel ________ , something that is helpful and beneficial to the person doing it.” Julie Ohana uses culinary therapy to help people overcome many kinds of issues. She explains that culinary therapy ________ on many levels.

Baking requires mindfulness. “So when you’re in the kitchen —whether you’re cooking or you’re baking—it really requires a certain level of mindfulness, of being ________ in the moment. Specifically, when you’ re baking. And baking really requires step-by-step, following a ________ , being more precise. Kneading the dough or rolling something out, you really get the full benefit of being present in the moment and being able to relax and ________ all the other thoughts and just focus on the here-and-now. And there really are very strong benefits of being able to do that, to be able to relax, to decompress, destress, and really ________ one’s level of life satisfaction.”

Baking is a labour of love. Ohana also says baking is a process filled with love. It not only makes you feel good, it produces something tangible—something you can touch and eat!

Baking is emotional. Often our food experiences are ________ to family memories and stories. We remember meals our grandmothers made. We teach our children important recipes for family favourites.

Ohana says something that all bakers know—giving delicious, baked goods makes the giver feel as good as the receiver. So, she calls baking a win-win.

7 . The Negative Impacts of Volunteer Tourism

Volunteer tourism, or voluntourism, is an increasingly popular form of altruistic travel. Its appeal lies in being an experience that allows visitors to feel good by being a part of some kind of meaningful change. But despite good intentions from participants, volunteering abroad has been the target of heavy criticism over the past few years.

Voluntourists only have a limited amount of time, and the ability to change the systems and provide support for the places they visit. Being volunteers, they also simply don’t have the skills to do so. And they can sometimes inadvertently perpetuate unhelpful and even patronizing(自视高人一等的)ideas about the places they visit. A number of studies have shown that volunteer tourism can have negative impacts, ___________benefiting the local communities.

*Unskilled labor creates more work

Previously, volunteering opportunities were often___________to skilled professionals, but this is not the___________of volunteer tourism. Anyone can become a voluntourist, which brings a series of problems. Though___________, they are often unskilled, especially when it comes to work such as construction and digging. This can often lead to locals being forced to take on the added responsibility for rebuilding homes and schools that would have been___________inadequate.

*Volunteers take local jobs

In the meantime, this takes jobs away from locals who would have been paid to do the same work. It also prevents them from learning or being taught the skills that could then be used to___________the community. As a famous proverb says, “Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach him how to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime.” The time and efforts of volunteers could be better___________making local communities more economically independent and self-sufficient, allowing them to improve___________even after they depart.

*There is no long-term commitment

Lots of communities do need the help and assistance of volunteers, but what are they able to address in the few short weeks of their “___________”? Most places tend to benefit more from long-term engagement, and often the largest number of meaningful volunteers come from the communities themselves, rather than from____________eager to fix things. While short-term volunteers can do a lot of good, it is often so only when they have skills and training that____________the specific needs, such as medical aid, construction, conservation, teaching, or even religious work; as well as having experience doing the required work and with different cultures.

* There is a lot of focus on__________the volunteer

Voluntourism tends to place a lot of emphasis on the volunteers, sometimes even at the expense of the community they are looking to help. Travel companies attract individuals with promises of____________but immediately-rewarding experiences. This, in turn, can lead to large numbers of volunteers who, instead of helping create a change, can actually____________local communities from becoming more economically independent due to their very presence.

What Can We Do Instead?

Short-term volunteers, especially students, also need to be given the opportunity to explore various different cultures and destinations. But they should take the time to learn about the socio-cultural backgrounds of the places they visit. Short-term placements thus become more about experiences and____________exchange, where they may gain knowledge and respect other cultures, rather than go on trips that “help the poor”.

This kind of cross-cultural engagement can do a lot of good in a world that is increasingly leaning towards violence and xenophobia.

8 . In the city of Lyon, hundreds of the world’s finest chefs gathered on 26 January for the funeral of Paul Bocuse, the man credited with the creation of innovative cuisine (菜肴). Meanwhile, in branches of the Intermarche supermarket across France, shoppers were _________to get hold of one-kilogram jars of Nutella, on special offer at just €1.41, down from about €4.50. One branch shifted 400 jars in 21 minutes. Videos showed shoppers stuffing jars of Nutella into bags. Some customers came the night before the promotion to _________the Nutella pots in other places in order to prevent them from being taken. Shoppers broke items in their _________ for the treat.

Thus, a dirty secret is uncovered: France has fallen in love with cheap, fast food. It’s tempting to think that perhaps France should _________its bright self-image along with the master.

McDonald’s, the leader of all things unpalatable (令人讨厌的) yet delicious, opened its first branch in France in 1972, but it operated so badly that the company _________from the country soon. In 1979, McDonald’s returned and succeeded by going _________, which extended far beyond renaming its food. It _________identified the French preference for eating at table or in family and made sure the environment of its outlets was the same to comfort as to speed. Since then, France has grown to become McDonald’s most profitable market outside the US, with more than 1, 400 branches at the end of 2016. Burger King, _________, came in waving stars and stripes high and left with its tail between its legs in 1997 though it returned in 2012 with a far more _________strategy. None of this has gone exactly unnoticed, especially when fast food __________traditional restaurants in 2012, leaving traditionalists angrily waving their ham-and-butter baguettes (法式长棍面包) at the newcomers.

Nutella has had a(n) __________ride in France. Developed in post-war Italy at a time of cocoa rationing (定量配给) and hazelnut glut (榛子过剩), the Ferrero company’s spread was an instant __________when introduced in France in the 1960s. Half of all French families have it on their breakfast table, and for adults it has come to represent a taste of childhood. Such is the __________that one French couple were prevented from naming their daughter Nutella only by legal act.

If there is a(n) __________in Nutella, it is its ingredient, whose production has been linked to deforestation and the destruction of natural habitats, pushing the French government to impose a special “Nutella” tax on products from palm oil. France’s Super U supermarket chain, a rival to Intermarche, has already __________palm oil from its own-label products, and the pressure on the big brands to do the same is likely to increase.

9 . Self—acceptance leads to happiness

Finding acceptance is a natural desire of most people. When we are young, it is important to us to be_________by a group and to be seen as “cool” by our peers. To do this, we will often adopt the views and interests of the group_________develop our own.

Over time, _________, we have the opportunity to learn to accept ourselves. People who have done this are confident in their true abilities; they do not feel the need to create a facade(虚假的外表) to_________other people. They are concerned with whether their actions produce_________results rather than with how they are seen by others.

Less secure people are quite different. Instead of finding security in themselves, they look for other people to provide it. This kind of person_________agrees with everything others suggest, for fear of having their own ideas_________. Arrogant or defensive people are also usually insecure; in an attempt to hide their_________, they belittle or blame others.

Secure people do not_________when faced with a difficult situation; they say “I can” rather than “I can’t”. Knowing that each day is an opportunity to use their talents to acquire good health, good friendships, and great happiness, they always put their best foot forward. __________people do not judge others, nor do they judge themselves. They can__________ the differences between themselves and other people.

Recognizing the details that we cannot change about ourselves is also a sign of personal__________. We cannot change our height, so why waste energy complaining about being__________? Our energy would be better spent on more constructive projects. Instead of__________personal characteristics we are not satisfied with, we ought to focus more on what we are good at.

Such expressions as “love thyself” and “to thine own self be true” are about self-acceptance and confidence, as well as honesty and morality. We should consider them to be good advice, and treat them as__________showing the way to happiness within.

10 . There was a young boy at a beautiful beach digging sands using his plastic tools. While his other friends were playing the whole time, the little boy spent his day_________his sandcastle. He even_________a moat (护城河) using a spoon, a bridge with a_________,and walls for his castle.

After a whole long day, he finished his_________sandcastle until the waves washed his hard work. Holding back his tears, the boy didn’t get mad and_________decided to study the waves that_________his creation.

The boy was aware of the_________and saw it a couple of times already. He already knew how to do things better. He felt no_________, regret, or fear any more whenever the waves came. He just smiled,_________his tools and left. He knew that the tide was beyond his__________and he couldn’t do anything about it. What he could do though is how to__________those situations.

Basically, no matter where you are, the waves of life will always__________you. What matters most is how you behave during those moments and what they__________about yourselves along this__________called life. Keep calm while looking at things from different viewpoints because sometimes all it takes for__________to happen in your life is by looking at things through different lenses!