1 . Experts worry that teen texting is out of control. Instead of _________, Kenny, 16, often _________ with his friends through the night. “You get a(n) _________,” explains the teen, who lives in Texas. “When I get a text, I’m itching (渴望) to _________ it even if I want to sleep.”

Garcia, a high school senior from Grand Kennedy, has also felt the need to stay constantly _________. We asked how many texts she sent and received each day. “I don’t know… maybe 1,000?” she answered. “It’s too many to _________.”

Dr. Dowdell, at Villanova University, says that many people expect to be able to _________ anyone at any time. “It’s very _________, especially to a high school student. But it reduces the time that could be spent studying, exercising, or just relaxing. Another _________ is, there’s no downtime.” And people need to __________—especially when we have so much to do.

So we decided to have Kenny and Garcia do an experiment. These were the __________: No phone for 48 hours. No computer or Internet either.

“Wow, it was completely __________,” Kenny joked. Though he was sad and missed his friends at times, he __________ “it had benefits.” __________ texting, he went to the gym and caught up on schoolwork. Garcia had an even more __________ result. “I loved it!” she said, “I was hanging out with friends and slept better too.”

2 . 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.

3 . The very unusual series of events finished as Sondrup was heading home from an extended work shift. She had just completed her fourth continuous night shift, and _________ was coming over her. Little did she know that July 26, 2023, would become a day unforgettable in her _________.

While driving home, Sondrup _________ a truck had overturned on State Route 143 near Sky Harbour, with a man _________ inside. Despite her tiredness, she made an inspiration—of-the-moment decision to help.

“It’s _________, but there were so many reasons that led me to that fine moment,” recalled Sondrup. “_________, I wouldn’t have been there.”

Under what she described as a turn of fate (命运), Sondrup _________, joined by a couple of other individuals who happened to be passing by. With unquestionable timing, no other cars were on the road, allowing her to cross over safely and reach the _________ scene.

Sondrup courageously _________ under the truck to check the injured man. In an act of __________, she used a bystander’s belt as a makeshift tourniquet (止血带) to stop the bleeding. Months have passed since that fateful day, and on October 18, the Phoenix Fire Department __________ Sondrup for her life-saving actions.

“I really feel that my guiding __________ led me to that very moment,” she told Fox 10Phoenix. “I’m not without imperfections, but I believe that at that __________ moment, I received a guiding premonition (预感).”

The man Sondrup rescued recently reached out to express his __________ for the second chance at life. “I wish him nothing but the best,” Sondrup said. “I hope he experiences a new __________ and a future filled with success.”

4 . A cure for the future in the past?

For over fifty years, the people of Britain have relied on the welfare state to make sure they have adequate health services. But now the National Health Service is sick. Government _____ and underfunding are forcing hospitals to close, and waiting lists for treatment are getting longer. Under such circumstances, it is no surprise that more people are turning to private (but expensive) healthcare.

For some, however, there are _____. They are turning their back on modern pills, tablets and resorting to other conventional medicine. It seems paradoxical, but in an age of microchips and high technology, traditional medicine, the old-fashioned cures that our grandparents relied on, is making a _____.

Consider these case studies:

Maude is 76 years old and has been suffering from arthritis for almost ten years. “The pain in my joints was almost _____, and my doctor referred me to a surgeon at the London Hospital. I was told that I needed _____, but would need to wait for at least two years before I could have the operation. In _____, I started having massage sessions. To my surprise, these were very therapeutic, and while they didn’t cure the disorder, they did _____ it to some extent”.

Ron is 46. His high-powered city job was _____ for a series of stress-related illnesses, and the drugs he took didn’t work well on the nervous strain. “I read about _____ which involve the whole person rather than the individual symptoms, but I had always doubted about such kind of medicine for all diseases. However, my friend _____ a dietician who told me that part of my problem was diet-related. Basically, the food I was eating was _____ to my disorder. She gave me a list of foods that would provide the right vitamins and minerals to keep me in good health. At the same time, she advocated a more _____ lifestyle-running, swimming, that kind of thing. I’ m a bit of a couch potato, and this kind of lifestyle I had lived was _____ the problem. Now I feel great!”

So is there still a place in our lives for modern medicine? While it is true that some infections and viruses may be _____ by turning to traditional medicine, more serious illnesses such as cancer need more extreme measures. We do need our health service at these times, and we shouldn’t stop _____ in its future. But we mustn’t forget that for some common illnesses, the cure may lie in the past.

5 . It’s cool to be a fool in school, obviously. Research from Florida Atlantic University shows that aggressive, troublesome adolescents often end up becoming quite ________ among their peers (同龄人).

Importantly, researchers explain that being popular and having friends aren’t one in the same. Popularity ________ that everyone knows you, but they may not necessarily ________ you as a good friend. Study authors theorize that certain children ________ popularity to lots of friends. Why?

Being popular is thought a major status symbol for an ________. While it is certainly ________ that many popular children are fun and ________ , others are troublemakers.

The team at FAU performed a study to test their ________ that disruptive (破坏性的) children often start conflicts with their fellow classmates to ________ their social standing and become more popular. The results showed that higher initial levels of peer-reported ________ and disruptiveness were indeed associated with an ________ in peer-reported popularity during the semester. This was especially true for kids reporting frequent ________ with peers.

Aggression, ________ , occurs in the heat of the moment during a conflict of some kind. Researchers theorize that many kids just want to avoid quarrels, or perhaps even ________ harm. In such cases they usually ________ when challenged by an aggressive peer. These ________ “ provide visible evidence of dominance (支配地位) and ___ short-term gains in popularity” for the aggressor, the authors ________.

While researchers don’t think ________ is enough by itself to boost up (提高) one’s overall social status, they do ________ it can be used as an effective way of improving certain aspects of popularity.

6 . Brandon Leseberg and his sons, Louie, 6 years old, Everett, 3 years old, headed for their farm one afternoon. When the sun set, Brandon_______ feeding his cows and decided to go back. His two boys ran ahead of him. Louie_______at a water tap on top of an old well to drink water. However, the board on the well had grown fragile(易碎的) over time. When Louie stepped on it, it was_______. Louie fell into the well! Brandon didn’t notice the_______until Everett told him. Brandon ran to the well with worry and jumped in, and luckily, he_______Louie.

Knowing they couldn’t stay in the ice-cold water for so long, Brandon put his own legs against the narrow walls to_______himself when he lifted his son, _______his body was still partly sliding down. Though tired, Brandon shouted to Everett, “You have to be_______. Run to the road and stand by the mailbox until someone stops. Tell them we need _______.” Everett did as he was________.

Minutes passed like hours for Brandon. He’d been hoping for the________of strangers, but there was no sign of anyone. ________, about 15 minutes later, Christi and Mark, their neighbors, were coming to rescue them when they heard Everett crying for help. Finally, Brandon and Louie were________by the neighbors. Brandon was________for all the rescuers’ action. “If there is a(n)________in this story, it’s three-year-old Everett. He’s a real lifesaver”, the neighbors said.

7 . My phone was an extension of myself. I couldn’t go anywhere _________ it. I scrolled through my friends’ _________ into late night and turned my phone on before my eyes were fully open. I enjoyed having it until that day when I realized that what had started as a useful tool had turned into a(n) _________. So, I made a _________ decision to turn off that smartphone and _________ my old dumb phone out of hiding.

When I was watching TV shows or movies and there was a boring part, I _________ picking up the phone and checking out “what everyone else was doing.” Now I had to pay attention or find a way to _________ myself with my thoughts instead. When I visited New York City, I had to write out _________ and ask people where an intersection (十字路口) was _________ pulling out my phone.

I have welcomed silence into my life with open arms and am enjoying the increased __________ from not constantly having to fight with the __________ to check my phone while I’m trying to get something done. I am allowing my thoughts to speak to me instead of my phone. I am connecting with others in a __________ way that isn’t all about me. Instead of always posting about what’s going on in my __________ perfect life, I am connecting with my friends one-on-one, talking about the reality of our lives and being there for them from a place of __________.

As much as having a smartphone was __________, not having one is freeing on a much bigger level.

8 . History has not yet _______ what we will definitively call the postmillennial cohort (2000年后出生的人) that now _______ more than 60 million people in the U.S. These kids and _______ with no concept of life _______ the Internet have so far been called the App Generation and Generation Z. They’ve been referred to as Homelanders, having grown up under the ghost of terorism. They’ve also been _______ the Plurals, for their historic diversity, as well as the Founders, at least by MTV.

Whatever we _______ naming them, marketers and academies are turning their attention to this group, which has billions in _______ and is already shaping the culture. This generation is growing up “totally and utterly connected,” says California State University psychologist Larry Rosen. Experts like Rosen have concerns about these kids’ Google-inspired expectations that everything be _______. They worry about their inability to _______ even five seconds of boredom. And they worry about the demands that come with ________ several identities online, from Facebook to Twitter to Snapchat. “There’s so much pressure on young people, who are still ________ their identities, to present this crystallized, idealized identity online,” says the University of Washington’s Katie Davis.

Historian Neil Howe sees ________ with the Silent Generation, the spoilt, risk-avoiding, “nice” generation of kids who grew up during the Great Depression and World War II, although some marked differences are found. Today’s youths are also coming of age among geopolitical trouble and fears about the economy, he says, ________ schools emphasize an intense far-reaching sensitivity to other kids. He suspects this ________ will be known for being well behaved and perhaps boring the culture by playing it safe. “There are typical examples that occur repeatedly,” Howe says, “even if they go by different ________.”

9 . Today’s youth will drive tomorrow’s growth. Young people have always confused their elders. Today’s youngsters are no different. They have thin wallets but ________ tastes. They long for authenticity while being constantly immersed in an artificial digital world. They ________ convenience and abundance. As they start spending in earnest, brands are trying to understand what these walking paradoxes (悖论) ________ and how they shop. The answers will define the next era of consumerism.

A good place to start analyzing the psyche of young consumer is to consider the ________ that has shaped them. At one end of the scale, today’s 30-somethings came of age in the midst of the global financial crisis of 2007-2009. Their younger peers were slightly ________, beginning their careers in years when tightening labour markets had pushed up wages until the covid-19 pandemic turned many of their lives upside down.

These two big ________ have contributed to pessimism among the young people who experienced them. A study found a widespread ________ among Gen Zs that they would be able to afford to retire. Less than half believed they would ever own a home.

In many ways youngsters’ shopping habits, like their lives, are defined by the “________ economy”. The popularity of social media means there are many new ways of attracting consumers’ eyeballs. Most young shoppers never knew a world without smartphones. More than two-thirds of 18- to 34-year-old Americans spend four hours or more on their devices each day.

These “always-on purchasers” often avoid a weekly shop so that they can have quicker ________ of everything from fashion to furniture. They like subscriptions, often favoring shared access to products over outright ownership, which has ________ online-rental sites and streaming services.

The internet has also changed how the young discover brands. Print, billboard or TV advertising has ________ social media. Instagram and TikTok are where the young look for inspiration, particularly for goods where ________ matter, such as beauty, fashion, and sportswear. ________ physical shops are not entirely out of favor. They can be successful as long as the experience feels personal and, ideally, integrates virtual and physical worlds.

How the young shop is clearly shifting. What they buy, too, is changing. What older generations consider optional, such as wellness and luxury, has become ________ for the young.

More broadly, young consumers claim to be more ________ than previous generations. Some of these values are centered around identity (race, gender and so on). Others stem from things the young care about, such as climate change.

10 . 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.