A
According to recent reports, perfectionism is on the rise, especially among young people. This is a very bad thing—perfectionism is linked to anxiety, depression and many other problems—but the lucky thing is that we're no longer talking as if it were something to be proud of. In today's winnertakesall economy, perfectionism is an entirely forgivable suffering. But it is a suffering, because perfectionism is the belief that anything short of the very best is a shameful failure. It makes people be a miserable (痛苦的) high achiever, or worse: some studies suggest it's actually a barrier to high achievement.
One common response to perfectionism is to encourage the sufferer to see that his fears are exaggerated (夸大的), and that things won't really be so bad if he fails the exam, gets criticized for his work performance or lets the house get messy. Perfectionism means a life spent unhappily leaning (倾斜) into the future, because no matter how well you perform on any given challenge, there's always the next one to stress you out. So it makes sense to help people see when that next challenge arrives, an imperfect performance wouldn't mean catastrophe.
Yes, it helps you worry less about what'll happen if you fail to meet your too high standards next week, or next year. The problem, though, is that this is still a futureoriented way, as it allows the perfectionist's mind to keep secretly hoping that when that moment arrives, you'll do perfectly after all. Therefore, a better way is to let you realize that it's not that your attempts to live perfectly might fail, but that they have failed: perfection is already a lost cause. From childhood until today, you've been failing to learn countless skills, develop countless friendships, and achieve countless goals, only because attention is limited. Focusing on anything means not focusing on almost everything.
Life naturally contains some types of failure, which makes it strange to call it a “failure” at all. If everyone is sure to miss the target, clearly the trouble is with the target.
本文是一篇议论文。作者认为完美主义是有害的，并给了几条克服完美主义的方法和建议。
1．What can we know about perfectionism from Paragraph 1?
A．It can give people a great sense of achievement.
B．It's a result of the winnertakesall economy.
C．It's a necessary quality of successful people.
D．It can be harmful to people's mental health.
答案：D
解析：推理判断题。根据第一段的This is a very bad thing—perfectionism is linked to anxiety, depression and many other problems可推知，完美主义对人的心理健康有害。
2．What does the underlined word “it” in Paragraph 3 refer to?
A．Realizing being imperfect is nothing serious.
B．Regarding perfectionism a shameful failure.
C．Leaning into the future if you fail this time.
D．Performing well on any given challenge.
答案：A
解析：指代对象题。根据第二段的So it makes sense to help people see when that next challenge arrives, an imperfect performance wouldn't mean catastrophe.并结合划线词的前后文可知，这里的it指代第二段提到的建议，即让完美主义者意识到即使不完美也没什么大不了的。
3．According to the author, a better solution to perfectionism is to realize that ________.
A．we'd better not set too high targets
B．it's wrong to try to go after perfection
C．it's already too late to learn countless skills
D．our attention should not be easily drawn away
答案：B
解析：细节理解题。根据第三段的a better way is to let you realize that it's not that your attempts to live perfectly might fail, but that they have failed: perfection is already a lost cause.可知，更好一点的方法是让完美主义者意识到追求完美本身就是错误的。
4．What's the writer's purpose of writing the text?
A．To tell us how to deal with failures.
B．To give suggestions on perfectionism.
C．To analyze the suffering of perfectionists.
D．To explain different attitudes to perfectionism.
答案：B
解析：写作意图题。综合全文内容可知，作者介绍了完美主义的危害，并给出了克服完美主义的方法，故可知答案。
