A
(2021·郑州质检)A month ago, I broke a nail. My other nails looked amazing, but now one was a mess. Clearly, there was no point in keeping the others, so I took out the nail scissors to cut them all off.
“What are you doing, Mom？” my daughter cried. “Your nails look great! Don't cut them！”
“But they're ruined，” I said, waving the broken one in her face.
“They're not ruined，” she said. “You still have nine nails left！”
I hesitated, with the scissors still in my hand. My nails certainly weren't perfect anymore, and the opposite of “perfect” is “ruined”， right? I mean, this is how I think about most things: It's all or nothing. Take my finances for example.
I can spend weeks being sensible and buying only essential items, such as food for my family. And then one day, I'll see something expensive that I really like and buy it. Then, I think to myself “Well, I already spent $100 on that dress last week, so I may as well spend $50 on this lipstick (口红)” and give up saving entirely. I've thought about why I act this way, but I don't know what causes this behavior. I seem to go from “good” to “complete disaster” in a matter of moments. My brain only sees “perfection” or “disaster”， which is extremely unhelpful.
We humans are never just good or bad — we are far more complex. We have wins and we have losses and, occasionally, they are hard to tell apart. Some people understand this instinctively (本能地), while others struggle. For most of us, learning not to do the thing we're used to requires effort and discomfort. However, we should remind ourselves that we sometimes make mistakes, and that this doesn't mean we've failed. We need to accept that things will sometimes go wrong.
Indeed, failure is part of life. We all fall occasionally, and we normally get things straight back up. And so, with my daughter's words ringing in my ears, I decided to keep my nine nice nails. I feel annoyed every time I look at my hands, but I'm determined to live with my choice. It's a perfect exercise in imperfection. Maybe soon, I'll switch off my computer the next time I feel like I might buy something else I don't need, although I may need my daughter there to guide me again.
语篇解读：本文通过讲述作者的个人经历启迪读者：不完美是生活的一部分，要学会接受它。
1．Why did the author want to cut off her nails?
A．She got all of them ruined.
B．She didn't like long nails at all.
C．She didn't want to have imperfect nails.
D．She wanted to prevent them being broken.
解析：选C 细节理解题。根据第五段第二句“My nails certainly weren't perfect anymore, and the opposite of ‘perfect’ is ‘ruined’， right？”和对上文的整体理解可知，作者之所以要把指甲都剪掉是因为其中一个指甲断裂了，所以手指甲看起来就不完美了，故选C。
2．What is the author's problem with her life?
A．She is rather crazy about shopping.
B．She looks at life in an extreme way.
C．She is too careful with her finances.
D．She is unwilling to change her mind.
解析：选B 推理判断题。根据倒数第三段最后一句“My brain only sees ‘perfection’ or ‘disaster’， which is extremely unhelpful”和倒数第二段第一句“We humans are never just good or bad — we are far more complex”可推知，作者看问题很极端，故选B。
3．What does the author think of failure?
A．It is just a normal part of life.
B．It can help people to be stronger.
C．It can completely destroy our life.
D．It is something we need to overcome.
解析：选A 细节理解题。根据倒数第二段最后一句“We need to accept that things will sometimes go wrong”和最后一段第一句“Indeed, failure is part of life”可知，作者认为失败是生活的一部分，故选A。
