克服完美主义

Overcoming Perfectionism

常速 | 四级 偏难 | 526词 | 3min52s

刘立军 供稿

Part I. QUESTIONS

Listen to the passage and choose the best answer to each question you hear.

Q1. What might be a consequence of perfectionism as mentioned in the text?

A. Increased creativity and productivity.

B. Improved relationships and self-esteem.

C. Stress and decreased performance.

D. More optimistic life outlook.

Q2. What distinguishes an adaptive perfectionist from a maladaptive perfectionist according to the psychologist Tal Ben-Shahar?

A. Adaptive perfectionists often miss deadlines due to reworking.

B. Adaptive perfectionists constantly strive to improve without missing deadlines.

C. Maladaptive perfectionists are satisfied when they achieve their goals.

D. Maladaptive perfectionists view mistakes as important life lessons.

Q3. Which behavior is NOT attributed to maladaptive perfectionists in the text?

A. Criticizing themselves incessantly.

B. Constantly fearing failure.

C. Reworking tasks excessively.

D. Being satisfied after achieving their targets.

Q4. Based on the text, what reason likely causes a maladaptive perfectionist to take a long time to finish tasks?

A. They put too much effort into unnecessary details.

B. They are generally slower and less efficient workers.

C. They spend a lot of time procrastinating on their projects.

D. They lack the necessary skills to complete their work quickly.

Q5. What is the primary suggestion for overcoming harmful perfectionist tendencies?

A. To attempt changing all perfectionist behaviors at once.

B. To focus on one perfectionist behavior and gradually improve it.

C. To keep a perfect record of every task performed.

D. To reassess the perfectionist goals set in every aspect of life.

Part II. TRANSCRIPT

Overcoming Perfectionism

Are you ever reluctant to submit your work without checking it just one more time? Do you ever set goals for yourself that you can’t possibly meet? Or do you see every mistake as a huge failure instead of an important life lesson? If any of this sounds familiar, you might suffer from unhealthy perfectionism.

(Q1) Sure, it’s important to care about the quality of your work, but perfectionism can be like an obsession, resulting from a set of self-defeating thought patterns that push you to try to achieve unrealistic goals. It can lead to stress, unhappiness, low self-esteem, and decreased performance. It can also negatively affect your health, creativity, even your relationships.

obsession n. 使人痴迷的人（或物）

According to psychologist Tal Ben-Shahar, there are two types of perfectionist: adaptive perfectionists and maladaptive perfectionists. (Q2) Adaptive perfectionists are always trying to build their skills and improve the quality of their work. They’re optimistic about what they do. They want to get things done and done well. They know when they’ve done a good job. They hit their deadlines and constantly strive to improve things.

(Q3) Maladaptive perfectionists, on the other hand, are never really satisfied with their achievements. (Q4) They always feel like they’re lacking in some way and that mistakes are unacceptable. Because of this, and because they do so much reworking, they can spend a very long time getting things finished. This can cause them to miss deadlines and disappoint the people who depend on them.

Maladaptive perfectionists often experience a fear of failure. They suffer from self-doubt and constantly criticize themselves and their work. It’s easy to see how this type of perfectionism can soon become unproductive and unhealthy.

If you fear your perfectionist tendencies are becoming harmful there are several things that you can do to challenge these behaviors and create a healthier outlook.

Start by writing down everything you do that you think needs to be perfect. For instance, does your grammar always need to be absolutely perfect? Do your work clothes have to be perfectly pressed? Do you feel like you need to have the perfect relationship or be the perfect parent? To help you make a comprehensive list of your perfectionist tendencies, look at your work, hobbies, habits, and even your goals.

Next, think about each of these areas carefully. Why do you believe a certain thing has to be perfect? Who or what’s behind this belief? Write down the feelings you have about each behavior and the belief that maintains it. Once you’ve done this, come up with one specific way you can challenge each behavior.

For instance, imagine you spend a lot of time checking and rechecking your work. You could challenge this behavior by resolving to only check your work twice, once when it’s finished and then again a couple of hours later or even the next day.

It can take time to overcome maladaptive perfectionism, but trying to overcome several areas all at once will likely make you feel overwhelmed and increase the chances that you’ll give up. (Q5) Instead, focus on one behavior at a time and commit to improving things bit by bit. Sometimes even the smallest changes can make a big difference.

Part III. KEY

Q1. C. 细节题。文章中提到：“perfectionism can lead to stress, unhappiness, low self-esteem, and decreased performance.” 意为：“完美主义可能导致压力、不快乐、低自尊心低下和表现下降。” 因此，选项C“压力和表现下降”是由完美主义造成的后果。因此答案为C。

Q2. B. 细节题。根据Tal Ben-Shahar心理学家的说法，“Adaptive perfectionists...constantly strive to improve things.” 意为：“顺应型完美主义者……不断努力改进事物。” 文章还提到他们按时完成任务（hit their deadlines），区别于maladaptive perfectionists，这些人会因为过多的返工而错过截止日期。因此答案为B。

Q3. D. 细节题。在文本中指出“Maladaptive perfectionists...are never really satisfied with their achievements.” 意为：“顺应不良型完美主义者……从未真正对他们的成就感到满意。” 这与选项D“在达到目标后感到满意”相矛盾，所以选项D是文本中没有归因给顺应不良型完美主义者的行为。因此答案为D。

Q4. A. 推理题。虽然文本没有直接说明原因，但有描述maladaptive perfectionists会进行大量返工，即“because they do so much reworking, they can spend a very long time getting things finished.” 意为：“由于他们做了太多的返工，他们完成任务需要很长时间。” 可以推断出他们因为在不必要的细节上投入了过多的精力，所以需要花费很长的时间来完成工作。因此答案为A。

Q5. B. 主旨题。文章最后建议，“Instead, focus on one behavior at a time and commit to improving things bit by bit.” 意为：“相反，一次专注于一个行为，并致力于逐步改善。” 这表明为了克服有害的完美主义倾向，主要建议是专注于一个完美主义的行为，并逐步改善它。因此答案为B。

（本文图片来源于摄图网，版权归摄图网所有)