A recent study has shown that levels of _________ illness in children are rising. The study claims that mental problems such as depression and anxiety are affecting one in five _________. One of the reasons given for this is the current preoccupation (极其关注) of parents with their children’s _________.

Parents today consider the streets too dangerous for their children so children are taken from home to _________ and back, and their parents rarely let them go out _________ their own.

It is a fact, however, that children could be experiencing these fears unnecessarily. __________ parents may think a child molester lurks (潜藏) round every corner, this is not __________ by statistics: very few children are attacked by people they don’t know.

The fear of traffic accidents is certainly more real but it is something that needs to be addressed by society in general. Some cities in the Netherlands, for example, have created traffic-free zones and pedes-trian-friendly zones, __________ cars, if allowed, must give priority to people and bicycles. Children can, therefore, play more safely in these areas.

There are, however, critics of this study. Many child psychologists believe that this lack of __________ is not enough to cause mental problems. They consider the problems more __________ to be a result of family breakdown in modern society.

It seems that the great desire among the young is to be popular. And once they achieve ________, they want to keep it and ________ it. But the desire to be popular can________ you into looking and acting like everyone else. You can lose yourself in a sea of ________ hairstyles and thinking styles.

I was forced to ________ popularity long before in a talk I had with my daughter. Margy had to ________ schools when my busy work schedule made it ________ for me to move houses. I suppose that, for a girl in her teens, ________ a new school is as easy as spending a season alone in the tropical jungles. However, as the school year ________ to an end, one student after another came to her. They said they would have liked to be friends sooner.

I told Margy that I would have been more concerned if she had been a(n) ________ social success in her new school. That, to me, would have been the ________ that she had betrayed her ________ self in order to become popular. Sometimes young people try to force friendships into blossom by opening ________ their innermost thoughts to people they have just met. Such friendships are the least likely to ________.

I know that it has become harder and harder for a young person to stand up against the popularity wave and to ________ his or her own way. This leads to a great ________ for the young person who wants to find his or her own ________. But the barrier is worth climbing over. The road is worth ________. You may want to listen to classical music instead of going to a party. You may want to collect rocks when everyone else is collecting records. Well, come on! Find yourself. Be yourself. Popularity will come with the people who ________ you for who you are. That’s the only kind of popularity that really ________.

‘Guilty’ Pleasures? No Such Thing

We know them when we see them: The TV shows and movies we love, even though we just know they’re bad. The trashy books we simply can’t _________. The awful earworms we hate to love.

Yes, these are our guilty pleasures — what some people consider the _________ food in our media diets. But if we enjoy them, why should we feel _________ ? We should be free to enjoy whatever we like! And as it turns out, these so-called “guilty” pleasures can actually be good for us, so long as they’re enjoyed in _________.

Taking a mental break and enjoying something that doesn’t require intense intellectual _________ gets us out of problem-solving mode, said Robin Nabi, a professor of communication at the University of California, Santa Barbara, who specializes in media effects and emotion. It can also improve our ability to productively deal with stressors and help us _________ more positively with other people.

If that’s true, then why do guilty pleasures get such a bad _________? Well, it’s not the addiction itself, but the _________ we have when talking about them. However, according to experts like Dr. Nabi, feeling guilty about or disparaging (贬低) activities we enjoy can _________ the benefits they offer us while getting rid of self-imposed (自我强加的) embarrassment about our interests can be empowering and enrich our social lives, which is why it’s time to remove “guilty pleasure” from our collective __________.

One important value of a guilty pleasure is the bond it can create between people. “These shows are out there for a reason — they’re resonating (产生共鸣的),” Dr. Nabi said. He added that the connections we make with others who share our interests in such things “is not to be __________.”

__________, talking about what we enjoy can ease any remaining guilt and makes it easier to discover more things that bring us pleasure. Being able to talk __________ about what we love is more than just a way to spend the time. After all, if you don’t feel like you can be honest about what TV pleases you, then what else are you __________ yourself and others.

Still, it’s best to follow the age-old advice our parents taught us: Everything in moderation. Though guilt can enhance pleasure in some cases, it can also push us to indulge (沉溺) in __________ we feel guilty about in others.