David was a steward（管理人、招待员）/'stju:wәd/ at Ashwood（语境补充词）/ˈæʃˌwʊd/ Mansion（大厦、宅邸）/'mænʃәn/ when a false fire alarm caused a crowd to huddle（杂乱一团、混乱）/'hʌdl/, shove, and disperse（分散、传播）/dis'pә:s/. A stage knight（骑士、爵士）/nait/ struck（语境补充词）/strək/ a door knob（把手、瘤）/nɒb/, an actor dressed as a sergeant（警察小队长、军士）/'sɑ:dʒәnt/ gave conflicting orders, and a crow（啼叫、乌鸦）/krәu/ hit a window. The noise was enough to stun（使昏迷、使震惊）/stʌn/ David. He still recalled a coconut（椰子）/'kәukәnәt/ dessert, its burnt（burn的过去式和过去分词）/bә:nt/ crust（外壳、坚硬外皮）/krʌst/, and an edible（可食用的）/'edibl/ garnish（装饰、装饰品）/'gɑ:niʃ/ on the floor. After the ordeal（经历磨难后）/ˈæftər ðə ɔrˈdil/, intermittent（间歇的、断断续续的）/.intә'mitәnt/ panic, anguish（剧痛、痛苦）/'æŋgwiʃ/, and a restless（不安静的、慌张的）/'restlis/ sensation（感觉、轰动）/sen'seiʃәn/ began to impair（损害、减少）/im'pєә/ his sleep.

David wanted to return full-time（语境补充词）/ˈfʊlˌtaɪm/ and bluff his way through the fear（靠虚张声势撑过恐惧）/bləf hɪz weɪ θru ðə fɪr/. He said, “If I stay abreast of every task（及时掌握每项任务）/steɪ əˈbrɛst əv ˈɛvəri tæsk/, nobody will question my ability.” Counselor（顾问、参事）/'kaunsәlә/ Dr（语境补充词）/ˈdɑktər/. Lin（语境补充词）/lɪn/ replied, “A humane（有人情的、人道的）/hju:'mein/ plan should counteract stigma（抵消污名）/ˈkaʊntərˌækt ˈstɪgmə/, not force you to evade（(巧妙地)逃脱、规避）/i'veid/ symptoms.” HR（语境补充词）/hr/ manager Rosa added, “We can curtail（剥夺特权）/kә:'teil/ crowded shifts without revealing your diagnosis（不透露你的诊断）/wɪˈθaʊt rɪˈvilɪŋ jʊr ˌdaɪəgˈnoʊsəs/.” David answered, “I am（语境补充词）/æm/ skeptical（怀疑的、不信的）/'skeptikәl/, but a gradual plan may suffice（渐进方案或已足够）/ə ˈgræʤuəl plæn meɪ səˈfaɪs/.”

Dr. Lin could not foretell a perfect timetable（无法预言完美时间表）/kʊd nɑt fɔrˈtɛl ə ˈpərˌfɪkt ˈtaɪmˌteɪbəl/, so she proposed three checkpoints（检查站）/'tʃekpɒint/. David would begin with solitary（独居者）/'sɒlitәri/ inventory work, then hop（单脚跳、跳跃）/hɒp/ to a quiet reception shift, and finally join an event while a supervisor（管理者、监督者）/.sju:pә'vaizә/ stayed nearby. Breathing practice could soothe（缓和、使安静）/su:ð/ a sudden flush（流溢、面红）/flʌʃ/, and unscented（语境补充词）/unscented/ lotion（洗液）/'lәuʃәn/ could ground him through touch. The plan would inhibit（禁止、抑制）/in'hibit/ avoidance（避免、避开）/ә'vɒidәns/ without letting exposure loom（织布机、若隐若现的景象）/lu:m/ like punishment. A short break was available whenever panic became（语境补充词）/bɪˈkeɪm/ manifest（载货单、运货单）/'mænifest/.

Rosa kept（语境补充词）/kɛpt/ medical details private but told（语境补充词）/toʊld/ the team that roles would rotate. One indignant（愤怒的、愤慨的）/in'dignәnt/ colleague called the change favoritism（偏爱、偏袒）/'feivәritizm/ and tried to humiliate（使丢脸、使蒙羞）/hju:'milieit/ David. Rosa rejected that overt（明显的、公然的）/'әuvә:t/ attack and explained that compassion（同情、怜悯）/kәm'pæʃәn/ did not mean perpetual（永远的、终身的）/pә'petʃuәl/ exemption（解除、免除）/ig'zempʃәn/. Workplace（语境补充词）/ˈwərkˌpleɪs/ inertia（惯性、惰性）/i'nә:ʃә/ could propagate（繁殖、传播）/'prɒpәgeit/ stigma（耻辱、污名）/'stigmә/ unless managers named fair rules. She also removed a monotonous（单调的、无变化的）/mә'nɒtәnәs/ alarm-checking（语境补充词）/alarm-checking/ loop（环、圈）/lu:p/ and asked staff to ponder（沉思、考虑）/'pɒndә/ how sound affected recovery（恢复、复原）/ri'kʌvәri/. Nobody could tug（用力拉、拖曳）/tʌg/ David into a crowd or hover（盘旋、翱翔）/'hʌvә/ over him; support had to preserve choice（必须保留选择权）/hæd tɪ prɪˈzərv ʧɔɪs/.

During the first month, David kept a streak of completed shifts（连续完成多个班次）/kɛpt ə strik əv kəmˈplitɪd ʃɪfts/ and began to relish（滋味、风味）/'reliʃ/ ordinary contact again. He remained cautious, nonetheless（然而、尽管）/,nʌnðә'les/, and did not treat one good week as proof that he had transcended（超越、胜过）/træn'send/ trauma. The company would nurture（养育、营养物）/'nә:tʃә/ progress through weekly reviews and paid（受雇的、付清的）/peid/ counseling. The plan did not herald（使者、传令官）/'herәld/ the end of every fear, but it broke the monotony（单调、缺乏变化）/mә'nɒtәni/ of waiting. Even when a cart bumped his butt（粗大的一头、烟头）/bʌt/, he paused and recovered. The arrangement protected privacy（隐私、隐居）/'praivәsi/, helped colleagues understand temporary adjustments, and gave managers clear evidence for each next step. Recovery was neither heroic（英勇的、英雄式的）/hi'rәuik/ nor shameful（可耻的、丢脸的）/'ʃeimful/; it was a practical process that let health and useful work develop together（共同发展）/dɪˈvɛləp təˈgɛðər/.