Holly老師的英語新天地

Task 2的得分首要關鍵，不外乎考生在三分鐘內腦力激盪的能力！以下整理幾組正反兩方爭議論點的參考句子，檢查看看你想出幾個呢? J

Task 2: Competition or Cooperation

Supporters of Competition may say…

1.   Competition may be the common fabric of our life.

2.   Competition strengthens the ideal of equality of opportunity

3.   Competition brings out the best in us.

4.   Competition is inevitable; it is human nature.

5.   Competition provides an environment where we can strive for excellence.

6.   Natural selection indisputably occurs in all other competitive system. These range from individual firms competing on the free market to individual workers competing for job promotion.

7.   In today’s world, we spend most of our time competing. From an early age, we told that only the best students get into the really good universities and that when we graduate, only the best will land the job of their dreams. We use the phrase ‘get ahead’ interchangeably with ‘succeed’.

8.   Schools are structured so that students compete against on another: for the teacher’s attention, grades, status and admission to prestigious schools.

9.   The reality is there are usually many people ‘out there’ who are qualified for the particular job or position or grant that we are seeking, and if it is something we deeply want, then, we need to do our best to stand out and to look better In short, we must compete.

10. Competition builds character; it strengthens our self-esteem.

11. Competition is seen as an open and fair race where success goes to the swiftest person regardless of his or her social class background.

12. Competition is deemed as the major source of progress and prosperity.

13. The healthy way to look at competition is to compete against your own accomplishments, not others.

14. Everyone who achieves their goal receives rewards.

15. Competition is required to help us reach our fullest potential.

16. Competition should be an opportunity for children to learn to strive and participate for the sake of becoming good at a skill or ability, not just to get ahead of others.

17. The more we immerse our children (and ourselves) in rivalry, the better. Competition builds character and produces excellence.

18. We should make ourselves competitive in order to fit into the ‘real world’.

19. Whether or not we like competition, the fact is we live in a competitive world in general, and a competitive society in particular, and it makes sense that we help our children develop qualities that will help them deal with the ‘wins’ and ‘losses’ they will surely encounter as they develop.

20. The reality is that there will be ‘winners’ and ‘losers’—those who are selected and those who are rejected—and we need to be prepared to handle both possibilities gracefully and compassionately..

21. Not only can healthy competition be fun, it can also be useful. Working hard at something and competing against others who are also working hard can inspire us to push ourselves farther than we otherwise might. ‘External motivation’ is not necessarily a bad thing if it prompts us to excel.

22. The opportunity to work toward a common goal, mixed with the pressure of competition, seems to satisfy deeper motivations in people.

23. We generally credit our amazing successes to our competitive spirit.

24. A bit of competition in a caring environment might add some inspiration, dynamism, and excellence.

25. Kids are routinely encouraged to do their ‘personal best’, but sometimes competition with others can inspire kids to try harder.

26. All life is ultimately competitive, because the natural tendency of any population is to explode, although it is kept in check by a limited food supply (and other factors.)

27. Because there are more animals than food, animals must compete to survive.

28. Natural selection and survival of the fittest.

29. Darwin theorised that if animals must compete to survive, then the winners would be those with the strongest traits, which would then be passed on to their offspring.

30. Natural selection has developed in humans a natural desire to compete. Those with non-competitive natures would have lost their struggle for survival, and disappeared from to gene pool a long time ago.

Supporters of Cooperation may say…

1.   What is competition? Competition means my success is your failure.

2.   Competition is actually destructive to children’s self-esteem. It interferes with learning, sabotages relationships and isn’t necessary for a good time.

3.   A moderated desire to cooperate is natural and healthy. Those with non-cooperative natures would have very low survival rates, as would those who cooperated so much that they did not look out for their own self-interests in a competitive world. It is for this reason that people take a healthy enjoyment in belonging to a group, practising teamwork, helping others, etc.

4.   Imagine what it would be like to live in a society where each individual competed against everyone else, without any cooperation at all.

5.   Competitive people are insensitive, ruthless, and often greedy.

6.   Rather than focusing strictly on individual competition, where one person’s success is linked with someone else’s failure, the team-based approach could lead to more productive work.

7.   We feel that winning is not everything. Striving to win makes things fun and exciting, but we shouldn’t find our self-esteem only through winning.

8.   If children are told that the most important thing in life is winning, it can lead to breaking the law or being dishonest in order to win.

9.   For those who don’t win, it develops an attitude of failure. If children feel they have to be constantly competitive, they will lose interest in learning. Children will not learn to trust others and to work as a group for a common purpose.

10. Actually, research shows that cooperation raises standards, and promotes higher achievement than competition. Competition may lower standards because it increases anxiety, and prevents us from sharing useful information. Moreover, surveys show that successful people, outside of sports, love a challenge, but they are not motivated by winning. Succeeding and beating others are not the same.

11. Cooperation offers us a break from die pressure and stress of competition.

12. Excessive competition without cooperation creates undesirable results in children.

13. We should educate children so that they are for rather than against one another, equip them with the skills to resolve their conflicts constructively rather than destructively, and provide them with an orientation to problems and a set of norms and skills that enable them to fulfill their needs in a nonviolent manner.

14. A win-lose approach tends to escalate conflict and harden opposing positions, leading to destructive processes and outcomes and negative expectations for future interactions.

15. A win-win approach fosters exploration of the root causes of the conflict and leads to constructive, sustainable solutions with positive expectations for future encounters.

16. In cooperation, people work together in order to achieve their goals. By helping you, I help myself. We sink or swim together. This is a win-win approach — everyone wins.

17. My competition results in losers and does harm to others, and is actually less productive than cooperation.

18. The survival of animal species in the natural world is better described by mutual aid and support. There is a wide range in the value placed on competitiveness among human cultures, with a number of societies, past and present, cherishing cooperation. In other words, competition is learned.

19. Competition wastes resources, duplicates efforts, and creates a lower quality product.

20. In fact, people working together are generally more effective than people working against each other (or alone). That is to say, it’s easier to succeed when other people are helping us rather than working against us.

21. Trying to do well and trying to beat others are two different things.

22. Competition destroys character and relationships. Competition breeds anxiety, shame, depression, secrecy, suspicion, hostility, selfishness and guilt. It increases existing inequalities, because the winners gain unfair advantages and the losers tend to drop out of the race. It is a primary cause of aggression and war.

23. It’s also more fun being part of a team.

24. Cooperative groups displayed more coordinated efforts, more division of labour, more acceptance of others’ ideas, and fewer communication difficulties than competitive groups.

25. Research has shown clearly that cooperative learning produces higher achievement, social skills through positive relationships, and healthier psychological adjustment (self-esteem) than competitive or individualistic programmes, especially among children.

26. Humans seem to have a cooperative imperative: we desire and seek opportunities to operate jointly with others to achieve mutual goals from conceiving a child to sending a rocket to the moon; our successes require cooperation among individuals.

27. Two heads are better than one.

28. Competition leads children to envy winners, to dismiss losers and to be suspicious of just about everyone. Competition makes it difficult to regard others as potential friends or collaborators; even if you’re not my rival today, you could be tomorrow.

29. Cooperation is marvelously successful at helping children to communicate effectively, to trust in others and to accept those who are different from themselves.

30. There is strong evidence that competition is not part of human nature, but that we are indoctrinated in order to accept competition as inevitable.

最後來一篇相關的文章，順道培養閱讀能力！

Reading Material

Positive Approaches to Competition

Parents, teachers, coaches, youth directors and other adults play an integral role in directing the activities of youth. Adults can help to channel the energies of youth so that they encounter a wide variety of experiences. Adults can play an important role in helping youth balance competition and cooperation.

Competition takes place in many settings, such as the classroom, 4-H*, other youth groups, and even in the home. Sports often come to mind when we think about competition. Youth, however, rarely cite winning as a reason for participating. They more often list learning new skills or physical competence, being with friends in a group, fun and excitement, or staying in shape as reasons for their involvement.

Competition in itself is not a bad thing. Competition will be experienced at many points in life. As adults, we can choose to structure events and contests so that competition is a learning experience. Competition becomes negative when winning becomes the overriding goal. In these instances, only a few people are able to achieve their goal. The majority of individuals will feel beaten and defeated. Adults can help guide youth to focus on the means (learning, obtaining goals, social contact or simply being happy with being involved) instead of the end (winning).

Striving to achieve a goal is a productive form of competition where success is measured in growth and not by a ribbon or trophy. Youth strive to be their best and measure success against a standard. Individual differences are allowed for and individuals can build on their personal abilities, knowledge and skills. The goal is personal development, rather than being the champion or beating others.

(Note：4-H為美國的一個青少年組織，共有將近9百萬名會員，年齡層從5~21歲都有，其成立宗旨在於幫助青少年發展潛能，希望透過不同的學習課程，培養青年們的領導力、公民道德雨生活技能。)