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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 Play遊戲還是比賽

Supporters of Competition may say…

1.   Thirteen-and fourteen-year-olds are eager for competition.

2.   Some parents argue that children can’t start preparing to live in a competitive free-market economy too soon.

3.   After all, secondary schools and colleges require students to compete for grades, and the college admission is extremely competitive.

4.   Winning and losing is an inevitable part of adult life. It is perfectly obvious how important competitive skills are in finding a job.

5.   Winning adds greatly to fun.

6.   Competitive sports instill a sense of discipline in children. Children are educated to abide by rules when doing everything, thus becoming a law-abiding and well-behaved citizen.

7.   Organised sports help children to be a law-abiding citizen. A strong sense of discipline is instilled in children.

8.   Children can develop a strong sense of responsibility during competitive sports.

9.   Competitive sports can bring children’s potential athletic talents into full play.

10. In a competitive situation, players feel intense pressure to do their best.

11. A key element in most sports is competition and they learn to resolve conflicts in appropriate ways: did you share, did you abide by the rules, did you play fair, what are the consequences for not playing by the rules and so on.

12. In addition to the skills of the sport, they are learning how to care for other people on their team, to respect another person’s time and abilities, to be responsible for being on time, taking turns as part of the group, and to respect the instructor. They learn much more than the mechanics of a particular sport.

13. Competitive sports can teach a variety of lessons that are applicable to life — how to win gracefully and how to lose gracefully.

Supporters of Play may say…

1.   Organised sports activities bring damage rather than benefits to children both physically and psychologically.

2.   Since they are still developing, tough exercises and play will be inappropriate for them.

3.   Most children under age 7 aren’t ready for rough contact sports.

4.   The primary goal of a professional athlete — winning — is not appropriate for children. Their goal should be having fun, learning, and being with friends.

5.   In all, the young kids deserve sports programmes specifically designed to meet their developmental needs.

6.   Authorities have clearly documented the excesses and dangers of many competitive sports programmes for children.

7.   Children will benefit more from those programmes emphasising fitness, self-esteem, cooperation, sportsmanship, and individual performance.

8.   Before children are psychologically ready for competition, maybe we should emphasise cooperation and individual performance in team sports rather than winning.

9.   Competitive sports are so highly selective that few children get to participate.

10. Many out-of-school programmes attach more importance to having a winning team than developing children’s physical skills and self-esteem.

11. In organised sports, the spirit of play disappears and sport becomes joblike. The games are not always joyous ones. When overzealous parents and coaches impose adult standards on children’s sports, the result can be activities that are neither satisfying nor beneficial to children.

12. One readily understandable danger of overly competitive sports is that they entice children into physical actions that are bad for growing bodies, sometimes resulting in lifelong injuries.

13. Besides physical hazards and anxieties, competitive sports pose psychological dangers for children.

14. Too much competition too early in life can affect a child’s development. Children are easily influenced, and when they sense that their competence and worth are based on their ability to live up to their parents’ and coaches’ high expectations — and on their ability to win — they can become discouraged and depressed.

15. Even when children are not injured, fear of being hurt detracts from their enjoyment of the sport.

16. Highly competitive sports are too often played to adult standards, which are developmentally inappropriate for children and can be both physically and psychologically harmful.

17. Competitive sports eliminate many children from organised sports before they are ready to compete; they are actually counterproductive for developing either future players or fans.

18. There was a study done in the United States involving 26,000 children, ten to eighteen years of age, and they asked them, ‘Why do you participate in your best sport?’ The number one response was for fun, number two was to improve skills, the third reason was to stay in shape, and the tenth reason was to win.

19. While parents may take winning seriously, kids want to he involved with sports for reasons other than winning the game.

20. We provide them with huge trophies, and often the first thing that we ask when a child walks in through the door after a game is ‘who won?’ instead of ‘how did you do?’

21. Unwittingly we reinforce winning, so that children are programmed to believe that it’s important.

22. While most experts believe that a healthy sense of competition has its benefits, teaching our children to play sports simply to win the game shortchanges them on the benefits of physical fitness.

23. Children, with their parents, learn a variety of sport skills together through participating in fun activities that enhance agility, balance and coordination.

24. There are a lot of benefits to team sports. Unfortunately a lot of those benefits are lost when the name of the game becomes winning.

25. There are many situations when we get caught up either in the game, or that we believe that winning or making the team is very important, and we push kids a little beyond their limits. They’re not little adults. They’re children. They can’t tolerate the same types of pressures both physically and emotionally that most adults can. So what we have to do is give sport back to children, let them make some of their own decisions and almost play a hands-off role.

26. Putting a child in highly competitive sports at early age is probably one of the worst things we can do for that child and his lifelong interest in physical activities.

27. Studies show that children will stay with physical activities and develop skills if they perceive them as a pleasurable experience.

28. If they are thrust into a highly competitive situation at a young age, where we as parents or as coaches are emphasising winning, and sometimes winning at all costs, we are giving children the wrong interpretation of the value of physical activities.

29. Highly competitive sports are inappropriate for very young children.

30. The focus on competitive sports also sidelines some of the children who need physical education the most.

31. We turned off thousands of children to exercise over the years when they were embarrassed that they weren’t one of the best in the class and they kind of hid away.

32. Winning. Is that all there is Lu sports? Sometimes we get so caught up in the ‘who won’, we forget that playing the game is also of great value. Sports do offer great lessons for kids and adults, if we take time to appreciate the benefits that playing a game can bring.

33. Emotionally, losing at sports can be very hard, even for adults. At this age, it’ more important that children have the chance to play than worry about who won and who lost.

34. For them, the risk of physical injury is not the only concern. There’s also the issue of winning and losing.

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Reading Material

Team Sports and Competition

There are a lot of benefits to team sports. Unfortunately a lot of those benefits are lost when the name of the game becomes winning. Many of the sports we involve our children in are competitive ones such as hockey, soccer and baseball. And while most experts believe that a healthy sense of competition has its benefits, teaching our children to play sports simply to win the game shortchanges them on the benefits of physical fitness. Fitness consultant David Carmichael says that unwittingly ‘we reinforce winning, so that children are programmed to believe that it’s important. We provide them with huge trophies, and often the first thing that we ask when a child walks in through the door after a game is ‘who won?’ instead of ‘how did you do?’

David adds that while parents may take winning seriously, kids want to be involved with sports for reasons other than winning the game. ‘There was a study done in the United States involving 26,000 children, ten to eighteen years of age, and they asked them, ‘Why do you participate in your best sport?’ The number one response was for fun, number two was to improve skills, the third reason was to stay in shape, and the tenth reason was to win.’

David believes that when it comes to competition the best thing parents can do is back off. ‘I think there are many situations when we get caught up either in the game, or that we believe that winning or making the team is very important, and we push kids a little beyond their limits. They’re not little adults. They’re children. They can’t tolerate the same types of pressures both physically and emotionally that most adults can. So what we have to do is give sport back to children, let them make some of their own decisions and almost play a hands-off role.’

Russ Kisby of ParticipACTION* agrees and he warns that highly competitive sports are inappropriate for very young children. ‘Putting a child in highly competitive sports at an early age is probably one of the worst things we can do for that child and his life long interest in physical activities. Studies show that children will stay with physical activities and develop skills if they perceive them as a pleasurable experience. If they are thrust into a highly competitive situation at a young age, where we as parents or as coaches are emphasizing winning, and sometimes winning at all costs, we are giving children the wrong interpretation of the value of physical activities.’

(編注：ParticipACTION為加拿大的一個非營利事業組織，其成立目的在於鼓勵全體人民多運動，並常與政府單位合作，推廣全民性的活動。)