新世纪研究生综合英语unit7

Unit7CompetitionIsDestructiveIlearnmyfirstgameatabirthdayparty.Yourememberit:xplayersscrambleforx-minus-onechairseachtimethemusicstops.Ineveryroundachildiseliminateduntilattheendonlyoneislefttriumphantlyseatedwhiteeveryoneelseisstandingonthesidelines旁观者立场,excludedfromplay,unhappy…losers.ThisishowwelearntohaveagoodtimeinAmerica.SeveralyearsagoIwroteabookcalledNOCONTEST,which,basedonthefindingsofseveralhundredstudies,arguedthatcompetitionunderminesself-esteem,poisonsrelationshipsandholdsusbackfromdoingourbest.Iwasmostlyinterestedinthewin/losearrangementthatdefinesourworkplacesandclassrooms,butIfoundmyselfnagged困扰bythefollowingquestion:ifcompetitionissodestructiveandcounterproductive反效果的duringtheweek,whydowetakeforgrantedthatitsuddenlybecomesbenignandevendesirableontheweekend?Thisisparticularlyunsettling使人不安的lineofinquiryforathletesorparents.Mostofus,afterall,assumethatcompetitivesportsteachallsortsofusefullessonsandindeed,thatgamesbydefinitionmustproduceawinnerandaloser.ButI’vecometobelievethatrecreationatitsbestdoesnotrequirepeopletotrytotriumphoverothers.Quitethecontrary.TerryOrlick,asportspsychologistattheuniversityofOttawa,tookalookatmusicalchairsandproposedthatwekeepthebasicformatofremovingchairsbutchangethegoal;thepointbecometofiteveryoneonadiminishingnumberofseats.Attheend,agroupofgiggling吃吃地笑childrentriestofigureouthowtosquish挤ontoasinglechair.Everybodyplaystotheend;everybodyhasagoodtime.Orlickandothershavedevisedorcollectedhundredsofsuchgamesforchildrenandadultsalike.Theunderlyingtheoryissimple:allgamesinvolveachievingagoaldespitethepresenceofanobstacle,butnowhereitiswrittenthattheobstaclehastobesomeoneelse.Theideacanbeforeachpersononthefieldtomakeaspecifiedcontributiontothegoal,orforalltheplayerstoreachacertainscore,orforeveryonetoworkwiththeirpartnersagainstatimelimit.Notethesignificanceofan“opponent”becominga“partner.”Theentiredynamicofthegameshifts,andone’sattitudetowardtheotherplayerschangeswithit.Eventhefriendliestgameoftenniscan’thelpbutbeaffectedbythegame’sinherentstructure,whichdemandsthateachpersontrytohittheballwheremeansthatyoutrytomaketheotherpersonfail.I’vebecomeconvincedthatnotasingleoneoftheadvantagesattributedtosportsactuallyrequirescompetition.Running,climbing,biking,swimming,aerobics有氧运动---allofferafineworkoutwithoutanyneedtotrytooutdosomeoneelse.Somepeoplepointtothecamaraderie同志情thatresultsfromteamwork,butthat’spreciselythebenefitofcooperativeactivity,whoseveryessenceisthateveryoneonthefieldidworkingtogetherforacommongoal.Bycontrast,thedistinguishingfeatureofteamcompetitionisthatagivenplayerworkswithandisencouragedtofeelwarmlytowardonlyhalfofthosepresent.Whose,awe-vernus-theydynamicissetup,whichGeorgeorwelloncecalled”warminustheshooting.”Thedependenceonsportstoprovideasenseofaccomplishmentortotestone’switsissimilarlymisplaced.Onecanaiminsteadatanobjectivestandard(howfardidIthrow?howmanymilesdidwecover?)orattempttodobetterthanlastweek.Suchindividualandgroupstriving---likecooperativegames---providessatisfactionandchallengewithoutcompetition.Ifalargenumberofpeopleinsistthatwecan’tdowithoutwin/loseactivities,thefirstquestiontoaskiswhetherthey’veevertastedthealternative.WhenOrlicktaughtagroupofchildrennoncompetitivegames,two-thirdsoftheboysandallofthegirlspreferredthemtothekindthatrequireopponents.Itourculture’sideaoffunrequiresbeatingsomeoneelse,itmayjustbebecausewedon’tknowanyotherway.Itmayalsobebecauseweoverlookthepsychologicalcostsofcompetition.Mostpeopleloseinmostcompetitiveencounters,andit’sobviouswhythatcauseself-doubt.Butevenwinningdoesn’tbuildcharacter:itjustletusgloat沾沾自喜temporarily.Studieshaveshownthatfeelingsofself-worthbecomedependentonexternalsourcesofevaluationasaresultofcompetition;yourvalueiddefinedbywhatyou’vedoneandwhoyou’vebeaten.Thewholeaffairsoonbecomesaviciouscircle:themoreyoucompete,themoreyouneedtocompetetofeelgoodaboutyourself.It’slikedrinkingsaltwaterwhenyou’rethirsty.Thisprocessisbadenoughforus;it’sadisasterforourchildren.Whilethisisdoingon,competitionishavinganequallytoxiceffectonourrelationships.Bydefinition,noteveryonecanwinacontest.Thatmeansthateachchildinevitablycomestoregardotherasobstaclestohisorherownsuccess.Competitionleadschildrentoenvywinners,todismisslosers(thereisnonastierepithetinourlanguagethan“loser!”),andtobesuspiciousofjustabouteveryone.Competitionmakesitdifficulttoregardothersaspotentialfriendsorcollaborators;evenifyou’renotmyrivaltoday,youcouldbetomorrow.Thisisnottosaythatcompetitorswillalwaysdetestoneanother.Buttryingtooutdosomeoneisnotconducive有益的totrust---indeeditwouldbeirrationaltotrustapersonwhogainsfromyourfailure.Atbest,competitionleadsonetolookatothersthroughnarrowedeyes;atworst,itinvitesoutright绝对的aggression.Butnomatterhowmanybadfeelingseruptduringcompetition,wehaveamarveloustalentforblamingtheindividualsratherthanfocusingonthestructureofthegameitself,astructurethatmakesmysuccessdependonyourfailure.Cheatingmayjustrepresentthelogicalconclusionofthisarrangementratherthananaberration心理失常.Andsportsmanshipisnothingmorethananartificial