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Competitiveness
简体
Competitiveness
竞争力

Learn the Zero Conditional

Date: Aug 03 2012

Themes: Sports

Grammar: Zero Conditional

Intro

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In order to win a gold medal at the Olympics, you must have the competitive spirit. In other parts of life, too, a little healthy competition can make us try harder to succeed. At work or at school, the desire to get ahead can be a powerful source of motivation.

But sometimes, it is difficult to know where exactly the line between healthy and unhealthy competition lies. Nobody likes a person who is overly aggressive, or who treats every little thing like a serious competition. Find out who wins the competition for Most Competitive, Mason or Jason.

若要在奥运会上赢得金牌,就必须具有竞争精神。生活中的其他方面也一样,一些良性竞争可使我们更加努力去获得成功。无论是工作还是学习,获得成功的渴望可以成为最强大的动力。

但是有时候,人们很难确定良性竞争和恶性竞争的分界线。大家都不喜欢太争强好胜,或将每一件小事都当做极其严肃的竞争来对待的人。看看在这场“最具竞争力”的比赛中,谁是赢家,梅森还是詹森。

Dialog

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2. Study - Read the dialog again to see how the vocab words are used.

Jason

Jason

Mason

Mason

Jason:  Are you the kind of person that turns everything into a competition?

Mason:  No, not really. It’s funny, I generally associate competitiveness with sports, which I…really don’t play, sports. But I’m pretty competitive when it comes to ideas.

Jason:  What do you mean?

Mason:  Well, I mean because, like, for my job, it’s mostly based on who can come up with the best idea or concept or whatever.

Jason:  OK.

Mason:  And I most of the time think mine is the best.

Jason:  I see.

Mason:  Which is not to say that I’m not open to having other people’s ideas be better, I just am really hard to please when it comes to me thinking your idea is better than mine.

Jason:  I think that’s just pride.

Mason:  That’s the nice way to put it, maybe.

Jason:  You’re not necessarily looking to dominate the others just for the sake of it.

Mason:  It is kind of aggressive though, like, “You just try and top my idea.”

Jason:  Where does that come from? Why do we do that?

Mason:  Man, in my case I think it’s pure ego.

Jason:  I mean, I guess it has like a biological root. Life is sort of, on a scientific level, about competition, and eating things rather than getting eaten.

Mason:  There’s a healthy amount of competition. I don’t know what it is.

Jason:  You can get lazy if there’s not someone there to push you to keep getting better.

 

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Discussion

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Jason asks Mason if he is competitive. Mason says that he is generally not a very competitive person. But he does sometimes get competitive at work. He always thinks he has the best ideas. It’s hard for him to accept that someone else’s ideas are better.

Jason wonders why people are competitive. Mason thinks it has to do with having a big ego, or a lot of pride. Jason points out that competition is a part of nature. He also thinks that there is a good side to being competitive. Wanting to be the best pushes you to try harder.

Are you a competitive person? Do you think it is good to be competitive, or do you dislike competitive people?

 

Comments

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joeytong

joeytong

Spain

I’m  very competitive at school. I always want to be the best in my class, and acctually this is tired…when I don’t get the best marks, I’ll be upset.

10:44 PM Oct 27 2012 |

ana.p94231

ana.p94231

India

I am competitive in my studies. I cannot see anyone who scores higher than me or do better than me. I want to do the best I can, but in other activities like in sports, I am not as competitive as in study. My husband always pushes me to be competitve in that also, because sports play a vital role everyone’s life. Sports are good for health, it helps to maintain your physical and mental health. I want to be a competitive in all other activities also, but not that much which will make me egoistic, dominating, and aggresive. I like competitive people, they are motivating and inspiring.


Ana.   

03:02 PM Aug 16 2012 |

saeedshin

saeedshin

Iran, Islamic Republic Of

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02:09 AM Aug 16 2012 |

1 person likes this

Moriza

Moriza

Ukraine

at school i was a very competitive person.there was a strong opponent for me in my classroom and he pushed me to get better and to study more.it was like a struggle between us,and caused to many bad feelings inside.i didn,t like them.


It is good to be competitive and to have motivation to move ahead.when u reach your goals the others follow your pattern.

08:43 AM Aug 12 2012 |

raisacorrea

Brazil

I’m not a competitive person, I think I need be a little more. It’s healthy, and it does we look inside of us and at the same time we think out side the box, ‘cuz we need be more strategic, creative, etc.
All in all, a person should does a balance and knows the time of be competitive or be a relax person. 

10:19 PM Aug 07 2012 |

zarin.setare

Iran, Islamic Republic Of

i`m not competetive but being competitive help us to matke progress in our life and i agree with healthy i mean fair competitveness

11:45 AM Aug 07 2012 |

ola33

ola33

Japan

I’m not competitive. Trying to develop that spirit but it’s not successful. I think being competitive is a very useful skill in life. It’s first of all concentration, speed, meeting the deadline or getting done something faster. You’ll need it when you take an exam. Even though you know the material, you’ve got to pull yourself together and to present it better than the others.

10:52 PM Aug 05 2012 |

marija luiza

Mexico

Yes, I am. I’m not really competitive at sports, but I’m in ideas like Marson. It only happen at home when my family need to take a decision, that’s the best point of competitive. I absouluty agree that is something increidible to be competitive, because you need or you have to do all the best and give all the effort to get something. 


I like competitive people

08:28 PM Aug 05 2012 |

 julito

julito

Argentina

I have never excelled in any sport competition  ,  i was and I am a low-key guy  ,nevertheless  I try to improve myself  as a person  and in my daily  life doing my job responsibly, I am quite happy as I am .  

02:44 PM Aug 05 2012 |

tilwayne

tilwayne

Morocco

No one can deny that the desire to win over the Other is ubiquitous, we constantly look to earn more money than others, be more beautiful than others, richer, stronger… BETTER. As a matter of fact, there’s nothing more natural than this feeling, because that is what animates the willingness to improve oneself on a personal level. I cannot even imagine life without it, it would be totally boring.


Having said that, if we want to hope for a healthy competitiveness we need to have it accompagnied with necessary values, especially respect and acceptance. 

02:17 PM Aug 05 2012 |

ads999111q

ads999111q

India

I don’t know.. compition is actually killing. Recently i had been through a news of a gym in China where 5 & 6 years olds were literally crying so hard & wee been hanged fr a long time & bla bla.. all in the name of training. Well if that’s the story of compition for medals .. that’s not healthy. Yeah, i know its a chinese site & a lot of chinese people are gonna retreat back at me. But still, if that news was true.. it’s terrible

11:42 AM Aug 05 2012 |

1 person likes this

nfrtary

nfrtary

Egypt

i luv the competitive persons and i think ia m one of them u know what i really feel about the compettitve person and the normal lazy person , i feel like the competaotve is exisit and he is livig but the peson who stay out from competition i think he is dead without any soul withiut any enthusiastic what the life for whithout chalenges every single day ??!!

10:13 AM Aug 05 2012 |

1 person likes this

Lolo :)

Lolo :)

Germany

I think in general competitiveness is really healthy, but i hate people who are unfair in competitions. unfairness in sports is a thing i can’t accept.
It’s good when you have to be copetitive in several things, but not in all. When you have to be in a competition in every situation in your life it isn’t healthy for you because you’re pushing you always and it’s unhealthy, for you and for others, i think.

06:53 PM Aug 04 2012 |

elfisch

Germany

i like competetive people and i think the whole live is a competition.


if you are lazy or not interested in innovation you will lost your friends, your job and other conection ranges. my purpose is always give your best, if possible 100 %.

01:56 PM Aug 04 2012 |

Raj Aro

Raj Aro

India

Raj: A man must be progressive, not  me… ok this lesson its pretty well..

08:35 AM Aug 04 2012 |

wwongsapun

wwongsapun

Thailand

I am a competitive person… So it’s not competitive with others but it’s me.  Sometime I have competitors and more of challenging..It’s a hard time till to I want to wave a white flag… and say good bye… I have question to my self why I need to go to competition with them… it’s unnecessaly the one things that I should to do. It’s competitive with self that’s more of challenge than other things… :)

07:18 AM Aug 04 2012 |

Irene Forever

Ukraine

I am not  a competitive person. Therefore I live in my own  way, so as to feel comfortable.  I always do what is good for me but not for whoever else.


Why should I run after somebody to be like him or her? No need for me. I am not a runner, and I hate the marathon of life. To live slowly is the best way for me to enjoy the surroundings.


Life is too short to be greedy for unlimited success.


I am not a businesswoman by nature. I am just a woman made of flowers and perfume.:)


Live slowly, enjoy much! ♥

06:36 AM Aug 04 2012 |

abdull qader

Afghanistan

im a competitive person, i turn everything into a compitition, i dont why and i dont like this habit but i never hurt others feeling i like respect all the mankinds

06:25 AM Aug 04 2012 |

yuminaga

yuminagaSuper Member!

China

I am a competitive person I guess , sometime it could be aggressive,I benefit from sports, when i was a child ,I didn’t have enoughconfidence,,I had been thinking i couldn’t be good at everything .so when i entered the math , i found I could run faster than the others .sports gave or woke up my confidence. but you know you never know the line between the competitive spirit and aggressive ,when you are at work , something looks like it depend on who can come up with the best idea or concetp or whatever .so you should work harder ,Its really hard to open to having loss .but its much harder not  to have loss.anyway who knows what will happhen next ? do your best and enjoy yourself 

02:35 AM Aug 04 2012 |

1 person likes this

Shiry

Shiry

Saudi Arabia

Nice Lesson !


Oh , I loved it Dude ! LOL


I think am a competitive person at school you know , to be better .


At the same time I’m open to having loss .


If I lose , it’s ok . I’ve the competitive spirit , you know =)


Surely , it’s a good thing to see competitive people , ‘cause that reason pushes you to be better and better inshaAllah =) .


Thanks !


Cool

11:33 PM Aug 03 2012 |

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