托福写作范文之朋友之间的竞争会对友谊产生负面影响

　　2012年9月2日中国大陆托福考题，英文题目Competition between friends usually negatively impacts friendships.

　　Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? Competition between friends usually negatively impacts friendships. Use specific details and examples to support your opinion.

　　Competition is a natural part of many friendships. While there are some instances when competition can create bitter feelings between people, for the most part some of the best relationships are built on a foundation of healthy competition. I think competition can help create and strengthen friendships.

　　When we were children, playing games and competing with each other was a main way we found friends. On the playground during recess or in the park after school, children constantly think up games where there is a winner and a loser. Whether it is seeing who can race around the park the fastest, or who can jump rope the most in one minute, competitions like these help children learn how to socialize and make friends. Yes, there is a winner and a loser, but every day children look forward to playing and competing with their friends.

　　As children get older, friends still continue to compete and strengthen their bonds through competition. For example, my best friend in college was also my running partner on the school cross country team. We were on the same team, but during races, we would get really competitive. There were countless times when she and I would be running neck and neck until the very end. Oftentimes we would cross the finish line at almost the exact same time. I always wanted to beat her, but if she beat me, I was still happy. We competed with each other, but we also helped each other beat runners from other teams and set new personal records. This competition made our friendship stronger.

　　In professional athletics there are also a lot of friendships based on competition. One of the most recent examples is Olympic swimmers Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte of the United States team. There was a lot of coverage in the press of Ryan Lochte criticizing Michael Phelps for his lazy training schedule and the fact that Phelps relied more on natural talent than hard work for his gold medals. Lochte boasted that he would defeat Phelps and the media reported these boasts like Phelps and Lochte were enemies, the farthest thing from friends. But then during the Olympics there were a few instances where people really saw that Phelps and Lochte were friends. When Phelps and Lochte were part of the US relay team that won the 4x200 meter freestyle relay, the race which earned Phelps his 19th gold medal, Phelps credited his friends and teammates for helping him achieve this record. Even with intense competition, they still had a positive relationship as teammates.

　　While competition can create tension in friendships, more often than not competition helps build and strengthen friendships. Healthy competition creates healthy friendships.