148. Does playing games teach us about life?

Across the world many cultures have their own favored games. While most of these cultures created the games themselves, many of these games have similar attributes. One reason for this is that people everywhere find games entertaining. More importantly, however, games teach us about life, socialization, and how to work as a team, and how to win and lose gracefully.

One of the most important developments one can make in his personality is the ability to socialize well with others. Having a charismatic personality will take a person far in any field. Almost all games have socialization aspect deeply ingrained in them. Football and basketball both encourage a person to treat others with respect. This is known as having good sportsmanship. Of course respecting others is a social skill that we all must learn if we are to succeed in life.

Many popular sports involve a group of people, ranging from two people to twenty people working together as a team. In these situations it is always of utmost importance to be a team player. Of course in the business world being a "team player" has become a buzzword in most offices. Being a team player means that one should work well with others in the face of adversity. Team sports are full of challenges and obstacles that a team must overcome together.

Finally most sports teach a person the value of winning and loosing gracefully. In sports etiquette it would be incredibly uncouth to start crying or throw a tantrum if one were to lose a game. Likewise if one wins a game and gloats excessively in the face of their adversary, it is equally looked down upon. The same goes in "real life." One must learn the subtleties of defeat and victory and learn to minimize their outward emotions.

In conclusion, I posit that games have much to teach us about life. To sum up they teach us how to work well with others. On a lighter note they also teach us how to have fun, which is an important life lesson in and of itself.

译文

148. 体育运动教会我们如何生活吗？

世界上的很多种文化都有它们自己喜爱的体育运动。虽然绝大多数文化都是自己创造体育运动，但很多体育运动又有着相似的特征。产生这种现象的一个原因就是世界各地的人都觉得体育运动很有趣。然而更重要的是，体育运动教会我们生活、社交、如何作为一个团队工作、如何优雅地面对胜利和失败。

能够和别人很好地相处的能力，是一个人个性最重要的发展。拥有超凡魅力的个性会让一个人在任何领域取得长远的发展。几乎所有的体育运动中都深深嵌入了社会化的方面，足球和篮球都鼓励尊重他人，这被称作有良好的运动家精神。当然，如果我们想在生活中成功，尊重他人是必须学习的一项社会技能。

很多受人欢迎的体育运动都要求一群人参加，从两人到二十人不等，组成一队共同作战。在这种情况下成为一个团队合作者就极其重要。当然，在商业领域中，成为一个“团队合作者”也已经成为绝大多数办公室里的时髦口号。成为一个团队合作者，意味着在面对困难时应该很好地与别人合作。团队体育运动项目中充满了各种挑战和困难，一个团队必须共同克服。

最后，绝大多数体育运动都在教人优雅地面对胜利和失败。在体育礼节中，失败之后哭泣或者发脾气都是极其粗俗的。同样，赢得比赛之后在对手面前过分得意，也是会被人瞧不起的。在“现实生活”中也是如此，人们必须学习失败和成功的微妙之处，并学习尽可能减少外露的情绪。

总之，我认为体育运动教会了我们如何生活，如何跟别人合作。从比较轻松的方面来看，体育运动也教会我们如何寻找乐趣，这本身也是生活中重要的一课。

Word List

• attribute ［əˈtribju:t］ n. 特征
• adversity ［ædˈvə:siti］ n. 逆境
• entertaining ［ˌentəˈteiniŋ］ adj. 有趣的
• obstacle ［ˈa:bstəkəl］ n. 障碍
• socialization ［ˌsəuʃəliˈzeiʃən］ n. 社会化
• etiquette ［ˈetiˌket］ n. 礼节
• charismatic ［ˌkærizˈmætik］adj. 有超凡魅力的
• uncouth ［ʌnˈku:θ］ adj. 粗俗的
• tantrum ［ˈtæntrəm］ n. 发怒
• ingrained ［inˈgreind］ adj. 根深蒂固的
• gloat ［gləut］ v. 心满意足
• sportsmanship ［ˈspɔ:tsmənˌʃip］ n. 运动家精神
• in the face of 当面
• adversary ［ˈædvəˌseri］ n. 对手
• utmost ［ˈʌtˌməust］ adj. 极度的
• subtlety ［ˈsʌtlti］ n. 微妙
• buzzword ［ˈbʌzˌwə:d］ n. 时髦词语；漂亮口号
• posit ［ˈpa:zit］ v. 断定
• to sum up 总之