【题目】

Some people believe that the best way of learning about life is by listening to the advice of family and friends. Other people believe that the best way of learning about life is thorough personal experience. Compare the advantages of these two different ways of learning about life. Which do you think is preferable? Use specific examples to support your preference.

【范文】

Learning about Life

As we grow, we learn many things about life. Some of these lessons are easy and some are difficult. What is the best way to learn them? Some believe that they can learn best by listening to the advice of others, while some people believe that it is better to learn through personal experience. Both methods have their advantages.

In the first case, learning by listening to others, we have the benefit of learning from others’ mistakes and are thus being able to avoid them ourselves. We can take advantage of the experience and wisdom of our friends and family. This will help us to make better decisions and avoid costly errors. Furthermore, the people who know us well can advise us effectively because they understand our strengths and weaknesses. At the same time, they are sometimes able to see situations more objectively than we are.

In the second case, learning through doing, we have the advantage of gaining meaningful experience. We will no doubt better remember the lessons we learn when we enjoy the rewards or suffer the consequences ourselves. Moreover, we can often develop other skills through personal experience and can learn from our mistakes.

Finally, no two people are exactly alike. Therefore, what family and friends think may be suitable for them, but not appropriate for us.

Given a choice between these tow ways of learning about life, I would still choose the former, learning through the advice of others. This is because I believe I should take advantage of all the resources available, and the experiences of my family and friends are a valuable resource. For example, if were preparing to take my first trip abroad on my own, t he advice of others who have already experienced such a trip could only help me. Just as we can learn from history, we can learn from the past actions of those close to us.

In conclusion, I find advantages in both ways of learning. Although I prefer to learn by listening to the advice of others, that does not mean I will for go learning through my own experiences. It does mean, however, that I will approach new experiences with the added benefit of my family and friends’ good advice.

在成长过程中，我们会学到生活中的许多事情。其中有些教训很简单，而有些却很困难。什么是获取教训最好的方法？有些人认为，他们可能通过听取别人的建议而获得最好的学习效果，而有些人却认为最好是通过亲身体验来学习。这两种方法各有优点。

第一种方法是听取别人的建议而学习，因为我们可以从别人所犯过的错误中学习，避免再犯相同的错误。我们还可以利用家人和朋友的经验或智慧来帮助我们做出更好的决定，避免犯下代价高昂的错误。此外，因为他们了解我们，知道我们的优缺点，所以能提供有用的建议。同时，他们对于事情的看法有时比我们客观。

第二种方法是从做中学，这样我们可以因为得到宝贵的经验而获益。毫无疑问，当我们因为自己所做的事情而享受成果或承担后果时，我们会对这些教训记忆得更加深刻。此外，通过亲身体验，可以培养其他的技巧，而且也能从错误中学习。最后，没有两个人是完全相同的，因此，家人或朋友的想法也也许只适合他们自己，不见得适合我们。

若要我从这两种学习人生的方法中选一个，我仍然会选择前者，也就是从别人的建议中学习。因为我认为，应该利用所有可获得的资源，而家人与朋友的经验就是宝贵的资源。例如，如果我初次要准备自己出国旅行，那么有类似出国旅行经验的人所提供的建议对我就很有帮助。正如我们能从历史中学习一样，我们也能从周围的人的经验中学习。

总之，我认为两种学习方法各有优点。尽管我比较喜欢听取别从的建议，但这不表示我就不会亲身去体验。然而，这确实意味着我除了去体验新的经验，同时还要听取家人与朋友提供的忠告，这样才能获得更大的益处。

【注释】

lesson n. 教训
advantage n. 好处，优点
case n. 情况，例子
take advantage of 利用
costly adj. 代价高的，昂贵的
error n. 错误
furthermore adv. 此外
advise v. 建议
effectively adv. 有效地
strength n. 优点
objectively adv. 客观地
meaningful adv. 有意义的
reward n. 报酬
consequence n. 后果
suitable adj. 适合的
given prep. 如果考虑到
the former (两者中)前者
resource n. 资源
available adj. 可获得的
valuable adj. 珍贵的
abroad adv. 到国外
on one’s own 自行，独力
in conclusion 总之
forgo v. 放弃
approach v. 处理，对待
added adj. 附加的