Luyện theo cấu trúc Cambridge IELTS 9 · Writing Task 1 + 2: Shrinking Glaciers & Competition in Children’s Sport

The table illustrates how much land was covered by glaciers in five mountain ranges at twenty-year intervals between 1980 and 2020.

Overall, glacier area declined in all five ranges, and in most of them the rate of loss accelerated after 2000. However, the scale of the decline varied considerably, from a very small reduction in Halden Ridge to the loss of almost two thirds of the ice in Orin Peaks.

Cresta Massif had by far the largest glaciated area throughout the period, but it also lost the most ice in absolute terms. Its glaciers shrank from 2,310 to 1,980 square kilometres in the first twenty years and then fell more sharply to 1,520 in 2020, a decrease of about a third. Varna Range followed a similar pattern, falling from 1,240 to 810 square kilometres.

The smallest range, Orin Peaks, experienced the most severe proportional decline. Its glaciers shrank from 430 to just 150 square kilometres, more than halving after 2000. In contrast, the figures for Tolle Highlands and Halden Ridge were relatively stable: the former decreased steadily from 860 to 720 square kilometres, while the latter fell by only 90 square kilometres over four decades, ending at 1,470.

Competitive sport is a major part of many children's lives, and the question of how much winning should matter divides parents and coaches. While competition can teach useful lessons, I believe that an excessive focus on results does more harm than good for most young people.

Supporters of a competitive approach argue that sport prepares children for adult life. Learning to train hard for a goal, to cope with defeat and to try again are skills that are equally valuable in exams and at work. Competition can also be highly motivating: a child who knows that a match matters is more likely to attend training regularly and push themselves to improve.

On the other hand, when winning becomes the main objective, the pressure on young athletes can be intense. Coaches may give most of their attention to the most talented players, leaving others on the bench and making them feel that they have failed. Parents shouting from the sidelines can turn a game into a source of anxiety rather than enjoyment. It is significant that many children give up organised sport in their early teens, often saying that it has stopped being fun, which means they lose the health and social benefits that sport could have provided for the rest of their lives.

In my opinion, the solution lies in balance and in the age of the child. For younger children, the priority should be enjoyment, participation and basic skills, with every child given equal playing time. As they grow older and choose to specialise, a greater emphasis on competition becomes appropriate, provided that coaches praise effort and improvement as well as results.

In conclusion, although competition can build resilience and motivation, children's sport should not be organised mainly around winning, since keeping young people involved and confident is far more valuable.