Do you agree that maintaining relationships with family members is more important than with friends?
你是否同意与家人保持关系比与朋友相处更重要?
I think that maintaining a good relationship with family is more important than with friends and lovers. The main reason for this is that the connection between you and your family has a genetic basis. Half of your genetic material comes from your mother, and she is thus inexorably and fundamentally a part of you. The same goes for your father. Family cannot, therefore, be replaced. By contrast, friends can be replaced. It may not sound like something you can put on a Hallmark card, but it's true.
Furthermore, the job of a friend is different from that of, say, a parent or a sibling. Family is tasked with basically forming who you are as a person—instilling a work ethic, teaching you right from wrong, standing by you in hard times, etc. Yes, people like to say that friends will always be there, but they're not biologically obliged to. They're not fundamentally connected to you the way your family is.
我认为保持与家人的良好关系比朋友和爱人更重要。这主要是因为你和你的家庭之间的关系有遗传基础。例如，因为你遗传物质的一半来自于你母亲，从根本上说，这是你的一部分。你父亲也一样。也许更重要的是，家庭是无法取代的。相比之下，朋友可以被替换。这可能听起来不像是你可以在一张贺卡上写的东西，但这是真的。而且，朋友的角色和父母或兄弟姐妹的角色是不同的。家庭基本上造就了你是一个什么样的人，灌输职业精神，教你对错是非，在困难时期支持你。是的，人们喜欢说朋友总是在那里，但他们在生理上没有义务。他们本质上跟你的关系是跟家人不同的。
笔记
1. Outline
Good relationship with family is more important than with friends R1: genetic basis 基因使我们和家人更亲近 R2: friends are not always there 朋友有可能会离去
2. Vocabulary
inexorably and fundamentally: 不可改变的、本质上的 The same goes for: 短语 这同样适用于的意思 Hallmark card: 指假日寄给朋友的贺卡 tasked with：表示承担某种任务 instilling a work ethic: 灌输职业道德 teaching you right from wrong: 教会你辨别是非，写作常用短语