Hobbies

Hobbies differ like tastes. If you have chosen a hobby to your liking, you have made your life more interesting. Hobbies can be subdivided into four large groups: doing things, making things, collecting things, and learning things.

The most popular of all hobbies is doing things. It includes activities from gardening to travelling and from playing chess or computer games to swimming. Making things includes drawing, painting, sculpturing, designing clothes, writing music or novels, and handicrafts. Almost everyone collects something at some period of his life: stamps, coins, books, CDs, postcards, toys, watches, etc. Some collections are so big and valuable that they are housed in museums and art galleries. People with a good deal of money often collect paintings, rare books, and art objects. Sometimes private collections are given to museums, libraries and public galleries so that other people might take pleasure in seeing them.

With any kind of hobby people always have an opportunity to learn from it. By reading about the things they are interested in, they are getting new knowledge. Learning things also includes doing different kinds of courses, such as driving, cooking, or foreign languages.

Ex. 6 Have you ever had any hobby mentioned in the text? Do you know people who have an interesting or unusual hobby?

Ex. 7 Match the phrases in A with their opposites in B. A B 1. I spend a lot of time I’m not interested in 2. I really love I don’t have enough time 3. I spend too much time I’m not very good at 4. I’m quite good at I absolutely hate 5. I really enjoy I can’t stand 6. I just adore I don’t spend much time

Mind that “V-ing” is used after all of these expressions.

Ex. 8 Use the phrases in Ex.7 to make eight true sentences about the activities below.

Chatting on the phone listening to music doing exercises hanging out with friends doing your homework doing housework shopping playing computer games reading relaxing and doing nothing texting your friends walking watching TV on/using the Internet cooking playing football or volleyball clubbing cycling

Examples: I’m not very good at cooking. I spend a lot of time watching TV.

Ex. 9 A researcher is interviewing Tom about his free time activities. Read the interview and say how often he does different activities. Write out frequency adverbs and try to remember them.

Interviewer: We are doing a survey on the free time habits of British people. Can I ask you a few questions?

Tom: Yes, sure.

I Thanks very much. How often do you go to a bar or pub?

T Oh, not very often. About once a month. I don’t drink, but I sometimes go

with friends.

I Do you do any sport?

T Yes, I go swimming three times a week, at lunchtimes.

I Right. And how often do you go to the theatre?

T Oh, hardly ever. About once a year, perhaps. I go to the cinema quite a lot.

I And what about holidays? How often do you go on holiday?

T I normally have two holidays a year. One in the summer and one around

Christmas.

I And where do you usually go?

T I usually go somewhere hot: Thailand, India, places like that.

I Right. Last one. How much TV do you watch a week?

T Generally about an hour a day. Occasionally, when there’s an interesting

film on, two hours.

I That’s all the questions. Thanks a lot.

Ex. 10 Work in pairs. Make your own free time survey. Write at least six questions.

Ex.11 Read the text about Lenny Henry, one of Britain’s most popular comedians. He has his own television programme and is frequently on the radio. Now he lives in London with his wife.