Тема 3. Hobbies and leisure activities Text 1. Leisure time as social phenomenon

Until the 20^th century Americans had little time for leisure activities and did not really approve of leisure. The Puritan ideal of hard work remained strong, and leisure was associated with the “idle rich”, sometimes called the leisure class.

The British share the Protestant work ethic (=the belief that hard work is good for people) but have always believed that it is also good for people to have activities outside work. A traditional saying warns that “all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy”. Some people, however, think that leisure time should be spent on worthwhile activities and not just frittered away (= wasted). Children are often encouraged to develop an interest or hobby which they can pick up in their spare time. Many British people care more about their leisure time than about their work which is, for some simply a means of getting money to live on.

Text 2. Traditional hoobbies

Traditional indoor hobbies or pastimes include collecting things, e.g. shells, model cars, dolls, comic books, stamps, coins or postcards. Children also collect sets of picture cards from packets of tea and small toys or models from packets of breakfast cereal. Many collect stickers (= pictures with glue on the back) of football or baseball players or pop stars.

Many people like to do something creative, such as painting or drawing, playing music, knitting or sewing

Some people have hobbies which take them away from home. Birdwatching is especially popular. So too is flying model aircraft. Other people go to public record offices and churches to research their family history. One very British hobby is trainspotting, which involves visiting railway stations and recording the names or numbers of trains. The range of hobbies now popular is reflected in the number of specialist magazines available in both Britain and the US.

Many people have a sport as their hobby. The most popular sport that people play include football, basketball, softball, cricket and tennis. Some people play informally with friends, others join a local team. Many companies also have teams which play against each other. Some people go regularly to a sports centre or leisure centre. Which provides facilities for keep-fit classes and indoor such as squash and badminton, and usually has a swimming pool. Others join a sports club which caters for a particular sport, e.g. golf or snooker. Clubs usually also have a bar and organize social events for their members.

Sports such as football, basketball and swimming are cheap and attract a lot of people. Golf and sailing, which are more expensive, tend to attract wealthier people. Tenpin bowling and ice-skating are popular social activities among young people.

More unusual sports include orienteering (= running from place to place, following clues marked on a map), paragliding (= floating through the air attached to a canopy like a parachute) and hot-air ballooning.

A lot of people who are interested in sport prefer to watch others play, either at a stadium or on television, rather than play themselves. Baseball, football, cricket, golf and also horse racing are regularly broadcast on television.