My hobbies the word hobby means a large variety of things that people

My Hobby 1
I have many hobbies because there are many interesting things to do. Unfortunately I don’t have much spare time as I’m going to be a student. That’s why I have to study a lot. I like doing different things: Such as reading detective stories, listening to the music, playing tennis with my classmates. But my favorite hobby is solving crossword puzzles. It’s not only interesting, but also very useful. When you try to solve the puzzle you find out and learn a lot of different facts. Because in puzzles there are questions about famous people, geographical places, countries, scientific achievements and so on. You also train your brain. The crosswords are published in newspapers and magazines and there are special newspapers that contain only crosswords. I sometimes try to make up my own puzzle and I can say that it is not less interesting. All the members of our family like to take part in solving the puzzles and this unites us very much.

My Hobby 2
Many people have hobbies. They make our life more interesting. A hobby is what people like to do when they have free time. Everyone chooses a hobby according to his character and taste. Some people are fond of music, others like to read books. Some people like to collect stamps, coins or badges, others prefer gardening or hiking or taking photographs. Some people like to cook, others like to knitter sew. Generally speaking, a hobby is a matter of taste.
My hobby is playing computer games. Both grown-ups and children are fond of it now. It has become one of the most popular hobbies nowadays. I think that playing with a computer is very interesting. It is not only «wasting time» as some people say.
Computer games make us to think things over proper-ly, they widen and develop our mind and imagination. I have a good collection of different games and when I have some free time I play them with great pleasure. My favourite game is…
Some of my friends have the same hobby and we like to play together.

Spare Time, My Hobby

A hundreds years ago there was no problem of what working people could do with their spare time. Their hours of work were so long that they had hardly any leisure. Nowadays it’s even hard to name all the activities, entertainments and hobbies run by people in their free time. A growing number of people prefer watching films, performances, sporting events on TV to attending them. There exists quite a different sort of leisure activities, betting and gambling for example, which give thousands of people hope for a huge prize, and a sense of excitement and expectation. There are various pursuits that people choose to pass away their free time. Nowadays people spend ours watching different informational, educational or environment programs. Other popular occupations are listening to the radio, reading books, painting and so on. Many people prefer to go in for different kinds of sports and lead an active way of life. Sometimes they participate in competitions or contests and have a very good pastime. There are people that prefer calm way of spending their free time. They are fond of quite rambles or walks in parks or gardens. More serious people prefer to visit museums, art galleries or theaters. Aerobics and shopping are two of the most popular pursuits for women. Cooking is also very widespread activity among them. But nothing can be compared with the feeling of those who take got really interested in some field of activity, which has become something favorite and admired. A «hobby» is a special interest or activity that you do in you free time off. Some people have animals as hobbies. They keep rabbits or go fishing. They train dogs to do tricks or keep pageants to race and carry messages. Some are crazy about plants. They try to grow cacti or rare tropical flowers in their kitchens and sitting rooms. Others are mad about their cars or their motorbikes. They spend their Saturdays and Sundays washing them, painting them or buying new bits and pieces to make them go even faster. Children and teenagers are great collectors. They collect stamps or postcards or pictures of a favorite football or pop star. Many people make things as a hobby. I have several hobbies which occupy me after school, both in and out of the house. Sometimes I wonder how I fit them all into my schedule because I have a lot homework. Everyday I have not much time to relax. In that period I usually rest after hard school day, listen to music, watch TV and videos, read books and magazines. Computer is one of my main hobbies and interests. I choose computer technology as one of my options and now I study in Belarussian State University in that field of science. Sometimes I play games to relax. Every weekend I spend a lot of time in World Wide Web. I use Internet for educational process, for finding special technical literature in different subjects and of cause for fun. I have a great number of web friends and we like to spend a lot of time talking to one another.

Also I have great interest in computer programming. Moreover I have big collection of cd-disks and records. They include reggae, pop, classical, jazz, easy listening. My mum always telling me off for putting my hi-fi on too loud. Whenever I get spare time, I go in different sport clubs and complexes and play different team and single games such as tennis, football, volleyball, and basketball. It keeps me fit and happy. I can say with confidence that reading is my favorite hobby. Books brings pleasure and delight. Besides books help to mould a persons character from his moral values. Thanks to books we learn to express our thoughts and feelings more exactly and of cause books is the richest source of information. Sometimes my friends and I exchange opinions about books, speak about them, exchange books. Among my favorite gainers are fantasy, philosophy and technical literature. I think that hobbies and interests are an important factor of life. They help to form person, to relax and forget problems for a short while. They can be fun, educational, satisfying and also you can pursuer them when you are old and retired.

Hobbies

Nowadays people work all day long and rarely have spare time to rest and to do something they like. But if they have it they try to waste it in the way they prefer. And there are a lot of possibilities to do it perfect. People can choose everything from sport to spending a good time in the country according to desires. And there are a lot of things to do that can help you not to feel bored. And activity is much better then doing nothing. The most active way, in my opinion is go in for sport. You can do sports all the year round because there are a lot of kinds of sport for all seasons. Basketball, Football players are always on stadiums. And in winter a lot of ski-walkers occupy the snowy slopes and skaters walk on ice of stadiums and icy rivers. Moreover it can be risking sports, which is more exiting to do. Doing such kind of sport you feel that our life doesn’t stay it’s going forward. Our friends also help us to spend a good spare time. Because they often have interesting ideas of spending free time and it’s much better to spend free time with them. Nowadays music occupies the most part of people’s mind among teenagers especially. People communicate according to their music tastes. They visit disco clubs, concert halls to listen music and to dance. People also have pop idols that attract them by their voice or appearance and they are ready to follow them to the ends of the earth. Some people say that theatres are not popular nowadays but I think that a lot of people still enjoy the play of actors and marvelous productions of plays. And our theatres are world known. Theatres teach you to feel hate and love, joy and unhappiness… In other words theatre help you to become more human. Reading books, papers and magazines is also a way of spending leisure time. You can choose a genre according to your mood and read whatever you want. From magazines and papers you know the latest news in the world of politics, fashion, cooking, technology. But technology is developing so fast that such way of getting information becomes old. With developing of Internet information is available in each point of earth. Moreover it’s a way of communicating with people.

And people all over the world sit at the computers chatting or exploring the Internet all day long. Children spend a lot of free time playing computer games. And statistic shows that 70% of users of Internet are teenagers. But some people prefer to go to a country to breath fresh air and resting or travel somewhere. Traveling becomes more and more popular. People like to visit other places to escape from daily routing. And all resorts are full in the time of holidays. As for me I think that the most exciting leisure time spending can be all activities like sport or traveling somewhere with friends because I never feel bored with my friends. For example every holiday I go somewhere with my best friend from Moscow. And we always have a good time wherever we go. And I think that everyone can find an occupation. Maybe in some countries people have more opportunities for recreation because of the new inventions or another factors. But I think that each man can travel everywhere and try each way of spending free time. Moreover the city where we live give us a lot of places to go. And from day to day the number of places of interest grows. But the only thing that is necessary for citizens is fresh air and little islands of nature. People need to walk in the parks that become more and more rare. In spite of this people always can find a way to spend leisure time. Because our world is full of new interesting and exiting thing that every man want to explore.

My Hobby

A hobby is something that people like to do when they are not busy with their usual work and have some free time. It is something done entirely for pleasure. Hobbies differ like tastes. If you have chosen a hobby according to your character and taste you are lucky because your life becomes more interesting. Hobbies are divided into four large classes: doing things, making things, collecting things and learning things.
The most popular of all hobby groups is doing things. It includes a wide variety of activities, everything from gardening to travelling and from chess to volleyball.
Gardening is one of the oldest of man’s hobbies. It is known that the English are very fond of gardening and growing flowers, especially roses.
Both grown-ups and children are fond of playing different computer games. This is a relatively new hobby but it is becoming more and more popular.
Making things includes drawing, painting, making sculptures, designing costumes, handicrafts. Two of the most famous amateur painters were President Eisenhower and Sir Winston Churchill. Some hobbyists write music or play musical instruments. President Bill Clinton, for example, plays the saxophone.
Almost everyone collects something at some period of his life: stamps, coins, matchboxes, books, records, postcards, toys, watches. Some collections have no real value. Others become so large and so valuable that they are housed in museums and galleries. Many world-famous collections started in a small way with one or two items. People with a good deal of money often collect paintings, rare books and other objects d’art. Often such private collections are given to museums, libraries and public galleries so that others might take pleasure in seeing them.
As for as I am concerned, I was always fond of collecting stamps. My mother had started collecting stamps long before I was born. She gave me her six albums of stamps as a birthday present when I was twelve. Then I continued collecting stamps myself. It helped me to learn a lot about other countries and other peoples’ traditions, the world’s fauna and flora. I used to bring the albums to school and sometimes exchanged stamps with my schoolmates.
About a year ago my parents bought me a tape recorder and I decided to collect tapes. I am fond of listening to music. I like rock and pop music and classical music too. Now I collect tapes of my favourite groups and singers. I also try to find out everything about the singers I like. I read specialised magazines and try not to miss musical shows on TV, because I want to keep up with the news in the world of music. I write letters to some fan clubs in other countries, so I have to brush up my English. I never miss a concert by my favourite group if they come to our city.
No matter what kind of hobby a person has, he always has the opportunity of learning from it. By reading about the things he is interested in, he is adding to what he knows. Learning things can be the most exciting aspect of a hobby.

My Hobby
Tastes differ. Different people like different things, different people have different hobbies.
I go in for sports, I like to play tennis. I go to play tennis every day.
Sport is very important part of our life. Many people go in for sports, they jogging, walking, swimming, skating, skiing, train themselves in clubs and different sections.
Physical training is an important subject at school. Pupils play volleyball, football, basketball.
I have been playing tennis for 5 years. Tennis became very popular now. I take part in different competitions.
To be in a good shape I’m jogging every morning and do my morning exercises.
Everyone should do all he can to stay healthy and choose the sport he is interested in. I do not understand people who say that they like sport, but they only watch sport on TV.
If one goes in for sports he feels much better, looks much better, sleeps much better. Your physical appearance will change too. You will be slimmer and trimmer. And what is even more important you will not get sick often.
Why do I go in for sports? Because I think that it is very important for a man to be strong and well — built. Sport is not for weak, because, you have to learn how to lose, and it’s not easy.
My favourite proverb says: «A sound mind in sound body».

Questions:
1. What is your hobby?
2. What sports do you go in for?
3. Do you like summer (winter) sports?
4. What does it mean to be healthy?
5. Why did you choose tennis?
6. Who is your favourite tennis-player?

Мое хобби
О вкусах не спорят. Разным людям нравятся разные вещи, поэтому у разных людей различные хобби.
Я занимаюсь спортом, мне нравится играть в теннис. Я играю в теннис каждый день.
Спорт является важной частью нашей жизни. Много людей увлекаются спортом, они бегают, занимаются ходьбой, плавают, катаются на коньках и лыжах, тренируются в клубах и различных спортивных секциях.
Физическая культура — важный предмет в школе. Ученики играют в волейбол, футбол, баскетбол.
Я играю в теннис уже 5 лет. Теннис стал очень популярен сейчас. Я принимаю участие во многих соревнованиях.
Чтобы поддерживать хорошую форму, я бегаю каждое утро и делаю утреннюю зарядку.
Каждый человек должен делать все возможное, чтобы оставаться здоровым и должен выбрать спорт, который его интересует. Я не понимаю людей, которые говорят, что им нравится спорт, а между тем они смотрят его только по телевизору.
Если заниматься спортом, то чувствуешь себя намного лучше, выглядишь намного лучше, спишь намного лучше. Твое тело тоже изменится. Ты станешь стройнее и изящнее. Но еще более важно — ты не будешь часто болеть.
Почему я занимаюсь спортом? Потому что я считаю, что для мужчины очень важно быть сильным и хорошо сложенным. Спорт не для слабых, потому что там нужно научиться проигрывать, а это не всегда легко.
В моей любимой поговорке говорится «В здоровом теле — здоровый дух».
Источник: 100 тем английского языка. Авторы Каверина В. Бойко В. Жидких Н.

Leisure time
It is not easy to say exactly what teenagers in different countries do in their leisure time. I think that, in the main our interests and tastes do not differ very much. They are engaged in sports activities. They listen to their favourite music bands or take part in different concerts. Teenagers discover the world and themselves. In the main, all young people are individualists. Youth is the time when young people work out their outlook. At the same time they need collective experience to share their dreams and interests. Teenagers unite in specific organisations.
The first organisation that brought together thousands of teenagers in different countries was that of the Scouts. The aim of this association was originally to train boys in various different skills such as lighting a fire and to develop their character. Now the Scouts are active all around the world. The motto of the Scouts is «Be Prepared.» After the October Revolution a similar Pioneer organisation was created in Russia. The Pioneers were supported and sponsored by the government. Now the Pioneers do not exist in our country.
The Scouts and Pioneers were the first, but not the only organisations of the young people. For example today the volunteer movement is extremely popular among the teenagers. It dates back to the year 1921, when a French soldier decided to restore a German house after World War I free of charge. The movement flourished only in the late 1990s when young people of Europe and the United States went to different parts of the world helping local communities to solve their problems. Today volunteerism is very popular in American community and political life. Volunteerism implies assisting people through privately initiated agencies. Volunteers do not receive any salary for what they are doing, but at the same time their work is highly motivated. They react very quickly, immediately coming to help to whoever may need it. There are several types of volunteer work: workcamps, mid-term and long-term volunteering projects. Any young man from any continent can come to workcamps. These camps attain certain objectives in social, ecological, archaeological fields. Usually all works are done under the supervision of professionals. The mid-and long-term projects usually concern the social sphere. They include assistance to children, old people, crippled or immigrants. Volunteer fund-raising groups unite to help the needy in all spheres. They can do almost any work that is necessary. Volunteers can be found in any part of the globe. In the United States six out of ten pupils are members of some volunteer organisations.
All three organisations that were mentioned above are more or less formal. At the same time there are many informal associations of teenagers. Very often they are not even registered, and if they are, no one cares about what they are doing. No records are kept of their activities. They emerge, evolve and disintegrate without leaving trace in history. Nevertheless such organisations are extremely important for their participants. They serve as a means for teenagers to express themselves, meet new friends that have common interests, discuss problems that are really important to them. Quite often a famous book, a movie or a musical band can serve as an impulse for creating such organisations. Fan clubs of different rock and pop groups are numerous. Fan clubs usually consist of teenagers. Members of such clubs listen collectively to their favourite songs, attend concerts, write letters to their idols.
The most spectacular example of unofficial organisation is presented by the Tolkienist movement. J.R.R. Tolkien, the famous British writer created a magic world of elves, dwarves, and hob-bits. Any person who likes Tolkien’s novels can become a Tolkienist. This community is open to everyone; young people come and go, they choose a race, becoming, for example, an elf or a goblin. Their imagination will carry them as far as they want. In Russia Tolkien is extremely popular now. In Moscow there are several places where his fans assemble to share their views and ideas.
Other teenagers go much further. They are not satisfied with the world they are living in, and the worlds created by others do not attract them either. They create their own worlds and universes. In this context Role-Playing Games (also called RPG) should be mentioned. The first RPG was Dungeons and Dragons (D’n’D), a Dungeon Muster (DM) is responsible for outlining the rules of the newly created world, while other players act as the inhabitants of this world, Participating in such activity can be really thrilling, but the danger of quitting the real world for an imaginary one is always present. Such groups and organisations are escapists in their essence. Unlike volunteers they are not aimed at making our world better.

– Why do the young organise their clubs?
– The young do not want to accept the world of the adults with their organisations for the teenagers. They rebel against it in different ways, sometimes in the form of creating their unofficial organisations and clubs. They organise according to their interests into different sub-cultural groups.

– Do you belong to any group or organisation?
– No, I do not. My elder brother used to be a Pioneer, but now such official or semi-official organisations do not attract me. For a couple of years I attended the meetings of the Tolkienists, acting as a little dwarf. Although I am still a great fan of Tolkien’s books, I do not think any longer that I should waste my time living an imaginary life in the imaginary world. The world we all are living in is full of wonders. There is always somebody who needs our help. A lot of my friends are supporters of Greenpeace, and I will soon join their actions. Greenpeace is doing a very important job of rescuing the nature. People of different ages help Greenpeace, and I believe that young people should participate in the activities of this organisation more actively.

– What do your friends do in their leisure time?
– As I have already said, some of my friends help Greenpeace. I still have many friends among the Tolkienists. Some of my friends are fond of RPGs. They meet every Saturday in groups of 5 or 6, They draw a map and for hours discuss the fates of their heroes. One game can last several months or sometimes a year. Although my best friend who is a Dungeon Master often invites me to join his RPG, I am sure that the real life is much more interesting than any imaginary adventures.