文档hobby

What are hobbies and interests?Hobbies are something we do as a pastime. They are activities we enjoy doing in our free time for fun or entertainment rather than being forced to get into. Interests are something that we have the desire to know more about, but we do not necessarily participate. It is often the case that we first become interested in something, and then we practice it ourselves. When we often do it or practice it regularly for relaxation and get fun, it becomes our hobby. So a hobby is something that we must be interested in practicing, while interest is something we may not necessarily practice doing ourselves. However, people tend to use the words …hobbies and interests‟ together, and ignore the difference between them. People like to use …hobbies and interests‟ to refer to the same thing in most situations, because they are closely related to each other and both play an important role in our life. What do people enjoy doing in their spare time?People take up many kinds of hobbies in their spare time. Some watch television or go to the movies; others participate in sports. Some surf the Internet or play computer games; others go window-shopping. Some keep pets or raise flowers;others paint pictures. Some collect postcards or stamps; others go fishing. Some play musical instruments or do the knitting; others take photos. And the list goes on. The choice of hobbies varies from person to person. It depends on individual talents and interests, and economical situations. I prefer to play basketball with my friends, because I am a big fan of Yao Ming. He is a great player. He works even harder after he joined the Rocket in NBA (National Basketball of America). He plays center in the team. He is my idol and an idol of most Chinese young people, especially boys.Besides, I like out-door activities. Playing basketball with my classmates is a fantastic way to spend free time together with my friends. I play guard in my team.I wish someday I would play basketball in NBA. Also, playing basketball makes mehealthy. With good health condition, I am more energetic in my study and I even have energy to take a part-time job. It is basketball that makes my life much more colorful.How do people choose their hobbies?People choose different kinds of hobbies according to their own interests. They can choose hobbies for fun, for profit or for health. They can choose hobbies that are very popular and easy to develop, such as watching TV, reading, window-shopping, jogging, taking a walk and so on. These hobbies need no special training. They can also choose hobbies that are not so easy to develop, such as painting, playing musical instruments, singing, dancing and so on. These hobbies need special training and individual talents, not easy for everyone to develop. People who sit at the desk all day long like to develop active hobbies, while professional sports players tend to take up quiet hobbies. Everyone should do something for a change so as to keep a balance between work and play.Why do people need to take up one kind of hobby or another?Well, most people take up one hobby or another for relaxation, while others havehobbies for killing time. Since we are living in a wonderful but competitive world nowadays, we are under some degree of stress. Students have to study hard. They have to finish many assignments, to take numerous examinations and to fight for their future. But as the proverb goes, “All work and no play make Jack a dull boy”, students need hobbies to refresh themselves in order to have better performance on their studies. People who have a job also need to work hard in order to stay in the job and be more qualified for it or to change to a better one.Besides, there is pressure coming from family issues. People have to pay great attention to housing, children‟s education, the health condition of the aged family members, and so on. So it‟s no exaggeration to say that people today are really quite tired. However, hobbies can help them relax. Everyone knows the importance of keeping a balance between work and play, but not all people practice it. Some people do not balance work and play very well and they spend more time on their works. In my opinion, they really need to take up one hobby or another for a change.To many retired people, they take up hobbies just for killing time. As we know, retired people have much more free time than those who have a job. So if retired people develop one kind hobby or another, they will not worry about what to do all day long. And if they have a hobby involving several persons,they can make friends and will not feel lonely. If they have a light heart, they are sure to be healthy and to live longer. So I think hobbies are important to everyone.What should we pay attention to when choosing a hobby?When choosing a hobby, what is the most important thing? Is it for fun, for body-building or for making friends that we choose a hobby? No matter what purpose it is, we should consider both advantages and disadvantages. We should ask ourselves what it is that we think we will enjoy about the activity itself. In other words, we should consider what we can get from such a hobby? It is often the case that we make some research into a hobby with tons of enthusiasm, only to find that it is not something we enjoy doing because the hobby does not act as a stress reliever.We should feel fun when we get started in a hobby. If it is not, the hobby might be better left for somebody else who is more suited to it. Not every hobby is attractive to everyone. Tha t‟s why there are so many hobbies for people to choose from. It‟s wise for us to look at some important aspects of a hobby and study how they relate to our particular situation before we take up a certain hobby. When I take up a hobby, I will take financial issues into consideration. For example, I am really interested in playing golf. But it is extremely expensive. In Beijing, one needs to pay 25 yuan for a practice of 25 balls. That means one yuan for each ball. There are some other extra charges. All these are just the basic payment for the simple practice, not including the expense of the whole 18 holes or 9 holes. So I seldom go playing golf. Instead, I just watch golf games on TV at home. Though I am really interested in golf, I do not take it as my hobby for the high cost. It is really a pity. I think that different people will take different factors into consideration when they choose a hobby.What benefit can we get from a certain hobby?People take up hobbies because they get fun when they are doing things they like,because they can make friends, they can enrich their knowledge and they can have relaxation or keep healthy. For example, climbing mountains can help strengthen people‟s will power and keep people fit, and by keeping pets people acquire basic knowledge about animals. If one has the hobby of collecting ancient coins, he will be an expert in identifying different coins. If one likes playing Chinese chess, he will be well trained in logic thinking. We should take care not to be addicted to whatever we do as a hobby.What can be kept as a pet?A pet is an animal that is kept for companionship and enjoyment. Many small, loyalor playful animals can be kept as pets. Usually people keep cats, dogs, kinds of birds, goldfish and rabbits as their pets. Some people even keep snakes, bees or very small tigers and very small lions as their pets. It is said that some people keep spiders as their pets. Of all the animals that might be kept as pets, people like dogs best as they are faithful to their owners. In some western countries, pets are regarded as their family members.What benefits can we get from keeping pets?Well, Pets bring both physical and psychological benefits to their owners. They help remove stress. Walking a dog can provide its owner with exercise, fresh air, and the opportunity for social interaction. Dog owners have a reason to get more exercise through daily walks with their dogs. The moderate amount of exercise helps improve their quality of life. Some people keep pets and regard their pets as “someone” to talk to and so they do not feel lonely.Do you think there is some relationship between one‟s character and his hobby?The First Suggested AnswerYes, sure. Hobbies play an important role i n developing a person‟s character or temperament. They help create a person‟s unique character. Many companies would like to know about their applicants‟ interests and hobbies during the interview just because one‟s character has much to do with his hobbie s and interests. When you are asked such questions as “Do you have any hobbies? What are they?” “How do you usually spend your spare time?” in a job interview, you should answer them properly so as to leave a good first impression on the interviewer.The Second Suggested AnswerI don‟t think one‟s character is closely related to his hobby. Let me show you aninteresting example. One of my friends, named Liu Yan, is a quiet girl. At first, people around her think that she probably likes reading or playing chess or some other quiet types of girls‟ favorite activities. But to our big surprise, she loves playing such computer games as CS or Fighter 97\98\2000. You know, her favorite game is …God of War‟. To be honest, it is so violent even for boys. I do believe people choose their hobbies because of their interests. One‟s character, on the other hand, only has a limited influence on people‟s choice of hobbies.Can one‟s hobby develop into his career?Possibly. To a few people, their hobby becomes their second career, as the hobby is their long-held dream, although most people take one hobby or another for entertainment. We are all fascinated by Mr. Liu Huan‟s powerful and emotional voice. Actually he is a professor at the University of International Business and Economics. He has been teaching the history of Western music since 1986. He was interested in music and singing when he was a high school student. After entering the university, his interest grew and he developed himself well in singing. He‟s now an amateur singer with professional musical knowledge, more known as a singer than as a teacher. However, he does not regard singing as his career, but as his hobby.He just loves singing.Do you think interest can stimulate us to study harder?Yes, I believe so. Actually, whether you believe it or not, interest plays a decisive role in our study. Interest does stimulate us to make greater efforts to study harder.This is because people are usually willing to spend time, energy and even money on something they are interested in. For example, if somebody is interested in music, then he will spend money on music tapes, music CDs and music DVDs he is interested in. If somebody likes drawing, he will spend much time practicing drawing and of course he will spend money on things needed for drawing. If somebody is interested in ball games, he will spend time playing ball games. He will not mind how tired it is to play ball games if he is interested in doing that. So if somebody is interested in English, he is likely to spend more time learning English words, expressions, grammar, idioms and slang, and he will spend money on tapes or CDs or DVDs with native voices. And he will enjoy listening to English recordings and he will be bold enough to speak English as much as possible. He will enjoy practicing writing in English. He is willing to do all these because of his strong interest in English rather than orders or requirements from his parents or teachers. If one makes progress in something, he will become much more interested and make greater efforts for more progress.For many Chinese students, English is the most difficult and boring thing in the world. Some students have learned English for so many years, and yet it is still their big headache. The reason, I think, is that they are not interested. As far as I know, some primary school pupils and junior middle school students are sometimes made to write single English words dozens of times as a punishment for failures in doing something. This alone is enough for them to lose interest in English. So in my opinion, the first and the most important thing for a teacher of English to do is to cultivate his students‟ interest in English. If a teacher succeeds in cultivating students‟ interest in English, most students will mak e progress in their English study, as the saying goes, “Well begun is half done”.。