Leisure and hobbies

The English say: “He who knows how to work, knows how to rest”. Leisure should be refreshment; it should send a man out with fresh spirits to battle with the problems of life. All people are different and so they prefer spending their free time in different ways. Hobbies differ like tastes. If you have chosen a hobby to your character and liking, lucky you are: you have made your life more interesting.

Numerous hobbies can be subdivided 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. Making things includes drawing, painting, making sculptures, designing costumes, and handicrafts. Almost everyone collects something at a certain period in his life: stamps, coins, matchboxes, books, records, postcards, toys, etc. 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.No matter what kind of hobby a person has, he always has the opportunity of learning from it. Learning things can be the most exciting kind of a hobby.

In Belarus there’s almost every kind of entertainment you can imagine. There are numerous places of interest where people can spend their leisure hours. There are many theatres, museums, concert halls, cinemas, palaces of culture, libraries. For those who are fond of sport there are a lot of sport centers, stadiums, sport clubs, etc. Parks and gardens are the most popular places for recreation among nature lovers. They attract both children and adults.

There are a lot of clubs and sections. Those who like to dance, join a dancing section. Those who are interested in music join a musical section where they are taught to play different musical instruments. People who are fond of sports can join sport sections, such as football, skiing, chess and others. The art section is one of the most popular with people, because they can learn to create beautiful things there. Some members are taught to paint, and they organize local exhibitions of their paintings. Some do cutting work, others grow flowers.

As for me, I prefer to spend my free time in different ways. I like to go in for sports, to play football, basketball or volleyball with my friends. I like to watch TV, to listen to music and play computer games. Also I like to go for a walk in the country and enjoy the beauty of nature.

And my hobby is reading books. I’d like to say that it’s hard to imagine our life without books. In my opinion, a book is one of the greatest wonders of the world. It gives us a unique chance to link up with authors who lived hundreds of years ago. Books play a great role in the development of personality. Books enrich our experience and continue our education. I’m sure that a reader lives a richer life than a non-reader. Books help us to forget our daily problems. We can travel to the past, future and to many different, wonderful places that we can’t visit in reality. I am also sure that books are our good friends and teachers. From them we get to know life better, they teach us how to tell the right from the wrong, to love our Motherland, to understand friendship, people’s feelings. So, they teach us how to live. The time spent on a good book is never wasted. As for me I like to read different kinds of books adventure stories, detective stories, historical novels, etc.

Besides reading books I really enjoy going to the cinema: it’s one of my favorite pastimes. I’m a great cinema-goer. I think that watching u good film is the best relaxation. There’s a wide variety of films available nowadays. They are wonderful comedies, thrillers, westerns, love stories, science fiction, horror films, detective stories, historical films.

When I want to go to the cinema I usually phone my friends and discuss what films to see. I prefer feature films but also enjoy popular science films.

My favorite film is “Emma” with Gwyneth Paltrow as a leading actress. It is a screen version of the book written by Jane Austene. I think that this film is very amusing, entertaining and it is worth seeing. I enjoy not only the film, but the scenery, costumes, music and the actors’ playing.

In my opinion, hobby gives us a wonderful chance to meet new friends, to broaden our outlook and to enrich our inner world.

Дата добавления: 2015-10-29