随身英语
A new hobby for a new year新年培养新爱好
从古老的洞穴绘画到现代的舞蹈、编织，再到邮票收藏，兴趣爱好一直是人类生活的一部分。有些喜欢做手工的人从自己的兴趣爱好中找到了商机，把爱好变成了生意。还有人喜欢通过扔斧头之类的休闲运动来解压。在新的一年里，你打算培养什么新的兴趣爱好？
词汇：hobbies爱好
It's the end of one year and the start of another. You've probably been considering New Year's resolutions and you may have decided to take up something new for the year ahead. Perhaps, like Debbie Gustig, you could start ballet classes. At the age of 53, Debbie stepped into the dance studio, where, for a while, it feels like 'the outside world is on pause'.
Hobbies are a way for us to keep busy and take our minds off the realities of work and life. People crave time to pursue interests that are valuable and satisfying. Humans have indulged in pastimes since the beginning of time, from drawing on cave walls to playing video games. Some hobbies involve collecting things. That means acquiring, possibly cataloguing, and then displaying or storing something precious, whether that be stamps, antiques or comic books.
Linda de Ruiter turned her hobby into a job. She is a yarn maker and now the owner of a small business. After helping out a friend with a stand at a craft market, she realised she wanted a stand for herself. She told the BBC she always thought yarn making would just be 'a glorified hobby' for her, but she's glad to have been proven wrong and says she is "having a ball".
People often pursue hobbies as a way of de-stressing. In Canada, axe throwing is on the rise. In fact, there is even an axe-throwing league with branches across the country and more than 1,500 members. League founder Matt Wilson told the BBC that it's "a zen sort of experience because it's really not about power, but there is definitely something cathartic about the activity".
So, ballet, collecting stamps, yarn making, axe throwing? What will you pursue in the new year?
词汇表
resolution 决心
take up 开始（工作，活动）
ballet 芭蕾舞
take someone's mind off 转移某人的注意力，让某人暂时忘记忧虑之事
pursue 追求
indulge in 沉溺于
pastime 休闲娱乐，消遣
collect 收集，收藏
acquire 购得，获取
catalogue 记录，分类
display 展示，陈列
store 储存，储藏
yarn maker 纺纱人
stand （零售）摊位
a glorified hobby 一个被美化的爱好，一个听起来比实际上更有意思的爱好
have a ball 极为享受，非常尽兴
de-stress 解压
axe throwing （休闲运动）扔斧头
zen 令人放松的
cathartic 宣泄情绪的
测验与练习
阅读课文并回答问题。
1.How long have humans had hobbies?
2.What kinds of things do people collect for a hobby?
3.Why did Linde de Ruiter start her small business?
4.True or false? Axe-throwing is becoming more and more popular in Canada.
5.Why can axe-throwing be described as a way of de-stressing?
选择意思恰当的单词或词组来完成下列句子。
1.She's always loved _______. She started when she was just four years old.
resolution hobby ballet pastime
2.They run a cheese _______ at a food market in the centre of town.
stand yarn ball antique
3.I've decided to _______ up yoga this year. I've always wanted to try it.
indulge take de-stress bring
4.I have a lot of CDs. I _______ them in a special case upstairs.
pursue acquire catalogue store
5.I'm your mum, but I feel like a _______ cleaner with the mess you make.
power cathartic glorified zen
答案
阅读课文并回答问题。
1.How long have humans had hobbies?
Humans have indulged in pastimes since the beginning of time, from drawing on cave walls to playing video games.
2.What kinds of things do people collect for a hobby?
Something precious, whether that be stamps, antiques or comic books.
3.Why did Linde de Ruiter start her small business?
Because after helping out a friend with a stand at a craft market, she realised she wanted a stand for herself.
4.True or false? Axe-throwing is becoming more and more popular in Canada.
True. In Canada, axe throwing is on the rise.
5.Why can axe-throwing be described as a way of de-stressing?
Because it's "a zen sort of experience because it's really not about power, but there is definitely something cathartic about the activity", according to Matt Wilson.
选择意思恰当的单词或词组来完成下列句子。
1.She's always loved ballet. She started when she was just four years old.
2.They run a cheese stand at a food market in the centre of town.
3.I've decided to take up yoga this year. I've always wanted to try it.
4.I have a lot of CDs. I store them in a special case upstairs.
5.I'm your mum, but I feel like a glorified cleaner with the mess you make.
