хобби

Endal is not the only dog that deserves a reward. For example, Rosie, a search and rescue dog from Scotland, once helped find a three- year-old boy who had gone missing. The list could be easily continued.

Well, the British may be crazy about animals, but isn't it nice to know that the animals themselves play an increasingly important role in British life?

M. Morris

to love smb to bits очень любить literally буквально,

Cheshire cat Чеширский кот

vet (veterinary) bill счет от ветеринара lens линза

to prescribe прописывать

organ transplant пересадка органов kidney failure почечная недостаточность

to adopt усыновлять, принимать как члена семьи stray [strei] бездомный (о животных)

accessory аксессуары available доступный

flashing collar светящийся ошейник

car ramp пандус, приспособление для погрузки животного в машину treadmill тренажер

orthopaedic ортопедический

to suffer from a bad back страдать от болей в спине animal abuse and cruelty жестокое обращение с животными patronage покровительство

to get a quick taste получить короткое представление welfare благополучие

to be entitled (to) иметь право на assistance dog собака-помощник

Gulf-war veteran ветеран войны в Персидском заливе to be confined (to) быть прикованным к

wheel-chair инвалидная коляска head injury ранение в голову achievement достижение, успех cashpoint machine банкомат

search and rescue поисковые и спасательные работы increasingly все более

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7.4.Post-reading discussion.

-What is the author’s attitude towards British people, their pets and their love?

-What is your attitude towards British people, their pets and their love? Is it basically positive, basically negative, or something in between?

Vote and write down your answers on the blackboard:

-What is your attitude towards pets? Is it basically positive, basically negative, or something in between?

Vote and write down your answers on the blackboard:

7. 5. Writing.

There is the following saying: “The dog is a man’s best friend”. Do you agree/disagree with it? Why/why not? Explain your view in written form. If possible give illustrative examples.

7.6. Quiz.

Give honest answers to the following questions. The results of the quiz will help you to figure out your real attitude towards pets. Maybe taking care of animals is just what you need for your leisure time.

Will you make a good owner?

So you decided to get a dog. And you prepared to devote a little time to it? Will you make its life happy? Read the questions and answer "yes" or "no":

1.A good owner must have a sense of responsibility.

2.A dog mustn't be aggressive.

3.Cross-breeds (mongrels) are not so clever as their pedigreed

brothers.

4.A dog depends upon its owner for all its needs.

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5.Small dogs live longer than big ones.

6.Dogs can eat the same food their

owners have.

7. The normal temperature of the dog is between 38-39 degrees.

8. Daily exercises are not necessary for small dogs.

9. After a year, a dog can have two or even one meal a day.

10. Regular check-ups by a vet are not necessary for a healthy dog.

Check your score:

1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 9 – “yes”. 3, 6, 8, 10 – “no”.

Congratulations! You’ll be a good owner. Or, perhaps, you are doing this test together with you faithful pet…

1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 9 – “yes”. One of 3, 6, 8, 10 – “no”.

You have a chance to become a good owner. Try to learn more about dogs.

1, 3, 6, 8 – “Yes”. Three or more of 2, 4, 5, 7, 9 – “no”.

Stop! Are you really eager to have a dog? Start with a goldfish. And don’t forget to ask your mum to feed it from time to time.

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II.A Couch Potato

1.Do You REALLY ENJOY BEING A COUCH POTATO?

1.1.Pre-reading focus.

What are your favorite hobbies and pastimes? (Маке а list of favorite hobbies and pastimes on the blackboard)

Do you have enough time to pursue the pastimes you really enjoy?

Fill in the table on the blackboard

1.2. Pre-reading task.

Read the article “Do You REALLY ENJOY BEING A COUCH POTATO?” and do the tasks below.

Give the definitions to the following words and phrases: leisure

hobby pastime socializing roller coasting orienteering letterboxing

Answer the following questions:

-What are the top 5 leisure activities among Americans?

-What are 3 of the more unusual and interesting popular hobbies?

-Why are they all so popular?

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1.3. Reading.

fallen asleep, they wake up and stumble off to bed. Each day they continue to do the

same thing: Get up, go to work, come home, grab a bite, then sit down and vegetate in front of the TV set Does this sound like you? If so, are you satisfied with your existence? Isn't there more to life than being a couch potato?

Some people apparently don't think so. In their recent book Time for Life, researchers John Robinson and Geoffrey Godbey state that the average amount of time that people in the United States have to devote to leisure activities is actually increasing. While this may sound unlikely.

Robinson and Godbey claim that Americans now spend almost forty hours a week doing leisure-time activities, and something similar may be true all over the industrialized world. Here's what Robinson and Godbey say are the top five leisure activities among Americans: Watching television, at 15.0 hours a week, is by far the most popular. Number two on the list is socializing – 6.7 hours a week. Number three, at 4.4 hours weekly, is home communication. Reading, at 2.8 hours a week, ranks number four. And number five on the list, engaging in hobbies, comes in at 2.7 hours a week. Judging from these statistics, we might conclude that many Americans seem to enjoy being couch potatoes. Now, if you want to spend your leisure time channel

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surfing, that's your choice. There are, however, many rewarding pursuits out there. With all the extra leisure time that we supposedly have, it behooves us to know how to spend it interestingly. Here are three of the more unusual and interesting popular hobbies.

Roller coasting has become so popular that there's even an organization called ACE (American Coaster Enthusiasts) that is

precursors of roller coasters originated in Russia as ice slides built high into the air, and the first actual mechanical roller

coasters were also constructed in Russia. From there the idea migrated to Paris, where a kind of roller coaster with wheels was built in 1804. Eventually the roller coaster made its way to the United States, with more and more coasters being built until Depression times. Then they began to fell out of fashion, and many were torn down. It was not until the 1950s, with Walt Disney's opening of the first Disneyland, that roller coasters began to make a comeback. Now they're being built at breakneck speed. Marie Miller, a member of ACE now in her eighties, is a major enthusiast. She figures she's ridden on most of the roller coasters in the United States, saying, "There was a time when I rode every wooden coaster in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, but I can't keep up with them. One thing's certain: I'll never stop riding until I'm in my grave."

Another fascinating pastime is orienteering, a combination of map reading and cross-country skiing or running. Orienteers are given a map that shows where a set of "control points" are located. They try to follow the map by interpreting it carefully and using a compass to plot their course. Each time they succeed in finding a control point, they stamp a card that validates their having completed that part of the game. The sport is competitive: Participants get a starting time and have a prescribed time period for locating all of the control points.

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Orienteering has become extremely popular. Why? There are several reasons. It's interesting and healthy. You get the chance to enjoy the outdoors. Best of all, it taxes both your physical strength and your mental acumen.

Then there's letterboxing, a hobby that is like a combination of orienteering and treasure hunting. It began in England in 1854, when an English gentleman put his calling card (a little like today's business card) into a bottle and left it on the bank of a pond. Someone else found

it and contacted him, and from this the hobby sprang up. What happens is this: People put a notebook and a rubber stamp in a bottle (the letterbox) and they provide special clues for finding the bottle. Participants have to follow the clues by hiking in certain sections of the English countryside until they finally locate the letterbox and stamp their notebook. For some aficionados, letterboxing is so enjoyable that it's become a way of life.

These are just three examples of captivating pastimes. Why are they all so popular? One principal reason is that they're basically active, not passive. Aficionados of these hobbies

get out and act rather than passively sitting in front of the TV screen. Suppose that at some future time we start engraving, on our tombstones, not only the names and the dates of people's births and deaths but also their hobbies and accomplishments. Which would look better on a gravestone: JOHN L DOE, COUCH POTATO, or JOHN L. DOE, ORIENTEER?

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1.4. Post-reading discussion.

Compare your definitions with those given in the dictionary.

Leisure – 1) freedom from the demands of work or duty; 2) time free from the demands of work or duty, when one can rest, enjoy hobbies or sports, etc.

Hobby pastime –- something that serves to make time pass agreeably; a pleasant means of amusement, recreation, or sport

Socializing - associating or mingling sociably with others Roller coasting – spending time at a small gravity railroad, esp.

in an amusement park, having a train with open cars that moves along a high, sharply winding trestle built with steep inclines that produce sudden, speedy plunges for thrill-seeking passengers.

Orienteering – a competitive sport, originating in Sweden, that tests the skills of map reading and cross-country running, in which competitors race through an unknown area to find various checkpoints by using only a compass and topographical map, the winner being the finisher with the lowest elapsed time.

Letterboxing – a combination of orienteering and treasure hunting.

Answer the following questions:

-What are the top 5 leisure activities among Americans? What do Robinson and Godbey say?

#1 on the list is … at 15.0 hours a week #2 on the list … 6.7 hours a week

#3 on the list … 4.4 hours weekly #4 on the list … at 2.8 hours a week #5 on the list … at 2.7 hours a week

-What are 3 of the more unusual and interesting popular hobbies?

-Why are they all so popular? What does the article run? Continue:

-one principle reason is that they’re basically active, not passive

-…

-…

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What do you think? Continue

-…

-…

-…

1.5.Discussion.

Work in groups of three or four. Make a list of:

a)the top 5 leisure activities

Are they similar or different in comparison with those given in the article?

b)3 of the more unusual and interesting popular hobbies.

Are they similar or different in comparison with those given in the article?

Compare your lists of preferences with the lists of the other groups. Are they similar or different? Why are they all so popular?

1.6. Writing.

Write a few paragraphs about yourself. Tell about your interests and hobbies. Keep in mind the following issues:

-your top leisure activities

-some more unusual and interesting popular hobbies.

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2.The Computer and the Internet

2.1.Pre-reading focus.

Do you use the Internet? If yes, how do you use it?

2.2. Pre-reading task.

Read the text “My Internet hell” and answer the questions after the text.

2.3. Reading.

My Internet hell

As an experiment, four volunteers each lived alone for 100 hours. They were dressed only in a bathrobe and had to get everything that they needed from the Internet

A dazed but relieved Emma Gibson told of her 'seedy' ordeal yesterday after four days trapped in cyberspace.

With three other volunteers, the out-of-work actress had agreed to be locked alone in a small room with just a computer and the Internet for company.

One hundred hours, three marriage proposals and dozens of lewd messages later, Miss Gibson, 30, emerged blinking into the sunshine rather glad the experience was over.

With the eyes of the world quite literally upon her - small cameras broadcast her every move on the Web - Internet Heaven had become more of a nightmare at times. 'I wanted to get out at the end. Too much Internet is bad for the health,' she said.

Net users were able to contact her using e mails or chat rooms - electronic conversation forums.

Miss Gibson, from London, added: 'Chat rooms are a pretty seedy experience in my view, especially if you are female and being viewed by a web-camera. It attracts a few perverts. I was being looked at and when someone was getting pervy with their language, a towel went over the camera."

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Miss Gibson was chosen from more than 250 applicants for the experiment. Shut up in a secure room at a central

London hostel, she had to take off all her clothes and was given a bathrobe, a credit card and a budget of £500 to feed, clothe and amuse herself with all purchases ordered via the Internet. Organisers eventually had to start deleting all the abusive mail before it appeared on screen. Three men also offered proposals of marriage. 'I didn't accept any,' said Miss Gibson.

To keep sane during her confinement, Miss Gibson managed to download software from an Australian radio station to pipe out constant music. 'Spending time on your own in a room in front of a computer does change the way you see the world. My thought processes became quite obtuse. It was draining but I became quite addicted. I had to get out.'

She was going straight out for a stiff gin and tonic and a walk in the fresh air. 'I'm definitely not going on the Net for a few days.' Results of the experiment, organised by Microsoft, will be studied by Dr Helen Petrie, of the University of Hertfordshire.

Despite their reservations she believed the volunteers coped 'better than we anticipated.' She added: 'Of course, there have been ups and downs but overall they had a very positive experience."

Daily Mail

2.4.Comprehension.

1.How many volunteers were there?

2.How did they obtain what they needed?

3.How could people contact Emma?

4.What did Emma do to stop herself going mad?

5.In what ways did the experiment affect Emma?

6.On the whole, how did Helen Petrie describe the feelings of the volunteers?

2.5.Discussion.

1) If you don't use the Internet, why not? Are you afraid of it, or don't you have any interest in it?

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2)Do you use e-mail at home and at work? How has it changed the way you communicate with people?

3)Do you use it for anything else, such as banking or booking holidays?

4)Do you think the Internet is more male-oriented (used more by men and aimed more at them)? If so, why is that?

5)What advantages does it have over other media, such as TV, magazines and newspapers?

6)Whose responsibility should it be to check exactly what material goes on the Internet? Should it be the government or the companies who provide the service (Internet Service Providers)?

7)Have you ever used a chat room? Do you think they might be dangerous in any way? Why, why not?

8)Do you think that it is dangerous for certain people to have access to sexual and violent material on the Internet? Why?

9)How do you think the Internet will develop over the next few

years?

Ammunition Box Key words

proxy server an Internet Service Provider that filters out some incoming content;

some countries such as Singapore insist on this

to censor to remove material that is considered indecent, offensive or a threat

to security

web site where people can find information about a certain topic home page the first, guiding page of your site

e mail electronic mail

chat rooms a service where messages are written and exchanged download to transfer data from a large computer system to a smaller one

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2.6.Activities.

A. Read the letter written to a newspaper advice column. Discuss possible solutions with a partner and then write a reply to the woman.

Dear Miriam

My husband’s addicted to the Internet. Day and night he chats to an American woman, sometimes intimately. We’ve been married for 27 years and a few months ago he told me he wanted a divorce. I found out he’s been sending flowers to this woman he met on the Internet and he intends to go over and visit her.

He’s 50 and all my friends have told me he’s probably going through a midlife crisis. He talks all the time to this woman. I know for sure he’s not seeing anyone else, it’s just the Internet that’s got a stranglehold on him.

He’s always been a bully and has threatened that if I did anything to get in touch with the woman, he’d set our two Alsatian dogs on me. What can I do?

Daily Mirror

B. It is fair to say that people are getting addicted to the computer and the Internet. Children play computer games. Teenagers chat. Grown ups go to different Web sites. What is your attitude towards the computer and the Internet? Is it a positive/a negative one?

Vote and write down your answers on the blackboard.

С. Work in two groups and debate the following issue:

Can the computer or the Internet be a hobby?

Group 1 – You are to support this opinion Group 2 – You are against this opinion Share your opinions.

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Vote again. What is your attitude towards the computer and the Internet? Has your attitude changed during the debate?

Fill in the table on the blackboard

Websites:

www.profound.cc.uk

www.hippy.freeserve.co.uk/censor/

www.birmingham.co.uk/english

III.Sports and Leisure Activities

1.Popular Sports and Leisure activities in Britain

1.1.Pre-reading focus.

1)It is fair to say that Russia as most Western countries has become a leisure-orientated society. Do you agree/disagree?

2)Russian people have also become extremely healthconscious and for many young people keep-fit is a very important part of their lives. Do you agree/disagree?

1.2.Pre-reading task.

Read the essay written by a British teacher, Mrs. Penn, about popular sports and leisure activities in Britain.

• When you have finished, give the definitions to the following words and phrases:

to mushroom health-conscious keep-fit (a noun)

to be preoccupied with aerobics weight-lifting

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to spring up light exercises exhilarating addiction.

• While reading think of possible evidence to prove that the following statement are true:

“For many young people Keep-fit is a very important part of their lives”.

“Many people say that aerobics is a very exhilarating experi-

ence”.

1.3. Reading.

Popular Sports and Leisure Activities in Britain

Over recent decades the number and range of available leisure activities has mushroomed, in Britain. It is fair to say that Britain, in common with most Western countries, has become a leisure-orientated society. Western people have also become extremely health-conscious, and for many young people Keep-fit is a very important part of their lives. In addition there is a widespread preoccupation with healthy eating: trying to avoid fatty and fried foods, and cutting down on sugary products, eating vegetables and fruit. Many young people, especially young women, regularly go to the gym to do aerobics, weight-lifting, and so on. Aerobics is equivalent to what the Russians call "Shaping". Such Keep-fit centres offering these kinds of exercises have sprung up all over Britain and there, mostly women-of all shapes, sizes, and ages, gather together to do light exercises often to the latest hit records. Many people say that the experience is a very exhilarating one, that their adrenalin flows, and that attending aerobics classes becomes akin to an addiction...but a healthy one at least!

1.4. Post-reading discussion.

Give the definitions to the following words and phrases: to mushroom

health-conscious

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keep-fit (a noun)

to be preoccupied with aerobics weight-lifting

to spring up light exercises exhilarating addiction.

Compare your definitions with those given in the dictionary. to mushroom – to spread, grow, or develop quickly. health-conscious – aware of one's own health and body

keep-fit (a noun) – being in good physical condition; in good

health

to be preoccupied with – to be absorbed or engrossed to the exclusion of other things

aerobics – 1. also called aerobic exercises. (used with a pl. v.) any of various sustained exercises, as jogging, rowing, swimming, or cycling, that stimulate and strengthen the heart and lungs, thereby improving the body's utilization of oxygen.

2. (used with a sing. v. ) a physical fitness program based on such exercises: Aerobics is a good way to get your body in shape.

weight-lifting - the act, art, or sport of lifting barbells of given poundages in a prescribed manner, as a competitive event or conditioning exercise.

to spring up - to grow rapidly

light exercises - of little weight; not heavy exhilarating - enlivening; invigorating; stimulating

addiction - the state of being enslaved to a habit or practice or to something that is psychologically or physically habit-forming, as narcotics, to such an extent that its cessation causes severe trauma.

Prove that the following statements are true:

“For many young people Keep-fit is a very important part of their lives”.

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“Many people say that aerobics is a very exhilarating experience”.

1.5. Discussion.

With your partner (using the above vocabulary) discuss the following matter:

Are you a person who is preoccupied with keeping fit and are you conscious about healthy eating?

2. Extreme Sports

2.1.Pre-reading focus.

1)What is your view of sports? Is it basically positive, basically negative, or something in between?

Vote and write down your answers on the blackboard

2)In recent years, "extreme" sports, such as bungee jumping and skiing off cliffs, have become increasingly popular. What is your view of these kinds of activities? Is it basically positive, basically negative, or something in between?

Vote and write down your answers on the blackboard

2.2. Pre-reading task.

Read the article “Going to extremes?” and then fill in the table

"Extreme Sports":

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"extreme sports"

windsurfing

While reading think of possible answers to the following questions:

-Why do most people like sports, at least a little bit?

-Why do people participate in extreme sports?

2.3.Reading.

Going to Extremes?

A pickup truck rolls to the center of a deserted bridge. Several get out. Two of them, a thirty-something young man and a twentysomething young woman, are both wearing a strange-looking harness on their backs. The others with them check their harnesses to make sure all is well. As soon as they complete these preparations, they attach a long cord to each harness and securely fasten the cords to the bridge. When that is finished, the young man and woman climb up onto the bridge rail, wave to the crowd below, and jump. No, this is not a suicide attempt. The elastic cords attached to their backs are so strong and flexible that the young people will be able to drop close to the canyon floor below without hitting it. This is bungee jumping, one of a new set of sports that are being described as "extreme."

Most people, if they're really honest with themselves, will admit they like sports at least a little bit. When the first Olympic Games began in Greece in 776 B.C., something within the human spirit was tapped. Most of us like to be challenged, and many of us are at least

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moderately competitive. Sports provide benefits: they amuse and excite us, provide jobs for many people, and allow individuals who might not have other opportunities to achieve success. Although sports have long been popular, something significant has changed in the last ten to twenty years. A whole new set of sports has been created. They are called "extreme" because participants are pushing themselves to extreme (and even dangerous) levels.

Why do people participate in extreme sports? Mark Musgrave, an "extreme" sportsman who windsurfs all year around, says people do it because it's a question of attitude, not the activity per se. "These sports are so hard," says Musgrave, "they don't attract the masses; I think that's one of the appealing things about it. You can excel in it if you put your mind to it. There's not a thousand people out there crowding you or doing what you're doing." He adds, "There is no right. There is no wrong. There are no rules. You can do what you want and no one

though riding your mountain bike down a gentle slope at a leisurely speed doesn't make you an extreme biker. What does is piloting that bike down a steep, rocky mountain path at a speed of at least 35 miles per hour. You can also call yourself an extreme sports enthusiast if you ski off cliffs, jump out of a plane and sky surf, or go in-line skating.

By now, someone somewhere is probably mounting a campaign to make extreme sports

safer to save extreme sports enthusiasts from

themselves. Are these sports too dangerous? in-line skating

Perhaps. Even if they are, isn't a personal choice involved here? It occurs to this writer that the development of extreme sports is understandable, even quite predictable. We live in such a globalized, homogenized world today that a counterrevolution seems to have started. Wherever we go, we see sameness: a McDonald's in Moscow is only marginally different from one in Paris or in Pensacola, Florida. There seem to be far fewer singu-

sky surfing lar, individualized experiences today than

there were in the past. Maybe extreme-sport people are merely striking a blow for truly individualized and unique experiences.

2.4. Post-reading discussion.

Answer the following questions:

Why do most people like sports, at least a little bit?

What does the article run? Continue:

-Sports provide benefits: they amuse and excite us, provide jobs for many people, and allow individuals who might not have other opportunities to achieve success.

-…

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