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Exercise 1   

People are talking about hobbies and pastimes. Listen and number the pictures.

Answer & Transcript

1.

I love to eat out. I eat at restaurants most of the time. It’s expensive, but I don’t care.

2.

I read almost everything I can: books, magazines, newspapers. I go to the public library about twice a week.

3.

I never used to like stamp collecting, but now I think it’s great. I’ve got two huge stamp albums. Hey, why don’t you come and see my collection some time?

4.

My wife says I should take up gardening. We have a big garden, and she loves working in it, but the truth is, it bores me.

5.

Well, everyone in my family loves sports – everyone, that is, except me. My family’s out playing baseball and stuff all the time. But I think most sports are pretty boring. I don’t like chasing balls around a field. And I couldn’t hit a ball if I had to.

6.

my friends think I’m really boring because I’m always listening to music. I go to concerts all the time. I love Mozart and all that classical stuff.

Exercise 2

Task 1

Which activity does each person enjoy doing now? Listen and circle the correct answer.

1.  Zachary

a.  playing the guitar

b.  playing in a band

c.  playing the piano

2.  Erica

a.  collecting baseball cards

b.  collecting comic books

c.  gardening

3.  Bradley

a.  watching videos

b.  hiking

c.  playing video games

4.  Evan

a.  collecting stamps

b.  collecting paintings

c.  collecting baseball cards

5.  Danielle

a.  painting

b.  writing children’s books

c.  reading

6.  Marcus

a.  reading the newspaper

b.  playing golf

c.  reading books

Task 2

Listen again. What does each speaker like best about his or her current hobby or pastime? Write the correct letter.

1.  Zachary ……

2.  Erica ……

3.  Bradley ……

4.  Evan ……

5.  Danielle ……

6.  Marcus ……

a.  the flowers

b.  looking at his collection

c.  creating pictures

d.  the people

e.  looking at the blue sky

f.  making great friends

Answer & Transcript

1.

I used to play the piano a lot when I was younger, but I don’t play much anymore. Now I enjoy playing in a band. We call ourselves The Bandits. We’ve been practicing for a few months in my garage, and pretty soon we’re going to start playing at parties. Maybe we’ll become famous! We all have a great time. I like doing things with other people – that’s what I like best about it.

2.

I’ve always collected things, even when I was young. I used to collect everything – comic books, baseball cards, you name it. But they’re all packed away in boxes now. Now my favorite pastime is gardening. I spend all weekend outside with my flowers. I love seeing them change. That’s what I like best about it, I guess. They’re these little seeds at first, and then one day, they’re big, beautiful flowers.

3.

When I was a teenager, all I did was sit around playing video games. But I can’t stand them anymore. I work in an office now, so I sit in front of a boring computer screen all day. Now I like being outdoors. I belong to a hiking group and we go someplace different every weekend. I keep fit and healthy this way. The best thing is that I can make some really great friends.

4.

I like collecting things. I collected baseball cards when I was a kid, but I don’t anymore. These days, baseball card collectors are only interested in the money. I wanted to collect things that are really beautiful, so that’s why I started collecting stamps. Some of the stamps I have are really, really beautiful. I think they’re like paintings. What I like best is looking at my collection. It’s like walking through a tiny museum full of wonderful paintings.

5.

I always loved reading as a kid, so for a long time I wanted to write children’s books. I tried to do it for a few years, after college, but it was really hard to come up with good stories. I guess I’m not very good with words. Now, I’m happy just painting. I’ve won a few prizes, too – in art competitions, for my watercolors and oils. The pictures are important to me, though, not the prizes. What I enjoy most is creating pictures. It makes me so happy.

6.

Well, I’m retired now, and I have a lot of free time. I worked for the same company for over thirty years, mostly in the same little office. I worked long hours, and when I came home from work, I was too tired to do anything but read the newspaper. Now it’s different. I spend almost all my free time outdoors playing golf. I guess what I love best is looking at the beautiful blue sky.

Exercise 3

Task 1

People are talking about their interests. Listen and check two suitable hobbies for each person.

1.  Scott

      surfing the Internet

      gardening

      birdwatching

      hiking

2.  Christine

      music

      birdwatching

      gardening

      cooking

3.  Joe

      sports

      hiking

      music

      surfing the Internet

4.  Amy

      hiking

      reading

      sports

      surfing the Internet

Task 2

Listen again. What is one activity each person likes doing? Circle the correct answer.

1.  a.  enjoying nature

      b.  hiking

      c.  sitting in a coffee shop

2.  a.  birdwatching

      b.  visiting the countryside

      c.  getting together with friends

3.  a.  surfing the Internet

      b.  exercising

      c.  playing the guitar

4.  a.  learning something new

      b.  going to parties

      c.  working out at the gym

Answer & Transcript

1.

A few months ago, I moved to this cute little house out in the country. Before I moved, all I did was sit in coffee shops and read or surf the Internet. Boring! Now I want to spend all my free time outside, enjoying nature. The only problem is, I’m not in very good shape, so I don’t like doing any sports, or anything that involves a lot of exercise. I tried hiking once, but I fell down a hill and hurt my leg. Don’t get me wrong, I love the outdoors – but what I really want is something I can do quietly in nature.

2.

I live in a big city, so I love being around lots of people. My brother is completely the opposite – last weekend, he took me to the country to go bird-watching. I was so bored the whole time. I like talking to people and doing creative things. I’d just love to get all my friends together at my apartment in the city and do something. We could have a dinner party, maybe. Or we could bring over some guitars and drums, and stuff like that, and sing and dance!

3.

Exercise is really important to me. I like doing things where I keep active, things that are good for your health. My roommate isn’t like that at all, though – he wakes up and surfs the Internet for hours. Then he plays his guitar in his room all afternoon. Yuck! I just hate sitting around indoors! In especially hate surfing the Internet. I want to meet other people. I also want to get out and visit new places, like out in the country, where you can see some real nature.

4.

I’m not so young anymore, so I don’t really like going to parties or working out at the gym all the time. I don’t like hiking around in nature, either. I like to do things that develop my mind or things that teach me about other countries and places. What I really love is history. To me, a good history book is a lot more exciting than a fancy dinner party, or some concert, or a big baseball game. And now there’s a lot of great historical information on the Internet, too! I’m not one of those old ladies who sits at home and collects stamps. For me, learning something new is a real adventure!

Exercise 4

Ralph is talking about his hobbies. Listen and check the activities he does or does not do now.

 

Does

Doesn’t do

1.   play video games

2.   play in a band

3.   hike

4.   ski

5.   surf the Internet

Answer & Transcript

Doesn’t do: 1, 2

Does: 3, 4, 5

Transcript

I played a lot of video games when I was a student in high school, but I lost interest in them a while ago. I got bored playing them over and over. In college, I played in a band every Friday and Saturday night. It was a lot of fun, but then two of the band members moved away, so we stopped playing. Now I prefer hiking in the summer and skiing in the winter. It’s a great way to keep fit and to enjoy nature. When I’m not outdoors, I love surfing the Internet. I can find out about all kinds of things. It’s one of my favorite things to do.

Exercise 5

People are talking about their interests. What hobby would NOT be suitable for each person? Listen and circle the correct answer.

1.   John

a.   gardening

b.   playing music

c.   singing

2.   Mary

a.   birdwatching

b.   hiking

c.   reading the newspaper

3.   Wendy

a.   watching videos

b.   playing board games

c.   gardening

4.   Russell

a.   going shopping

b.   reading books

c.   surfing the Internet

5.   Nancy

a.   playing computer games

b.   painting pictures

c.   taking photos

Answer & Transcript

1 a   2 b   3 c   4 a   5 c

Transcript

1.

When I was a kid, I was outside all the time, playing and hiking and helping my mother in the garden. I developed allergies when I got older, though. So, I can’t be outside much anymore. Music is one of my main interests now. I’m taking piano lessons and singing in the church choir.

2.

I had a back injury a few years ago, so I’m not as active as I used to be. Most of my interests are things I can do at home, like reading books or the newspaper. I also like birdwatching ­ but only from my front porch.

3.

I don’t really enjoy being outdoors ­ it’s usually too hot or too cold for me. What I love to do is spend time with my family and friends. We do fun things like watch videos or play board games.

4.

I find shopping malls and movie theaters too crowded and noisy. I like quiet activities. I don’t mind spending my free time alone reading or surfing the Internet.

5.

I hate using computers. I’m pretty good with my hands, though. My friends tell me I’m artistic and creative. What I really like is painting pictures and giving them to friends. I also enjoy taking photos. I have a really cool camera.

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