Hobbies - Past and Present
During the twentieth century, more and more people found that they had leisure time - time when they didn't have to work or study.
This raised an interesting question. What do you do when you are free to do anything you like? Many people took up a hobby, and it's interesting to compare the hobbies people, particularly young people, choose today with the hobbies people chose, say, fifty or sixty years ago.
Stamp collecting is one of the first things that come to many people's minds when they think about hobbies. Organising your collection seems like the perfect way to relax for a few hours. It seems that people have been collecting valuable things since ancient times. 1
When stamps appeared in the nineteenth century, they were cheap and colourful and children started to keep them. By the middle of the twentieth century, collecting stamps was a popular pastime for both children and adults, with some stamps worth a large amount of money - far more than most children could afford.
There are still many people today who collect stamps, but technology has had an impact. Emails can be sent instantly and freely around the world, which means that people aren't buying stamps like they used to. 2
Rare stamps are still in demand, and probably always will be, but fifty years ago the number of collectors was higher. It seems that stamp collecting as a hobby of millions of young people has had its day.
Another hobby that has changed because of technology is building models. In the 1950s and 60s, generations of young boys and girls built plastic models of planes, boats and cars. 3
Young people are still making and showing off these models, but the nature of them has changed. in the past, they were simply made of wood or plastic, with few moving parts, Modem models have all kinds of electronic and computerised parts, in some cases making them more like robots than traditional models!
Of course, we can't ignore computers when it comes to free time. Computers have had a huge impact on leisure since they were invented in the middle of the twentieth century. 4
Gradually, however, the computer has become a part of almost every home, where it provides entertainment and a whole set of new hobbies that people fifty years ago would have thought were very weird. Today's teenagers use their computers for playing computer games, running websites, communicating with friends around the world - all hobbies that were impossible until quite recently.
Computers have changed hobbies in other ways too. These days, no matter what hobby you're interested in, you will almost certainly find a huge amount of information on it on the internet. 5
Today's teenagers are instantly in touch with online clubs and social networking sites that tell them all they need to know. People have produced websites on almost every hobby you can think of. You can get advice from experts and easily buy equipment to take your hobby to the next level. Taking up a new hobby, or developing one you already have, has never been easier or more fun. Some hobbies, though, haven't changed much. Many young people fill their free time with activities that their parents and grandparents enjoyed. 6
Fishing is as popular as it ever was. Young people with good balance do gymnastics. Teenagers play sports and games like they always have done. A teenager from the past might be confused by a video arcade or a CD player, but many things haven't changed, and perhaps never will. Ask your parents what they did with their leisure time and you might be surprised at some of the differences, but also at some of the similarities.
0 A Hobbies seem to have become less important as time has passed.
5 B Young people in the past had to rely on people they knew, or perhaps the local library, to learn about their hobby.
3 C They proudly put these on display in their bedrooms, or wherever else their parents would let them.
1 D However, most people in the past were too busy and too poor to buy expensive works of art or coins.
4 E At first, they were seen as strange machines used by big businesses
2 F That in turn means that fewer children are becoming interested in the hobby.
6 G For instance, people still go dancing, even if the rhythm of the music has changed.
1. A group of students won the award, because they created a club to save the environment, and made a lot of effort, enlightening other students about the issues of the environment.
2. It took them less than a month to increase the number of members to 300 members.
3. They took classes to find out about pollution, recycling and conservation. The members organised different events and activities such as recycling or clean-up days, planting trees, and helping stray animals.
4. In my opinion, we all should get rid of bad habits that damage the environment (for instance, smoking, drinking and throwing rubbish everywhere). We also should shop wisely and use reusable things as much as we can. And, of course, educating ourselves and others is one of the best things we can do to help save the environment.
