Holly老師的英語新天地

以下來個幾組完整的Part2及Part3 Questions之參考答案，幫助考生腦力激盪囉！加油J

Talk about a favourite activity you take part in.

You should say:

  what activity it is

  when you began and how many hours you spend on it

  how you became interested in it

and discuss the benefit of this activity

Notes

What is your favourite activity or hobby?

• Ø  Watching TV; reading; swimming; playing table tennis; operating computers; playing computer games; surfing on the Internet; writing poems; writing science fiction; creative writing; keeping pets; Do-it-yourself or ‘D-I-Y’ home improvement, such as replacing the kitchen cupboards, or decorating a bedroom; tending one’s garden, growing shrubs, flowers, and sometimes vegetables

What are the benefits of this activity or hobby?

• Ø  A sense of accomplishment; gain a lot of knowledge one cannot find in textbooks; help make greater progress in English; entertaining and instructive; being quickly informed; getting a huge amount of information on the Internet; appeals to one’s curiosity and my desire to escape from the limited world of my room.
• Ø  Makes me feel relaxed, more refreshed and ready to start a new day’s work; offers a way to take one’s mind away from the stresses of everyday life
• Ø  Develops special talents, or unusual hobbies; interesting, amusing; favourite pastime; a form of relaxation that takes my mind away from other things when I feel tired imaginative; making me feel really happy; concentrating and losing oneself; original and interesting; pursuing this pastime

Follow-up Questions

1. Do you like being alone or around people?

2. How can you benefit from being around people?

Part 3

Discussion Questions

1. What is the most popular leisure activity nowadays?

2. What do you think are the most active activities?

3. Do leisure activities vary according to age?

4. What are the things that young people do for fun in their spare time?

5. What do old people do for fun in their spare time?

6. How do people in your country generally spend their leisure time?

7. Have people’s leisure habits or activities changed over time?

8. What activities will be popular in the near future?

9. Are some activities going to disappear? // Which activities and why?

10. Are there any differences in leisure activities between city people and country people?

Reference

1   What is the most popular leisure activity nowadays?

• Ø  Almost all the people in our society are keen on keeping fit, especially after the SARS. They are running, jumping, jogging, and dancing. If they don’t have time to go to an exercise class, they watch a fitness programme on TV and exercise at home. Some housewives even try to exercise by shopping faster to burn more calories; others even drive quite a long way to their exercise class. It’s amazing how much money people are willing to spend just to stay fit. And it’s also amazing how much pain they are willing to tolerate just to stay fit.
• Ø  Do-it-yourself, or “D-I-Y” as it is known is becoming a more popular leisure activity with people nowadays. Many people spend their weekends carrying out various improvements to their homes, such as replacing the kitchen cupboards, or decorating a bedroom. Other people lovingly tend their gardens, growing shrubs, flowers, and sometimes vegetables.
• Ø  Many households keep a pet of some kind for the sake of security, companionship and their desire to show love and care for animals.
• Ø  Most young people are involved in some sort of voluntary work, helping others in their spare time without being paid for what they do. One example of volunteer work is “Meals on Wheels,” volunteer drivers collect prepared lunches from a centre and deliver them in their own cars to elderly people who are unable to leave their homes easily to buy food for themselves. The recipients of meals-on-wheels pay a small charge for this service to cover the cost of the food.

4   What are the things that young people do for fun in their spare time?

²  Playing tennis, table tennis, football, basketball etc.

²  Playing cards; playing computer games; playing musical instruments

²  Going swimming, skating, shopping, window-shopping, travelling

²  Going to Karaoke bars, pubs, movies

²  Watching TV, VCDs; watching a sports match; dancing; keeping fit

²  Collecting stamps, coins, stones

²  Listening to music, reading novels, keeping pets

²  Do-it-yourself (D-I-Y activities):

l  carrying out various home improvements

l  replacing the kitchen cupboards

l  decorating a bedroom

l  tending their gardens

l  growing shrubs, flowers, and vegetables

l  doing household chores

²  Voluntary work:

l  volunteer drivers / educators

l  offer free medical service

l  helping elderly people / the disabled

5   What do old people do for fun in their spare time?

• Ø  Watching TV, bird-raising, growing plants and flowers, drinking tea in teahouses, dancing, travelling, listening to music, reading novels, playing mahjong, watching a sports match, going to a concert

6   How do people in your country generally spend their leisure time?

• Ø  Some people prefer to stay at homc, watching TV, going to the movies or concerts, or inviting some friends to have a party. Children like to go to the park, play computer games, and participate in sports. Young women like to go shopping while young men prefer to stay at home, watching TV and drinking tea.
• Ø  Nowadays leisure activities are popular not only with wealthy people but also people with low incomes. There are entertainment pages in the newspapers that give information on how you can spend your leisure time. Different people prefer different types of entertainment depending on the season, their personality and income. Some people like to spend their leisure time relaxing indoors, pursuing their hobbies. Others look for outdoor relaxation. In the spring when it is warm, nature becomes more and more beautiful with trees and grass turning green and all the flowers blossoming. It is a good time for people to go sightseeing, boating, and picnicking. In summer, it is too hot outdoors, so they like to stay at home, enjoying cold water melon or ice cream.

• Ø  People who like reading will go to the library instead of visiting scenic spots. For them, books are everything, they’d like to bury their heads in books, ignoring everything else. Contrary to these people, there are always individuals who require more exciting activities like rock climbing, bungee jumping, ballooning and so on. These attractions appeal to the sense of adventure that is typical of people.

7   Have people’s leisure habits or activities changed over time?

²  Most people seek ways to socialize, o relax, or to have fun during their leisure hours. Obviously people’s tastes vary depending on their income and their age. But in recent years, the home entertainment industry has grown all over the world. Instead of going out to see a movie or taking a walk in a park, people of all ages prefer to turn on the television and stay at home. More and more families have tape recorders, CD players, VCRs and VCDs to add to the variety of leisure activities in their home. In some countries, young people spend hours sitting in front of their computers, surfing on the Internet or playing computer games.

²  Despite the rise in home entertainment, there are still many people who enjoy spending some of their leisure time attending sports events or participating in competitive sports or other physical activities such as dancing or taiji (shadow boxing). Exercise not only contributes to good health but also takes the mind away from worries and troubles.

²  Concerts, plays and other performances constitute another source of entertainment outside the home. While some people prefer to be entertained, others prefer to be the entertainers. They derive great satisfaction in giving others pleasure by making them laugh or by enabling them to lose themselves in the imaginary world of a play or the relaxing sounds of music.

Additional Topic-related Questions

1   Why is crosstalk very popular in Taiwan?

• Ø  Crosstalk is very popular in Taiwan. You can listen to it everywhere, on the radio, on TV, etc. I think its popularity mainly lies in its humorous language, the performers’ quick wits and their funny gestures. Another reason is that the subject of crosstalk is close to real life so that it resonates with the audience. It uses either bitter irony or funny teasing to amuse people. The most important thing is that crosstalk can make one laugh and think at the same time.

2   What are the advantages and disadvantages of watching VCDs/DVDs and going to the cinema?

Advantages of watching VCDs/DVDs:

²  It’s more convenient, you don’t have to buy tickets, and be dressed formally.

²  You can watch a VCD/DVD whenever you like.

²  You can watch it over and over again if you like.

²  It’s much cheaper than watching a movie.

Disadvantages of watching VCDs/DVDs;

²  The quality is not as good as that of a movie.

²  You are always disturbed by telephone calls or other things while watching.

    Advantages of going to the movies:

²  Movies are better in quality than VCDs/DVDs.

²  You can watch undisturbed.

²  You have a relaxed holiday feeling.

     Disadvantages of going to the movies:

²  The cinemas are sometimes too noisy, and too dirty.

²  In summer there are many mosquitoes in cinemas.

3   How do Chinese people feel about magic tricks?

• Ø  Well, generally, Chinese people like magic tricks very much because they are rather entertaining and can make people laugh and forget unhappy things in their life. Magic performers are very clever and amazing. Small children especially enjoy going to watch magicians perform. They always wonder how magicians can do tricks. They are very curious and anxious to know how the tricks are done. Sometimes they also learn some small tricks from adults. It is a Lot of fun. But some people don’t like magic shows. They believe all those performances are barely tricks, all lies. They are not so silly as to believe what they do. The clothes that clowns wear are very ugly and disgusting. Watching them perform is a waste of time. And they feel cheated.

4   Why do people enjoy jokes?

• Ø  I enjoy jokes because I think jokes can always make one laugh. It’s well-known that laughter is the best medicine. When I have time I usually read some jokes in the newspaper or in books. There are many jokes which cater to different age groups. I also like reading cartoons and comic strips.

5   Do you think humour is an important quality for a person or for getting along with others?

• Ø  Yes. That’s absolutely true. I think humour is a very important quality for a person or for getting along with others. I like to be with a humorous person. A humorous person is like sunshine. He or she can make me laugh when I am unhappy. He or she can change an awkward situation. With such a person, life becomes more interesting.

6   Do you think people in different cultures enjoy different types of humour? // Why is it so?

• Ø  I think there are several factors that lead to different responses, such as one’s personality, knowledge of the world, cultural backgrounds. etc. some people are more sensitive to humour. They like to laugh, and they enjoy jokes. They are more imaginative. After hearing the joke, they will use their imagination to make the joke more laughable. Some people, because of their limited cultural backgrounds, can’t understand the joke well. Or, they don’t think it amusing because they don’t know the cultural background. It’s not because they are not sensitive to humour, it’s because they don’t understand very well. Another barrier, I think, is the language. Sometimes when a foreign teacher tells a joke, the students cannot understand it because of some difficult words.

7   Do you agree that people will let you insult them if you make them laugh?

• Ø  I agree with it, because people enjoy laughter. Humorous people know that laughter is the best medicine. They don’t mind insults if you can make them laugh. In fact, this kind of insult is not insulting. People need self-mockery to survive, to let out anger, and to get out of difficult or embarrassing situations. I don’t mind being joked about. Life should be filled with laughter. How boring the work would be if everybody were serious and had no sense of humour.
• Ø  I don’t agree with it. Dignity is the most important thing. I wouldn’t allow people to insult me even if they made me laugh. As a matter of fact, they wouldn’t be able to make me laugh if they are insulting me. I enjoy jokes, but I think some jokes go too far if they hurt people.