My Day Off and My Hobbies

When I was a pupil my only regular day off was Sunday. It was a day of freedom from routine duties and studies. I could do whatever I wished and could go wherever I wanted. 1 could also stay the whole day at home and have a good rest.

But I must admit that every day off needs some special planning. Time passes quickly and if you have no plans be sure to get no results. You may spend your time on trifles.

So, I’ll try to describe my common day off. If I planned to get out into the open air, I had to get up very early to catch the train. When the sky is blue and the sun is shining my friends and I like to go to the riverside for our ideal day out. A walk or a drive to the country may be a good alternative. But such a way of relaxation is acceptable in early autumn or late spring. Our winter days off differ greatly. In winter, if you want to skate or ski, it is not necessary to get out of town. You can do it not far from your home.

Sometimes when the weather was nasty, I could afford to relax and not to be in a hurry. So I could stay in bed and not get up till 10 or 11 a.m. Only then I dressed and had my breakfast. I watched TV, played with my little brother, did some reading, prepared my homework and after that went to see a friend of mine to play chess or go to the cinema with him. I’m not a great cinemagoer, but I like to see feature films and enjoy historical adventure films. I find these films most instructive and entertaining.

In case I had neither plans nor inclination to go anywhere, I could look through again and again my numerous albums full оf different stamps. Collecting stamps is my hobby. Almost everyone collects something in his life: coins, stamps, postcards, buttons, books, records, toys, watches. My parents started collecting stamps long ago and then passed their collection to me. Now I continue collecting stamps myself.

No matter what kind of hobby you have, you always have the opportunity of learning from it. By reading about the things you are interested in you are adding to what you know. Learning things is the most exciting aspect of my hobby too. Each stamp has its own story to tell. I can see pictures of distant countries and their people. I learn their history, culture and traditions. The greatest part of my collection is devoted to famous artists and their masterpieces. This part of my collection looks like art gallery.

My relatives very often send new stamps to me together with their letters and postcards. Sometimes I buy new stamps in a shop. I also have many penfriends in Belarus and abroad. We exchange stamps with them. Now I don’t have much time to spend on my collection, but sometimes I come back to it with great pleasure.

My evenings I prefer to spend at home. At about 7 p.m. we have dinner. It’s a good opportunity for the family to discuss the events of the day and our plans for the coming week.

I must say that I’m a great reader, but I never have enough time to enjoy it. I always read a book or a magazine late in the evening.

On Sunday my usual bedtime was 11 p.m. as I wanted to have a good sleep before starting a new week of studies.

Answer the questions.

1. What is your day off?

2. Do you usually make plans for your day off?

3. Why is it necessary to do?

4. Where do you like to go on your day off?

5. Do you often go to the cinema, theater or dancing parties?

6. Do you prefer to spend your day off with your friends or alone?

7. What is your hobby?

8. What is your friend’s hobby?

9. Is it useful to have some hobbies?

10. Do you spend much time on your hobby?

11. How do you spend your evenings?

12. What is your usual bedtime on your day off?

READING MATERIAL

I. Make sure you pronounce the following words properly:

II. Read and translate the text.

The Cell

The living things around us - plants and animals which inhabit every part of the world – differ from non-living things because they take in food, they grow, and reproduce their kind.

Animals and plants have several other activities which distinguish them from non-living things. The study of plants and animals is a branch of science called biology.

If we examine a very thin piece of a plant under a microscope, we shall see that it has a honeycomb structure; it is divided into a great many small compartments called cells. Animal tissue, like plant tissue is made up of cells and in large organisms the number of cells runs into many millions. In such organisms there are many types of cells; they differ in function and also in shape and size. Each cell is surrounded by a cell wall or membrane, as it is generally called.

The cell walls of plants are formed of a substance called cellulose, which gives strength to the plant. Within the cell is a thick jelly-like substance called protoplasm, which consists of a mixture of chemical compounds together with a large proportion of water. The protoplasm is colourless and similar in appearance to the uncooked white of an egg. The protoplasm consists of cytoplasm and nucleus. The nucleus is a spherical or oval body within the cytoplasm. The nucleus plays an extremely important part in the life of the cell.

Everything we do, we do with our cells. An amoeba does everything – eats, grows, moves with just one cell. In a complicated creature like man, different cells do different things.

Stomach cells help digest your food, blood cells carry oxygen to different parts of the body, muscle cells help you move around, and so on. We say that all these different kinds of cells are specialized to do their particular jobs. But, of course, man is not really just a bunch of cells put together.

A bunch of muscle cells will not get along very well all by .themselves. It is the same with a bunch of digestive cells or a bunch of nerve cells. What you are and what you do, are really the result of all your various kinds of cells working together.

The same kinds of cells knitted together make tissue. Different tissues organized together make up organs. They in turn are organized into the systems such as the digestive system, that make our bodies work.

III. Choose the right variant for the multiple-choice statements.

1. Animals and plants have some activities which

a) are the same as those of non-living things;

b) distinguish them from other living beings;

c) differ them from inanimate things.

2. If we examine a thin piece of a plant under a microscope we shall see

a) a great number of tiny parts;

b) homogeneous structure;

c) a lot of small compartments called atoms.

3. The cell walls of plants formed of cellulose

a) protect the plant from environment;

b) make the plant strong;

c) are organized into different systems.

4. The protoplasm is

a) liquid substance which consists of water and air;

b) a thick watery fluid;

c) a thick jelly-like substance which consists of a mixture of chemicals.

5. ... help digest your food, ... carry oxygen to different parts of the body, ... help you move around.

a) muscle cells;

b) blood cells;

c) stomach cells.

T E X T B

Read and translate the text:

Date: 2015-02-03; view: 2775