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Leisure Time Activities
Some people
say that it is very important for everybody to have a hobby.
Others do nothing but watch TV or listen to music in their free
time.
Our lives would be hard without rest and recreation. People have
quite different ideas of how to spend their free time. For some
of them the only way to relax is watching TV or drinking beer.
But other people use their spare time getting maximum benefit
from it.
I strongly feel that hobbies make our lives much more
interesting. There are different kinds of hobbies such as
reading, cooking, knitting, collecting, playing a musical
instrument, painting, photography, dancing, travelling, sports
and many others. So you can always find an exciting activity
which you will certainly like. Personally, I am fond of camping.
To my mind, it is a great opportunity to get away from town
life. What is more, camping is a cheap way to rest, to improve
your health, to train yourself physically and to enjoy nature.
Nevertheless, quite a lot of people have no hobby. Most of them
say that they are too busy or too tired to do anything in their
free time. But I am sure that such people are lazy and passive
and their lives are dull and uneventful.
In general, having a hobby is very important for everybody
because it is a kind of self-expression and the way to
understand other people and the whole world. A hobby makes you
stronger physically and mentally, helps you escape from reality,
improve your knowledge, broaden your mind, develop your skills
and gain a better understanding of how the world works.
Many teenagers
enjoy playing computer games. Some people, however, believe that
teenagers should spend their free time doing more physical
activities.
Computer games are extremely popular nowadays. A lot of
teenagers play computer games in order to escape dull reality
and to fight with horrible monsters or to save the world from
hostile aliens.
Personally, I am fond of playing computer games. They give me an
opportunity to plunge into exciting adventures: to overcome
obstacles, to fly an aircraft or to pilot a spacecraft, to solve
different puzzles, to look after a virtual pet, to build cities,
to play sport games and even to control the lives of people.
Computer games are constantly becoming more life-like and
complex. New styles and genres appear. That's why I can't resist
the temptation to buy new computer games every month.
But according to experts, computer games can be rather dangerous
and they can harm teenagers' health. They say that computer
games make young people unsociable and passive. They are
absorbed in games without speaking to each other for a long
time. A lot of teenagers can play for hours without eating,
sleeping or learning. They sit in front of the computer screen
exercising their fingers instead of doing physical activities.
That's why the levels of obesity among teenagers are rising.
Besides, computer games cause addiction.
To conclude, computer games have both advantages and
disadvantages. Violent computer games make teenagers aggressive.
But educational games help teenagers develop many skills.
Anyway, it is necessary not to forget about sports as it helps
teenagers to be healthy and to stay in good shape.
Some people
prefer eating out. However, many people still like cooking meals
at home.
Different people have different tastes. Some of them prefer
eating out, while others enjoy tasty food at home. In the past
people went to cafes and restaurants only on special occasions.
But they are eating out more frequently now.
Personally, I enjoy eating out. Firstly, the choice of
restaurants is great nowadays. You can try different foreign
cuisines and you can always find something to your taste. There
are Italian, Chinese, Indian, Japanese, Mexican, Turkish and
many other restaurants in every city. Besides, you can go to
bars, cafes or pubs. Secondly, many people work too much and
have no time to cook meals at home. Thirdly, they go to bars,
cafes or restaurants to meet with their friends or to celebrate
a holiday. Finally, at a restaurant you will be able to relax
and enjoy tasty food, good service and the atmosphere of
festivity.
However, a lot of people prefer eating at home. Some of them say
that it is too expensive to go to a restaurant. Others just
enjoy cooking meals. What is more, some people are sure that
home meals are tastier and more nutritious than food which is
served at a restaurant or a cafe.
To sum up, eating at home is cheaper and more traditional. But
if you want to relax and to feel a holiday atmosphere, you will
certainly eat out.
Ecotourism is
one of the fastest-growing sectors of the tourism industry
today. Some people think that it teaches tourists to take care
of nature and wildlife. Others say that ecotourism has a number
of disadvantages.
Environmental pollution has disastrous effects on nature and
wildlife. That is why nowadays many people try to damage the
environment as little as possible. Ecotourism means travelling
to natural destinations with rare flora and fauna. Its main goal
is to conserve the environment and to improve the well-being of
local people.
In my opinion, ecotourism gives us an opportunity to broaden our
mind, to discover new ways of life, to meet interesting people
and to improve our knowledge of history and geography It
provides funds for conservation and jobs to local people because
tourists use local transportation, inns and markets. Besides,
ecotourism helps people understand the environment around them,
makes them respect different cultures and be careful with
nature.
However, ecotourism has some negative aspects. The increasing
number of tourists can damage the local environment. Some
tourists pollute drinking water, pick up rare flowers and
disturb wild animals. They often purchase souvenirs made from
the skin of endangered animals or leaves of rare plants and
scare away animals.
In conclusion, I think that ecotourism is for
environment-conscious people who love nature, understand the
negative influence of conventional tourism on the environment
and want to minimize it. I strongly feel that it is an
unforgettable experience which is rewarding at the same time.
Some people
are ready to risk their lives in order to establish a record,
while others say that it is rather silly.
Every year hundreds of people do rather dangerous and silly
things in order to set up a record and to become famous. They
swallow bugs, climb skyscrapers, cross the ocean on a
windsurfing board and what not. Are these people heroes or
fools?
To my mind, all these activities are just a waste of time,
efforts and money. If people want to escape everyday monotony
and to get their portion of adrenaline, I think they would
better do something useful. What is more, record breakers are
often inexperienced and sometimes they get into trouble when
they climb Everest, sail across the Atlantic or do something of
this kind. Thus, adventurers risk both their lives and the lives
of the people who try to save them. Helicopter and ship crews
are often wounded or killed when they try to reach people who
lost their way in the forest, were stuck in the mountain or
crashed into the sea. Such rescue missions are not only
difficult and time-consuming. They also cost much money.
But in spite of numerous warnings, people continue doing silly
and dangerous things. Most of them think that they are extremely
brave, strong and hardy. They want other people to admire them
and to follow their example. But I'd rather call these
adventures foolhardy. To my mind, if they want to get the
adrenalin going, they should try such professions as rescuers,
pilots or firemen.
To sum up, the adventurer should think twice before he makes up
his mind to risk his life and health. It is always useful to
think about all possible consequences of your actions.
Из учебного пособия
"Открывая
мир с английским языком. 150 эссе для ЕГЭ. Готовимся к ЕГЭ" Юнёва С.А. 2011г.
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