Entertainment. Hobbies

 

Nowadays it's hard to name all the activities, entertainments and hobbies practised by people in their free time. A growing number of people prefer watching films, performances, sporting events on TV to attending them. There exist quite different sorts of leisure activities which give thousands of people a sense of excitement and expectation. There are various pursuits that people choose to pass their free time. Today people spend hours watching different informative, educational or environment programmes. Other popular occupations are surfing the Internet, playing computer games, listening to the radio, reading books (often ebooks!), painting and so on. Many people prefer to go in for different kinds of sports and lead an active way of life. Sometimes they participate in competitions or contests and have a very good pastime. There are people that prefer a calm way of spending their free time. They are fond of walks in parks or gardens. More serious people prefer to visit museums, art galleries or theatres.

    Aerobics and shopping are two of the most popular pursuits for women. Cooking is also a very widespread activity among them. But nothing can be compared to your favourite hobby. A hobby is a special interest or activity that you do in your free time. Some people have animals as hobbies. They keep rabbits, or go fishing, or train dogs to do tricks. Some are crazy about plants. They try to grow cacti or tropical flowers in their kitchens and sitting rooms. Others are mad about their cars or motorbikes. They spend their Saturdays and Sundays washing them, painting them or buying new parts to make them go even faster. Many people make things as a hobby..."

Shopping

Shopping is an opportunity to buy everything what we need, from food to clothes. When we do the shopping we get to know a lot of information about different goods, their prices, quality. We learn to choose products, to spend money rationally. Someone will say that shopping is an original way of spending free time. Someone will say that it's a forced waste of money. Today, shopping is a means of our existence and living.

Nowadays there are different ways of shopping. Years ago people went to the shops and bought everything they needed. With the development of progress shopping began to change and now you can purchase things on the Internet. To attract customers shops provide various services: free home delivery and installation of some gadgets, money-back guarantee, buy and win coupons, repair services. They sell their goods on credit.

As there are many different goods, so there are many shops which sell this or that kind of products. Department stores have many different departments: haberdashery, headwear, perfumery, stationery, leather goods, sports goods, china and glass, fabrics, linen, readymade men's and ladies' departments. In the ladies' clothing department you can choose dresses, skirts, blouses, coats, underwear. In the men's clothing department one can buy suits, sweaters, cardigans, pullovers, trousers and woolen jackets. We go to the dairy shop to buy milk, cream, cheese. Tinned fish, caviar, crabs, lobsters, and different sorts of fish — carp, cod, salmon, trout, mackerel — can be found at the fishmonger's. Sugar, semolina, buckwheat, rice, coffee, spaghetti, noodles are sold at the grocer's. At the greengrocer's we can find all sorts of vegetables and fruit. Well, all this stuff you may buy at a market place and very often it is cheaper and of better quality. There are also big supermarkets where you can buy everything. Such shops are very universal and well-stocked. Moreover, we can order goods by telephone and with the help of different catalogues and fashion magazines.

If you want to do the shopping you should know some rules. First of all, you should pay for everything you buy. It is important to spend money rationally. If you are queuing up at the cash-desk you need to wait for your turn. You should check your money before and after paying. It is important to think over your choice and to buy only good things. These are the main rules of shopping. Knowing the rules helps to get real bargains.

 

Healthcare

 

People nowadays are more health-conscious than they used to be. They understand that good health is above wealth.

To be healthy we should avoid different bad habits that can affect our health. In my opinion, smoking and drinking too much alcohol, are the worst ones. It's common knowledge that smoking and drinking can shorten our lives dramatically. Smoking, for example, causes a number of heart and lung diseases. Besides, it makes your teeth yellow and skin unhealthy.

Smoking and drinking are joined by less dangerous habits, such as skipping meals, eating unhealthy food, or even overeating. Of course, they are not quite as deadly as smoking or drinking alcohol, but they also affect our health.

If we eat too much, we'll become fatty, and obesity leads to serious health problems. A lot of people like drinking coca cola and coffee, and enjoy pizzas and hamburgers. But what is tasty is not always healthy. Fast food makes you fat, that's why Americans are the fattest people in the world.

In recent years eating habits have undergone a change. The fashion for health food is growing all the time.

Many people feel they are too fat, even if their doctors disagree. And a lot of people try to improve their fitness. There are a lot of ways to lose weight and avoid gaining it. Perhaps the most popular of them is following a diet. But excessive dieting may be dangerous, too.

Some people refuse to eat meat as they consider it harmful. They say a vegetarian diet reduces the risk of cancer and vegetarians live longer than others. In my opinion, it's wrong to put down a food simply because excessive amounts can cause health problems. Consumed in moderate amounts, meat is perfectly good for our health.

To my mind, the only way to stay healthy and to keep fit is by going in for sports. Among the benefits of regular exercise are a healthier heart, stronger bones, quicker reaction times and more resistance to various illnesses.

    To be healthy, it is also very important to spend a lot of time in the open air. It is useful to go for a walk before going to bed, or to air the room.

    Personally I believe that regularity in life promotes our health. Sleeping eight or nine hours, getting up early, regular meals, a healthy diet and going in for sports is really a good way to live.

Sport in Our Life

People all over the world are fond of sports and games. Sport makes people healthy, keeps them fit, more organized and better disciplined. It unites people of different classes and nationalities.

Many people do sports on their personal initiative. They go in for skiing, skating, table tennis, swimming, volleyball, football, bodybuilding, etc. All necessary facilities are provided for them: stadiums, sport grounds, swimming pools, skating rinks, skiing stations, football fields. Sport is paid much attention to in our educational establishments. Gymnastics is a part of children's daily activity in the kindergartens. Physical culture is a compulsory subject at schools and colleges.

Professional sport is also paid much attention to in our republic. There are different sporting societies clubs and complexes. The most famous of them are the Olympic complexes "Luzhniki", "Dynamo" stadium, etc. They are used for international and world competitions.

Practically all kinds of sports are popular in our republic but football; gymnastics and tennis enjoy the greatest popularity.

As for me, I go in for swimming. It needs mobility, liveliness and much energy. It keeps a person in a good form. I have been swimming for a 5 years. I get a real joy taking part in competitions or a simply swimming with my friends. Certainly, it`s a great distance between my manner of swimming and such favorites as Popov, but I do my training with great pleasure and hope to swim well as our best swimmers do.

 

MEALS IN ENGLAND

The English usually have 4 meals a day: breakfast, lunch, tea (5o'clock), and dinner. Breakfast can be a full 'English breakfast' of corn flakes with milk and sugar, or bacon and eggs, toast and marmalade, tea or coffee. Some people, however, have just a cup of tea or coffee with a toast or something similar. This is usually called a 'continental breakfast'.

At midday everything is stopped for lunch. Most offices and small shops are closed for an hour and the city pavements are full of people on their way to cafes, coffee bars, restaurants. Factory and plant workers usually eat in their canteens.

The English like what they call 'good plain food'. Usually they like steak, roast beef, Yorkshire pudding, and fish and chips.

Afternoon tea is taken at about 5 o'clock, but it can hardly be called a meal. It is a cup of tea and a cake or biscuits. At the weekend’s afternoon tea is a special occasion. Friends and visitors are often invited to have a chat over a cup of tea.

Dinner is the most substantial meal of the whole day. It is usually eaten at 7 o'clock. The first course may be soup (though the English don't like it very much). The main course will often be fish or meat, perhaps the traditional roast beef of old England, and a lot of vegetables. The next course will be something sweet and often baked, such as a fruit pie. Last of all there may be cheese, often with biscuits.

It is common knowledge that the English are very fond of tea. They like to have 'a nice cup of tea' 6 or 8 times a day, sometimes even more.

Meals In Russia

 

Each country has its own traditions of cooking and national dishes. Russia is mainly a northern country with harsh winters, so food there is the source of energy and warmth.

The essential components of Russian cuisine are bread and wheat products, vegetables, dairy produce, meat and fish. Russians usually have three meals a day: breakfast, dinner and supper.

Breakfast is a quick meal, as the majority of people are in a hurry for work or school. It may contain a sandwich or two, an omelette, a cup of tea or coffee. Some people eat porridges or cornflakes in the morning.

Dinner is a more sufficient meal. It is usually in the afternoon and may contain fresh salad, soup, main course and a glass of compote – stewed fruit drink. Typical Russian soups are shchi, solyanka, rassolnik, ukha. One of the people’s favourites in summer is okroshka – cold soup based on kvas or sour milk. Traditional Russian salads include Olivier and vinegret.

Supper is served in the evening, when everybody comes home after work or studies. It is the second largest meal after dinner and it usually consists of the main course and dessert.

Russians like meat and fish dishes, such as pelmeni, kotlety, shashlyk. Pelmeni are similar to dumplings with meat. Kotlety are like meatballs with spices. Shashlyk is a marinated meat grilled on a skewer. After nourishing dinner Russian people like to drink hot tea with jam or honey. Sometimes they cook blini or syrniki for the dessert.

It is worth mentioning that Russians practice various techniques of preserving food, such as drying mushrooms and herbs, canning fruit and vegetables. Thus, in winter they can have a piece of summer goodies.

 

Travelling

 

Travelling is very popular nowadays. Traveling touches everyone’s life at least once. It can make us full of bright memories, experience, and impressions. Visiting new countries, opening other cultures for yourself will make your view wider and wider. You can meet a lot of people and maybe you will make some new friends abroad.

There are many ways of travelling — by train, by plane, by ship, on foot. If you want to visit a far country, you’ll definitely choose a flight. If your aim is to see many countries for a short time, you’ll choose travelling by bus or by car. If you want to be closer to nature, you may choose a trip on foot.

Lots of people nowadays live in big cities. So, it’s natural that they want to have a holiday by the sea or in mountains with nothing to do but relaxing. There is other sort of travelers. They want to visit as many countries as possible. So, after exploring Europe and North America they go to exotic countries.

People who travel a lot, are very interesting, they always have a good story to tell. Thanks to them you can learn many things which you didn’t know before. They motivate to see something new, to explore the world, which is so easy to do nowadays. Any kind of travelling helps you to understand many things that you would never see or learn at home.

That is very good if you have started being a traveler while you have been a little girl or boy. When children are small, they can remember more information. Everything is new for them and is connected with feelings and emotions. Everything is unusual and exciting. This experience just could cannot be the same, if you start visiting other countries being a grown up. Fewer things can truly impress you.

Before starting your travel you should decide, which country or terrain you like. Do you prefer hot or cold climate? Would you like to discover natural and historical tourist attractions of the region, or would you rather spend your time lying on the beach and swimming in the sea or ocean? Everything depends on you and you have the whole world to choose from.

Another important part is planning your budget. Of course, you can expect a five-star hotel to give you its best room for little money, but unfortunately, such a hotel will not probably do it. That is why you have to surf the Internet, ask your friends or go to the tour agency to solve this problem. The information about prices is not hidden, so you can easily plan your budget with a little effort.

Also, you will need the information about the documents. First of all, it is your homeland passport, an international passport, and insurance. Some countries may ask some extra documents such as a visa. You have to clarify such details while planning your travel.

As English people say — A picture is worth a thousand words.