英语口语教程(中级) UNIT 20-22

Oral Workshop     Discussion    Lesson 20-22 ;

[00:14.06]Lesson 20 ;

[00:17.33]    What Does  Friendship Mean     to You?     Text A ;

[00:22.00]Mr Brooks,Martin, Robert and Jean ;

[00:25.51]are being interviewed on the subject of friendship. ;

[00:29.37]MR BROOKS:I consider friendship to be one of the most important things in life- ;

[00:33.58]whatever your status,married or single. ;

[00:35.85]I see too many lonely people around. ;

[00:38.26]A lot of us get so involved with material values, family problems, ;

[00:41.81]"keeping up with the Joneses," etc., ;

[00:44.04]that we forget the real meaning of friendship. ;

[00:46.23]INTERVIEWER:Which   is what,according   to you? ;

[00:48.36]MR BROOKS:They say "a friend in need is a friend indeed" which is partly true ;

[00:53.30]but a real friend should also be able to share your happy moments- ;

[00:56.42]without feeling jealous. ;

[00:57.70]A good friendship is one where you accept and forgive faults, ;

[01:01.22]understand moods,and don't feel hurt if a friend doesn't feel like seeing you. ;

[01:05.54]Of course,honesty is an essential part of any relationship. ;

[01:09.42]We should learn to accept our friends for what they are. ;

[01:12.21]INTERVIEWER:As a   married man, ;

[01:13.81]do you find your friendships are only with other men? ;

[01:16.36]MR BROOKS:Of course   not! ;

[01:17.85]Both my wife and I have men and women friends-thank goodness. ;

[01:22.19]Although family life is fulfilling, it isn't enough! ;

[01:25.23]Both my wife and I get tremendous satisfaction from our friends, ;

[01:28.66]married and single, male and female-and we both have our separate friends too ;

[01:33.31]We'd get bored with each other if we had the same friends! ;

[01:36.53]INTERVIEWER:You must    have a full life. MR BROOKS:We   certainly do! ;

[01:39.55]And as I say,our friends give us a lot of pleasure. ;

[01:42.76]After all,friends should not be people with whom you kill time. ;

[01:46.46]Real friendship,in my opinion,is a "spiritually deve- loping" experience. ;

[01:50.77](Martin,Robert and Jean are being inte- rviewed on the subject f friendship.) ;

[01:51.71]INTERVIEWER:How   important are   friends to you,   Martin? ;

[01:54.85]MARTIN:I've never   had a lot of   friends. ;

[01:56.60]I've never regarded them as particularly important. ;

[01:59.00]Perhaps that's because I come from a big family. ;

[02:01.21]Two brothers and three sisters.And lots of cousins. ;

[02:04.25]And that's what's really important to me.My family. ;

[02:07.35]The different members of my family. ;

[02:09.20]If you really need help,you get it from your family, don't you? ;

[02:12.61]Well,at least that's what I've always found. ;

[02:15.24]INTERVIEWER:What   about you,Jean? ;

[02:17.78]JEAN:To me   friendship...   having friends, ;

[02:20.18]people I know I can really count on... ;

[02:22.20]to me that's the most important thing in life. ;

[02:24.91]It's more important even than love. ;

[02:27.35]If you love someone, you can always fall out of love again, ;

[02:30.55]and that can lead to a lot of hurt feelings, ;

[02:32.87]bitterness,and so on.But a good friend is a friend for life. ;

[02:37.53]INTERVIEWER:And   what exactly do   you mean by a   friend? ;

[02:41.65]JEAN:Well,I've   already said,   someone you know   you can count on. ;

[02:45.78]I suppose what I really mean is... let's see,how am I going to put this... ;

[02:50.45]it's someone who will help you if you need help, ;

[02:52.85]who'll listen to you when you talk about your problems... someone you can trust. ;

[02:58.23]INTERVIEWER:What do   you mean by a   friend,Robert? ;

[03:01.94]ROBERT:Someone who   likes the same   things that you   do, ;

[03:05.28]who you can argue with and not lose your temper, ;

[03:08.02]even if you don't always agree about things.I mean someone who you ;

[03:12.04]don't have to talk to all the time but can be silent with perhaps. ;

[03:15.78]That's important, too. ;

[03:17.46]You can just sit together and not say very much sometimes. ;

[03:20.72]Just relax.I don't like people who talk all the time. ;

[03:24.75]INTERVIEWER:Are you   very good at ;

[03:26.39]keeping in touch with your friends if you don't see them regularly? ;

[03:30.32]ROBERT:No,not   always.I've   lived in lots   of places,and, ;

[03:34.92]to be honest,once I move away I often do drift out of touch with my friends. ;

[03:39.38]And I'm not a very good letter writer, either.Never have been. ;

[03:42.94]But I know that if I saw those friends again, ;

[03:45.14]if I ever moved back to the same place, ;

[03:47.42]or for some other reason we got back into close contact again, ;

[03:49.90]I'm sure the friendship would be just as strong as it was before. ;

[03:53.59]JEAN:Several of my   friends have moved   away,got married,   things like that. ;

[03:58.17]One of my friends has had a baby recently, ;

[04:00.78]and I'll admit I don't see her or hear from her as much as I used to... ;

[04:05.12]She lives in another neighbourhood and when I phone her,she always seems busy. ;

[04:09.68]But that's an exception.I write a lot of letters to my friends ;

[04:13.79]and get a lot of letters from them. I have a friend I went to school with ;

[04:18.19]and ten years ago she emigrated to Canada, ;

[04:20.89]but she still writes to me every month, and I write to her just as often. ;

[04:26.02]    Text B ;

[04:29.21]    A Friend  in Need of Help ;

[04:32.37]You and Sol have been friends for over fifteen years. ;

[04:36.69]You went to high school together and now work in the same company. ;

[04:40.94]For the past several months,Sol has been very irritable ;

[04:44.82]and at times has shown his emotions by openly criticizing the company ;

[04:48.85]and some of his fellow workers. ;

[04:51.23]Most of the people in the office know that he sometimes drinks too much ;

[04:55.04]when he feels depressed about some of his personal and family problems. ;

[04:58.66]But recently Sol made a very nasty personal comment ;

[05:02.95]which hurt one of the people in the office.No one said anything to him, ;

[05:07.22]but it was obvious that many people were angry at what he said ;

[05:10.85]and now have little sympathy for him. ;

[05:13.35]You are beginning to wonder whether you should say something to Sol. ;

[05:17.14]You don't consider him your best friend, ;

[05:19.62]but he might possibly lose his job because you didn't try to help him. ;

[05:23.95]On the other hand, you don't know whether Sol would think that you were ;

[05:27.68]interfering in his private life by talking about his personal problems. ;

[05:32.32]What would you do in this situation? ;

[05:35.12]    Additional     Information ;

[05:37.79]In fact,studies of friendship seem to implicate more complex factors. ;

[05:42.72]For example,one function friendship seems to fulfil ;

[05:46.70]is that it supports the image we have of ourselves, ;

[05:49.37]and confirms the value of the attitudes we hold, ;

[05:52.42]Certainly we appear to project ourselves onto our friends; ;

[05:56.20]several studies have shown that we judge them to be more like us than they ;

[05:59.69](objectively) are. ;

[06:01.32]This suggests that we ought to choose friends who are similar to us ;

[06:04.94]("birds of a feather")rather than those who would be complementary ;

[06:08.11]("opposites attract"), ;

[06:09.56]a prediction which is supported by empirical evidence, ;

[06:12.59]at least so far as attitudes and beliefs are concerned. ;

[06:16.19]In one experiment, some developing friendships were monitored amongst ;

[06:19.86]first-year students living in the same hostel. ;

[06:22.88]It was found that similarity of attitudes(towards politics, ;

[06:26.95]religion and ethics, pastimes and aesthetics ) ;

[06:29.83]was good predictor of what friendships would be established ;

[06:32.67]by the end of four months, ;

[06:34.18]though it had less to do with initial alliances-not surprisingly, ;

[06:37.94]since attitudes may not be obvious on first inspection. ;

[06:42.33]There have also been studies of pairings, both voluntary ;

[06:45.98](married couples) and forced(student roommates), ;

[06:49.15]to see which remained together and which split up. ;

[06:52.94]Again,the evidence seems to favour similarity rather than complementarity ;

[06:57.64]as an omen of a successful relationship, ;

[07:00.39]though there is a complication:where marriage is concerned, ;

[07:05.07]once the field has been narrowed down to potential mates who come from ;

[07:08.38]similar backgrounds and share a broad range of attitudes and values, ;

[07:11.67]a degree of complementarity seems to become desirable. ;

[07:14.76]When a couple are not just similar but almost identical, ;

[07:18.86]something else to be needed. Similarity can breed contempt; ;

[07:23.32]it has also been found that when we find others obnoxious, ;

[07:26.70]we dislike them more if they are like us than when they are dissimilar! ;

[07:30.33]The difficulty of linking friendship with similarity of personality ;

[07:34.33]probably reflects the complexity of our personalities: ;

[07:37.62]we have many facets therefore require a ;

[07:39.81]disparate group of friends to support us. ;

[07:41.94]This of course can explain why we may have ;

[07:43.98]two close friends who have little in common,and indeed dislike each other. ;

[07:48.22]By and large,though, it looks as though we would do well to choose friends ;

[07:52.28](and spouses)who resemble us.If this were not so, ;

[07:55.90]computer dating agencies would have gone out of business years ago. ;

[08:41.74]Lesson 21 ;

[08:44.18]  Why Are They    So Unlucky?     Text A ;

[08:49.37]I wonder why so many shop-assistants are so foul-tempered? ;

[08:53.73]Inspite of so many "campaigns" to improve the services in the past years, ;

[08:58.27]we see no appreciable change so far. If Dad and Mum are to be believed, ;

[09:02.61]the services used to be quite good in the fifties. ;

[09:05.08]But then,they always say everything used to be good in the fifties. ;

[09:08.79]I find the older people grow,the more nostalgic they become. ;

[09:13.14]Now Granny never lets a day go by without remi-niscing on the ;

[09:16.78]good old things in the good old days. ;

[09:18.86]Once when she saw Xiao Hong and me eating some mooncakes with relish, ;

[09:23.69]she said pityingly, "You poor children, ;

[09:26.74]you don't know what real mooncakes taste like. ;

[09:29.52]The worst in the old days tasted much ;

[09:31.70]better than the best that money can buy nowadays!" ;

[09:34.03]We burst out laughing,not taking her words seriously. ;

[09:37.39]Now to come back to the bad service in shops and department stores. ;

[09:41.70]People often say that when you buy something, ;

[09:44.01]you are spending money to buy rudeness and anger. ;

[09:46.98]Today I saw a man doing exactly that. ;

[09:49.42]I was at a department store and I happened to witness a typical quarrel. ;

[09:53.17]I was next to a counter selling tea and I saw an elderly man ;

[09:56.74]come up and ask a young woman who was ;

[09:58.33]busy weighing and wrapping tea into standard-sized packs. ;

[10:01.16]"Do you have very good green tea?" The woman glanced up to size him up. ;

[10:06.51]He was ordinarily dressed and spoke with a provincial accent, ;

[10:09.82]obviously a man of no consequence. ;

[10:11.81]She went on with her work and the man had to repeat his question. ;

[10:15.76]After another pause the woman snorted out:"Yes,Twenty-six yuan a liang." ;

[10:21.31]Not believing his ears,the man tried to correct her. ;

[10:24.62]"You mean twenty-six yuan a jin?" ;

[10:27.95]Upon this the woman flared up and shouted: ;

[10:30.73]"I said twenty-six yuan a LIANG! Can't you hear straight? ;

[10:34.76]If you want a jin, then it's two hundred and sixty yuan.Is that CLEAR?" ;

[10:39.87]The man seemed to be stunned by her sudden outburst, ;

[10:43.92]but he kept his temper and asked again. ;

[10:46.70]"Do you have something under two yuan a Liang?" ;

[10:50.61]Obviously she was making things difficult for the old man ;

[10:53.37]for she answered as rudely as before: "What do you mean under two yuan? ;

[10:57.26]Anything from one cent to one yuan ninety-nine cents is under two yuan." ;

[11:01.65]I don't remember what exactly the man said, ;

[11:04.55]but somehow he managed to find out ;

[11:06.52]there was a kind costing one yuan ninety-six a liang. ;

[11:09.98]"Can you show it to me?" "Do you want to buy it or not?" ;

[11:14.26]"Well,I want to look at the leaves and smell the flavour first." ;

[11:18.08]"You can look,smell, eat,drink or do whatever you like with it at home. ;

[11:21.87]Here I only sell tea.If you want to buy it,buy it. ;

[11:25.57]If you can't afford it,don't come here to waste people's time! ;

[11:28.58]Obviously you don't know what is proper in Beijing!" ;

[11:31.82]"Look here young lady,it's you who don't know what is proper! ;

[11:36.28]I have been living in Beijing long before you were born, ;

[11:39.47]and I've never seen anyone as rude as you are. ;

[11:42.54]Your job is to serve the customers,not to insult them. ;

[11:46.15]Now for the last time,are you going to show me the tea or not?" ;

[11:50.34]"And for the last time I am telling it to you. ;

[11:53.37]Either buy it or get out of here! I know the likes of you ;

[11:56.80]--you want something good,and yet grudge the money you have to spend on it!" ;

[12:00.63]"This is insufferable! Who is in charge here? ;

[12:03.96]I want to see your head!" "My head? It's on my shoulders. ;

[12:08.04]Take a good look if you want to." The old man went away fuming. ;

[12:12.55]"I've got down your number.I'll write to the Evening News." ;

[12:15.96]The threat didn't seem to frighten the girl. ;

[12:18.26]At most she'll have to make a self- criticism,which costs her nothing. ;

[12:21.93]Even if she should lose a month's bonus,it is only a few yuan. ;

[12:25.58]But if she could be sacked. ;

[12:27.52]I bet she wouldn't dare to be so rude and aggressive. ;

[12:31.52]    Text B ;

[12:34.29]All the housewives who went to the new supermarket had one great ambition: ;

[12:39.10]to be the lucky customer who did not have to pay for her shopping. ;

[12:42.90]For this was what the notice just inside the entrance promised. ;

[12:46.26]It said:"Remember, once a week,one of our customers gets free goods. ;

[12:51.29]This may be your lucky day!"For several weeks Mrs Edwards hoped, ;

[12:56.28]like many of her friends,to be the lucky customer. ;

[12:59.37]Unlike her friends, she never gave up hope. ;

[13:02.37]The cupboards in her kitchen were full of things which she did not need. ;

[13:05.94]In vain her husband tried to dissuade her. ;

[13:08.47]She dreamed of the day when the manager of ;

[13:10.41]the supermarket would approach her and say:"Madam,this is your lucky day. ;

[13:14.96]Everything in your basket is free." One Friday morning, ;

[13:19.72]after she had finished her shopping and had taken it to her car, ;

[13:22.61]she found that she had forgotten to buy any tea. ;

[13:25.16]She dashed back to the supermarket, ;

[13:27.36]got the tea and went towards the cashdesk. ;

[13:29.72]As she did so,she saw the manager of the supermarket approach her. ;

[13:34.01]"Madam",he said, holding out his hand,"I want to congratulate you! ;

[13:38.16]You are our lucky customer and every- thing you have in your basket is free! ;

[13:43.68]    Additional     Information ;

[13:46.46]Three times a man in his early 30s approac- hed Shen Limin's clothes counter ;

[13:51.93]in the Baihus Garment Store on busy Xidan Street in central Beijing. ;

[13:56.68]The first time Shen showed him the various garments. ;

[13:59.89]He left but returned a while later and stood there staring at a skirt. ;

[14:04.18]Then he went away again,but came back after a few minutes. ;

[14:07.61]Curious,Shen asked, "Why don't you buy that skirt since you love it so much? ;

[14:12.77]"The man said that he really wanted to, ;

[14:15.13]but the 198-yuan price was too much for him. ;

[14:19.25]She suggested that he choose something cheaper, ;

[14:22.03]but he replied that the skirt was what his wife would like most. ;

[14:25.46]They started talking and he told her he bought his wife ;

[14:28.51]a gift every year in celebration of their wedding anniversary. ;

[14:31.82]Shen was so moved that she offered the skirt to him for 130 yuan, ;

[14:35.95]the whole sale price.When the man hesitated in surprise, she told him, ;

[14:40.95]"I do that simply because you are a good husband." ;

[14:43.50]As a divorcee,Shen, 35,spoke from the depths of her heart. ;

[14:48.88]She could not imagine any husband being so considerate or tender. ;

[14:52.88]Her failure in marriage and her ;

[14:54.61]divorce three years ago scared her away from men ;

[14:57.44]and prompted her to resign from her job as a log keeper in a film studio ;

[15:01.08]and become a self-employed garment seller. ;

[15:03.80]What makes Shen unusual is that she makes money to help deserted kids. ;

[15:08.98]Her love of children and her sympathy for the wretched ;

[15:12.64]stemmed from the day her six-old younger brother was crushed to death ;

[15:16.51]in a mishap in a warehouse near her home. ;

[15:19.26]Her sympathetic nature kept her marriage together for seven years. ;

[15:23.13]Her husband had been a clarinet player in an army band. ;

[15:26.46]A go-between had introduced them. ;

[15:28.48]One cold snowy night they decided to get married. ;

[15:31.72]He had been walking her home and kept darting into shops. ;

[15:35.10]She grew impatient thinking he was merely wanting ;

[15:37.37]to buy cigarettes and she stomped off. ;

[15:39.43]But he ran after her and presented her with a gauze mask he had bought ;

[15:42.86]for her to help keep out the cold.His thoughtfulness moved her to tears. ;

[15:47.76]He said that perhaps they should break up since she could not understand him. ;

[15:51.84]"I will marry you if that can atone for my mistake." ;

[15:55.84]Shen said she responded.And so the matter was sealed. ;

[16:01.39]The death of a bosom friend seven years later ;

[16:04.69]marked the beginning of the end for Shen and her husband. ;

[16:07.84]As the friend lay dying of heart disease, ;

[16:10.40]20 days after giving birth to a son- ;

[16:12.66]a pregnancy she had risked because her husband was the only son of his family- ;

[16:16.52]she asked Shen to care for the child. ;

[16:18.85]Shen promised she would,even though she had a son of her own. ;

[16:22.99]Her husband was strongly opposed, however. ;

[16:26.07]Still,Shen would often o to see the child, who was living in his grandmother's home. ;

[16:30.39]"I felt guilty when I saw the child wearing dirty clothes," Shen said. ;

[16:35.01]"I thought the child would not have been like that had his mother been alive. ;

[16:39.74]"When the grandparents decided to send the boy to friends in Tianjin, ;

[16:43.79]Shen wanted to adopt him. ;

[16:45.50]Her husband then moved out and said he wanted a divorce. ;

[16:49.34]Shen went to Tianjin to look for the child and found him. ;

[16:52.96]But the family refused to give the boy up. ;

[16:55.40]Shen would not leave until she was convinced ;

[16:57.59]the child was being kindly treated and properly cared for. ;

[17:00.90]Her years of marriage had given Shen a comfortable life-style ;

[17:04.81]but that was all,she said. ;

[17:06.75]The divorce made her realize she had feelings and ambitions again. ;

[17:10.87]Shen had once dreamed of becoming a film actress, ;

[17:14.19]and tried out for roles but only ended up with bit parts. ;

[17:17.44]She fared better on the stage with amateur troupes. ;

[17:20.18]But her dreams were shattered when she was refused admission to a ;

[17:23.15]professional art school because of her age. ;

[17:25.48]She was too old to learn how to act,she was told. ;

[17:28.46]Now dreams filled the void of her disappointment. ;

[17:32.12]She turned to helping children. She wrote to the SOS Village in Tianjin, ;

[17:36.39]a home for orphaned children,applying for a job as a nurse. ;

[17:39.65]But she was turned down because she had a son. ;

[17:42.65]She still wanted to help children but did not know how. ;

[17:46.30]Finding a way to make money became a practical and urgent problem. ;

[17:49.87]Early last year she started her own business as a clothing dealer, ;

[17:53.18]setting up a stall in west Beijing. ;

[17:55.32]Her mother did not like the idea and felt it would be bad ;

[17:58.39]for her grandson to be brought up in such an environment. ;

[18:01.24]She threatened to smash the stall,but gradually Shen won her over. ;

[18:05.13]"I don't want my son to follow my example," she said. ;

[18:08.96]"I expect a lot of him." ;

[18:11.32]She still maintains contact with her friend's son in Tianjin. ;

[18:15.59]She moved to Xidan this summer when the new Baihua Garment Store opened. ;

[18:19.55]She now has two assistants,one of them a university graduate. ;

[18:23.07]Shen said that her business life has made her a different woman, ;

[18:26.16]one who is independent and full of confidence. ;

[18:28.85]Friends try to get her to date but she is not interested. ;

[18:32.09]At first,she said, her distaste of marri- age of love affairs was so strong ;

[18:36.46]that she cut her hair short and wore men's clothes. ;

[18:39.98]"I am afraid of falling in love," Shen said with a bitter smile. ;

[18:43.73]She doubts whether she could be a good wife, ;

[18:45.69]saying she would be better as a friend or companion. ;

[18:48.66]Many of her customers have become friends. ;

[18:51.02]To one frequent caller,she is Sister Shen. ;

[18:54.45]"I really love my customers," Shen said. ;

[18:57.21]"I do my business for the sake of love. ;

[19:38.43]Lesson 22 ;

[19:40.71]    Tell Us  About Your Hobbies     Text A ;

[19:45.99]JOHN:What I like   most,I suppose,   is the fact that   it's so unusual. ;

[19:51.43]I mean,when I tell people what I do, ;

[19:54.05]they just look at me usually as if I'm mad. ;

[19:56.86]Maybe I am,anyway what I do is this. ;

[19:59.83]I get up about a quarter past six every morning. ;

[20:03.46]I leave my wife in bed because she's not as mad as me- ;

[20:06.65]and I put my trunks on under my tracksuit ;

[20:08.97]and drive down to the park with my clothes in a case. ;

[20:12.52]It only takes about five minutes because ;

[20:14.37]there's no traffic of course at that time in the morning. ;

[20:16.81]So,when I get there I leave the car in the car park and run round a bit. ;

[20:21.01]I usually run for about ten minutes till I'm nice and warm, ;

[20:24.13]then comes the interesting bit. ;

[20:26.05]I run over to the car,get my case and then over to the pool. ;

[20:31.13]I take my tracksuit off and-in I jump. ;

[20:34.63]It's pretty cold I can tell you especially in the middle of winter- ;

[20:37.58]but I do a couple of quick lengths and then I climb out, ;

[20:40.03]get changed and drive home,I just get back in time for breakfast- ;

[20:43.85]and I normally feel I've earned it too. ;

[20:46.65]JACK:Well,it's very   detailed work you   see,but I find   it very relaxing. ;

[20:50.93]It's strange I suppose that something like this where you have to ;

[20:53.63]concentrate a lot can be relaxing, ;

[20:55.33]but you see in my job I'm always making decisions ;

[20:57.81]and telling people what to do but I never actually see what I've done. ;

[21:01.60]This is completely different. ;

[21:03.01]You see,here I'm actually making something myself. ;

[21:06.04]I start with a kite, usually it's got all the basic materials in it. ;

[21:09.58]Then you have to cut out all the shapes from the wood and stick them together. ;

[21:12.90]When you've made the frame,the wings and the fuselage, ;

[21:15.42]that is,you cover them with special paper and paint. ;

[21:18.82]Of course if it's going to fly properly, ;

[21:20.76]everything has to be properly balanced, you know. ;

[21:22.99]I must say really though. ;

[21:24.34]I think I enjoy actually making them more than flying them. ;

[21:27.89]JANE:Well in a sense   I suppose I do it   to save money. ;

[21:31.29]I mean things are so incredibly expensive in the shops nowadays, aren't they? ;

[21:35.92]But that's not the only reason really. ;

[21:38.42]No,the beautiful thing is that you can make what you want when you want- ;

[21:43.05]and in material you're chosen.I mean you don't have to depend on ;

[21:47.22]some Paris designer to say what is fashionable. ;

[21:50.29]If you like an idea you see then of course you can copy it, ;

[21:53.91]but it gives you much more independence to do it yourself. ;

[21:57.60]I mean obviously it takes time, but I enjoy it, ;

[22:01.13]and with a sewing machine it doesn't take all that long ;

[22:04.04]to make even quite complicated things. ;

[22:06.67]And then finally you know that you're got something really unique. ;

[22:10.89]Especially if it's something you've designed yourself. ;

[22:14.30]HARRY:Well,it gives  me the chance to  be alone- ;

[22:17.73]and for me that's really the most important thing I suppose, ;

[22:21.02]after being with crowds of people all week. ;

[22:23.46]It gives you time to think,you know. ;

[22:25.60]And another thing is that it gets me out of doors. ;

[22:28.38]I suppose it isn't very energetic really after all. ;

[22:31.43]I mean you don't do very much except just sit there, ;

[22:34.23]but at least it's in the fresh air. ;

[22:36.17]And that's more than you can say for things like darts,isn't it? ;

[22:39.54]No,that's really what I like about it. ;

[22:42.35]I like having time to think in the open air. ;

[22:45.06]I'm not terribly keen on the man against animal bit, ;

[22:47.94]you know man the hunter against nature. ;

[22:50.70]No,actually I don't usually catch very many you know. ;

[22:53.54]And if I do,I always throw them straight back. ;

[22:56.67]    Text B ;

[23:00.16]JEFF:What's on the  telly this evening?  I feel like  relaxing. ;

[23:04.06]MARY:Why ask me   that? You know   I never watch it. ;

[23:06.93]JEFF:Too busy with   the latest hobby,   are you? ;

[23:09.00]What is it this time, knitting socks for your nephews? ;

[23:11.59]Or collecting buttons?I wish I had as much free time as you do. ;

[23:15.16]MARY:Men!As a   matter of fact,   you probably have   more than I do. ;

[23:18.87]But you waste it all watching your telly. ;

[23:21.02]JFFF:That's not a   waste of time.   I've got to rest   sometimes. ;

[23:25.12]MARY:Sometimes,   maybe,but not   all the time. ;

[23:28.18]And anyway,I relax with my hobbies.A change is as good as a rest. ;

[23:32.90]JEFF:Well,the   telly's my hobby,   and I learn a lot   from it. ;

[23:36.19]MARY:But it doesn't   teach you to do   anything,does it? ;

[23:38.95]You just sit there and stare at it. That's not earning. ;

[23:42.40]JEFF:But I do learn.   There are lots of   educational   programmes. ;

[23:45.85]MARY:But you don't   watch them,do you? ;

[23:48.33]Whenever an educational programme comes on, ;

[23:50.87]you either switch over to the other channel or go to sleep. ;

[23:54.17]JEFF:When I come   home from work. ;

[23:56.07]I need to put my feet up,at least for a while. ;

[23:58.74]Life's not all work, you know. ;

[24:00.65]MARY:Hobbies aren't   work,Jeff. ;

[24:02.64]I like putting my feet up,too,at the end of the day, ;

[24:06.16]but I like doing things while I rest. ;

[24:08.35]Life's too short for us to waste time. ;

[24:11.21]JEFF:Mary dear,as   I've said many   times,we're   different. ;

[24:14.72]There are two kinds of people in the world... ;

[24:16.58]MARY:I know,I know. Those who are never happy ;

[24:19.93]unless they're running about doing things... ;

[24:21.90]JEFF:That's right,   and those who are   never happy unless ;

[24:24.47]they're doing nothing.I'm one of the latter and you... ;

[24:27.82]MARY:I know,dear.   I'm one of the   former.And proud   of it. ;

[24:31.75]JEFF:So now we   agree.Live,and   let live. ;

[24:34.83]You can go peacefully back to your button collection and I can watch TV. ;

[24:39.16]MARY:If only you  organised yourself  better, ;

[24:41.95]there's so much you could do,really. You're wasting your talents. ;

[24:45.96]And one last thing: I'm not collecting buttons. ;

[24:49.60]JEFF:What are you   doing then? Making   sculptures   from potatoes? ;

[24:53.35]MARY:No,I'm learning   how to make   Turkish cakes, ;

[24:56.58]and the first ones came out very well. ;

[24:58.88]Of course,if you're too tired,I won't insist on you trying them. ;

[25:04.86]   Additional    Information ;

[25:07.93]A hobby can be almost anything a person likes to do in his spare time. ;

[25:13.34]Hobbyists raise pets,build model ships,weave baskets, ;

[25:17.75]or carve soap figures.They watch birds. ;

[25:19.63]hunt animals,climb mountains,raise flowers,fish,ski, skate,and swim. ;

[25:26.13]Hobbyists also paint pictures,attend concerts and plays, ;

[25:30.05]and perform on musical instruments. ;

[25:32.20]They collect every- thing from books to butterflies,and from shells to stamps. ;

[25:36.73]People take up hobbies because these activities offer enjoyment, ;

[25:40.90]friendship, knowledge,and relaxation. ;

[25:44.09]Sometimes they even yield financial profit. ;

[25:47.20]Hobbies help people relax after periods of hard work, ;

[25:50.34]and provide a balance between work and play. ;

[25:53.04]Hobbies also offer interesting activities or persons who have retired. ;

[25:56.91]Anyone,rich or poor,old or young, sick or well, ;

[26:00.07]can follow a satisfying hobby, regardless of his age position,or income. ;

[26:04.66]Hobbies can help a person's mental and physical health. ;

[26:08.32]Doctors have found that hobbies are valuable in helping patients recover ;

[26:11.91]from physical or mental illness. ;

[26:13.76]Hobbies give bedridden or wheel-chair patients something to do, ;

[26:17.39]and provide interests that keep them from thinking about themselves. ;

[26:21.08]Many hospitals treat patients by having them take up ;

[26:23.80]interesting hobbies or pastimes. ;

[26:25.63]In early times,most people were too busy making a living to have many hobbies. ;

[26:30.44]But some persons who had leisure did enjoy hobbies. ;

[26:33.56]The ancient Egyptians played games with balls made of wood, ;

[26:36.92]pottery,and papyrus. Some Greeks and Romans collected miniature soldiers. ;

[26:42.05]People today have more time than ever before for hobbies. ;

[26:46.28]Machines and automation have reduced ;

[26:48.46]the amount of time they spend on their jobs. ;

[26:50.99]Hobbies provide variety for workers who do the same monotonous tasks ;

[26:54.68]all day long.More people are retiring than ever before, ;

[26:58.39]and at an earlier age.Those who have developed hobbies never need to worry ;

[27:03.00]about what to do with their newly- found leisure hours. ;

[27:06.07]Sir William Osler, a famous Canadian doctor, ;

[27:09.29]expressed the value of hobbies by saying, ;

[27:11.67]"No man is really happy or safe without a hobby, ;

[27:15.38]and it makes precious little difference what the outside interest may be ;

[27:18.95]-botany,beetles,or butterflies;roses, tulips,or irises; ;

[27:23.85]finishing, mountaineering, or antiques ;

[27:26.48]-anything will do so long as he straddles a hobby and rides it hard." ;