Vocabulary Activity

III. Answer the questions:

1. In what way do people usually spend their days off? 2. How do you usually spend your days off? 3. What did you do on your last days off? 4. What are you going to do on your next days off? 5. Do you usually look forward to your week-ends? 6. What do you prefer going to the cinema or going to the theatre? 7. Are you a great cinema-goer (theatre-goer)? 8. Are you fond of opera? 9. What is your hobby? 10. What is your favourite pastime? 11. Did you ever take part in picnics? Did you enjoy these picnics? What did you do there?

IV. Using the word-combinations below answer the question:

What are you going to do at your next week - end?

1) to work in the kitchen-garden; 2) to visit my friend; 3) to attend an exhibition; 4) to attend a museum; 5) to gather mushrooms and berries; 6) to do nothing, to lie-in and to relax; 7) to hire a video; 8) to go out on a date with smb.; 9) to have guests to dinner; 10) to go fishing; 11) to go for a picnic; 12) to skate/ski.

XVII. Read the text, ask questions and express your opinion: Entertainments

During the past hundred years, the radio, the cinema. and now television have made very great changes in the entertainments with which people fill their free time.

A hundred years ago people knew how to entertain themselves much better than they do now. When a group pf people gathered together, they talked, played cards or other games, read aloud to each other, or went out shoot­ing or walking together. Most people could sing a little, or play a musical instrument, so at a party the guests entertained each other,

Conversation was an art, amusing conversation could keep people happy for hours.

As for games, such as football, tennis, people played them more often than they do now. Most of them didn't play very well, but they could amuse themselves and their friends.

Nowadays we are entertained by professionals. Why listen to your friends singing when you can hear the greatest singer of the world on the radio? Why play football with payers who are not very good at it, when you can go by train or car to see some of the best players in your country playing an important match; or, if you've got a television set, just sit comfortably at home and watch the game without going outside at all? People are becoming more and more lookers and listeners and less and less doers and talkers though it's much better to do something not very well oneself than always to sit and watch others doing it.

Twenty five years ago, computer video games were introduced and today most households in the USA, Western Europe or Japan have a Sony Play station or PS2, a Microsoft X-box, a Sega or a Nintendo. Dedicated computer game players will choose one of these and argue endlessly over which manufacturer's product is the best.

The most widespread and by far the most common in Ukraine is the personal computer, or PC. Not only may it be used for computer functions such as word processing or accountancy, but very many people spend many hours playing games and accessing the internet.

Instead of finding ways to fill the hours after work as in the past, today people have to find the time in their busy lives and then choose which channel to watch on television, or whether to go into the internet, or listen to a CD, or play a computer game, or watch a film on DVD. But many people will still say that nothing beats a good book at bedtime.