Unit Five

My Day Off

On weekdays I usually go to the University, but on my days off I prefer to rest. I think it is important for us to rest after hard work. That's why our weekends are more attractive than weekdays. At our leisure time we go in for sports, read the books, and go to the library, cinema, theatre, park, museum, or exhibition. Sometimes we go to the zoo or the circus and enjoy ourselves watching animals. As a rule, we try to spend most of the time outdoors. Some people prefer to go to the country to see their relatives and friends. In winter we like to go to the winter forest to ski and skate. After having such a pleasant rest in the open air, you are always happy to return home and have a rest sitting near the TV-set and watching an interesting TV programme. In summer and spring picnics are popular with students. They are fond of picnics chiefly because they have an excellent opportunity to admire the beauty of nature, to run on the grass and to play interesting games, to have a bite without observing table manners. But the most exciting event is making a fire. They are fond of collecting wood in the forest and sitting round the fire. And again, they like to return home after a picnic. And now they think that «there is no place like home» as the saying goes.

Many people like to go to the cinema and theatre on weekends and holidays and enjoy seeing an interesting film or performance.

As for me, my days off are normally like this. I hate getting up early and on weekends I can afford to wake up later than usual. As a rule, I get up at 8 o'clock. Then I do my morning exercises, wash my face and hands and brush my teeth. After having breakfast I relax a little: listen to a lovely music and try to forget about all my problems. Then I can visit my friends and have a chat with them about our life. Sometimes my friends and I go to the museum or an exhibition. As a rule, my activities on weekends depend on my plans, but in any case I manage to do a lot of things and to have a rest. I always try to do my best to have a really good time. But unfortunately time flies quickly on weekends, and the next Monday morning comes, and I am looking forward to my next day off.

Reading Texts tastes differ

Read the text below and define which personality types the people in them belong to.

an outdoor type a sociable type (people's person) a workaholic

a home lover a culture-vulture a loner

John: I wake up at half past five and study company reports in bed. I go to work at half past seven. I never leave the office before nine o'clock at night. I don't go out in the week because I'm too tired. I'm a manager and I read management books in my free time. I usually work at home at the weekend.

Dave: I usually get up at 7.30 on Saturdays and run in the park before breakfast. I'm always back home by 8.30. My brother Steve is still asleep at the time; he never gets up before ten. He usually has coffee and toast for breakfast. I never drink coffee so I have orange juice and cereal. My brother calls m a health freak. Most Saturdays I go shopping with my parents. My brother hates shopping, he doesn’t like crowds. He is always at home on Saturday. He sometimes plays the guitar in his room or listens to his CDs.

Daisy: My husband is a very rich man so I don't have to work. I think that the best way to spend you time is to travel and see all the «musts» in different countries. The next three years of my life are already planned. I'm going to Sri Lanka and Nepal, China and Mongolia. As you see I'm not interested in dear old Europe any longer. I've been all around it several times. It has nothing new for me. I'm looking forward to new impressions and experiences. Besides all my friends have already visited most of these places of interest and all the time boast of being there and seeing this and that. It's a shame that I don’t have as many souvenirs from all those places as they do. And now, if you excuse me, I must hurry. It's the presentation of Tony Foticelli's exhibition tonight. I don't know anything about him but everybody who is somebody will be there.

Discos? TV? Or Books?

Find statements in the text you possibly agree or disagree with and give your reasons. Discuss the text.

How do young people spend their spare time? What leisure activities do they prefer? These and other questions were asked in a sociological survey. The results of the opinion poll conducted among young people living in big cities and in the country add up to the following hierarchy of pastimes (with minor variations from place to place): music in combination with such forms of group activities as discos, concerts, and cafe-cum-club come first, followed by the theatre and reading. Then come films, museums, amateur arts and engineering; and finally, TV and classical music.

There are several reasons for this. Most young people admit they do not know how to plan their leisure. To use sociological terminology, their leisure qualifications are inadequate.

According to the poll, the actual priorities are as follows: TV comes first, followed by reading, films, listening to records, radio, going out to dances and discos; then come concerts, museums, amateur arts, and finally theatre.

«Today's young people could be called the tele-reading generation,» says sociologist Yelena Vasilyeva. In contrast to previous generations, they draw from various «channels» of culture, which complement each other. What we are witnessing is an integration process involving TV-viewing, reading, and other sources of information. Within the general framework of young people's lifestyle (including study, earning money, and leisure) reading leads the way as a cultural activity, leaving both television and music behind.

Young people's recent growing cultural standards make themselves felt primarily in the choice of cultural values. Of course they like to be entertained (by watching TV shows, reading detective stories, etc.). But they certainly know how to find their way amid the great variety of cultural values, and they know how to tell genuine art from imitation.

A few more words about music, which plays a very important part in young people's lives. Rock is certainly more popular than classical music. Pop groups who play original music and meaningful texts have an especially large following.

Boys and girls are getting increasingly interested in the leisure activities which encourage self-expression and personality growth.