Leisure Time (Дополнительное чтение)

Московский государственный университет имени М.В. ЛомоносоваФизический факультетКафедра английского языкаLeisure TimeСоставитель: Гариян А.А.Москва 2012Text 1Leisure TimeLeisure is one’s enjoyment due to ease and freedom from restriction. Thereare many magazines and sections of newspapers dedicated to leisure. Sometimes itcan be difficult and overwhelming to figure out what to do to bring some leisureinto one’s life, but it is best to take a step back and to remember that leisure is asubjective term. Certain people find leisure in listening to music, while others findleisure in fishing, but it is important to remember that leisure is open to everyone.Sometimes people dismiss leisure and relaxation as a form of laziness, but leisureis an important part of everyday life. Leisure is crucial to one’s life because itallows the individual to de-stress, to calm down from the day, from work, studyingand taking care of others.

Leisure activities also allow people to bond with eachother, over a meal at a restaurant or through a good conversation.Leisure activities may also be productive in visible ways. Some people enjoyreading, writing, creating music or cooking. Another great form of productiveleisure is exercise. Exercise can be both enjoyable and beneficial to one’s health.Exercise is not necessarily the first thought that comes to mind when thinkingabout online free leisure, but physical activity can be done in many places and inmany ways and can help to relieve stress.Leisure is the free time to do whatever one chooses. It is up to the individualto take advantage of every bit of leisure.

You can do what you desire.The word leisure comes from the Latin word “licere”, meaning “to bepermitted”, and appeared in the early fourteenth century. The notions of leisure andleisure time are thought to have emerged in Victorian Britain in the late nineteenthcentury, late in the Industrial Revolution.*From: http://www.leisure-time.us/index.htmlFind the English equivalents in the text.•отдохнуть ото дня;•многие статьи посвящены свободному времяпрепровождению;•важно помнить, что…;•позволить человеку;•полезный для здоровья;•это понятие появилось в 14 веке.1Answer the following questions.1.2.3.4.What does the word “leisure” come from?Is leisure very important in our life? Why? Why not?How do you spend your leisure time?What kind of productive activity is the most significant?Word listразрешать, позволятьполезныйрешающий, важныйбыть посвященным чему-тожелатьблагодаря простотеприятныйогромный, сильныйограничениеto allowbeneficialcrucialto be dedicated toto desiredue to easeenjoyableoverwhelmingrestrictionText 2Types of leisureActive leisure activities involve the exertion of physical or mental energy.Low-impact physical activities include walking and yoga, which expend littleenergy and have little contact or competition.

High-impact activities such as kickboxing and soccer consume much energy and are competitive. Some active leisureactivities involve almost no physical activity, but do require a substantial mentaleffort, such as playing chess or painting a picture. Active leisure and recreationoverlap significantly.Passive leisure activities are those in which a person does not exert anysignificant physical or mental energy, such as going to the cinema, watchingtelevision, or gambling on slot machines. Some leisure experts discourage thesetypes of leisure activity, on the grounds that they do not provide the benefitsoffered by active leisure activities.

For example, acting in a community drama (anactive leisure activity) could build a person's skills or self-confidence.Nevertheless, passive leisure activities are a good way of relaxing for many people.People who work indoors and spend most of their time sitting and doingsedentary office work can add physical activity to their lives by doing sportsduring their leisure time, such as playing a ball game, going camping, hiking orfishing. On the other hand, people whose jobs involve a lot of physical activity2may prefer to spend their free time doing quiet, relaxing activities, such as readingbooks or magazines or watching TV.

Some people find that collecting stamps,postcards, badges, model cars, planes or ships, bottles, or antiques are relaxinghobbies.Free time is organized in many schools and institutions. Schools may offermany extracurricular activities including hobby groups, sports activities, andchoirs.

Other institutions such as retirement homes and hospitals also offeractivities such as clubs and meetings for playing games or simply organizedperiods for conversation.Most people like socializing with friends for dinner or a drink after a hardday at work. For many young people, having a regular night out a week is a normalpart of their free time, whether it is joining friends for a drink in a pub, dining outin a restaurant, watching a film, playing video games or dancing the night away ata club.Some people do leisure activities that also have a longer-term goal. Manypeople also study part-time in evening university or college courses, both for thelove of learning, and to help their career prospects.*From: http://www.reference.com/browse/leisure1.2.3.Answer the following questions.What types of leisure activities are mentioned in the text?How can you combine different types of activities?How is free time organized in schools?competitiveto consumeeffortto exertgoalimpactto involveto offerto requireslot machineWord listконкурентоспособныйпотреблятьпопытка, усилиепроявлятьцельвлияниеподразумевать, включатьпредлагатьтребоватьавтомат (игровой)3Text 3Leisure time in Ancient GreeceSport appears to have been part of everyday life and to have occurred mainlywhen there were mass gatherings of people, such as the assembly of the army forwar or the wedding or funeral of some great people.

There were also musicalevents, offering contests on the harp or flute, poetry or theatrical presentations.From earliest childhood, Athenian citizens engaged in varied athletic andcultural activities. Young children enjoyed toys, dolls, carts, skip ropes. Whenboys reached the age of seven, they were enrolled in schools in which gymnasticsand music were primary elements. They were intensively instructed in runningand leaping, wrestling, dancing, swimming, and ball games.The Athenian philosophers believed strongly in the unity of mind and bodyand in the strong relationship of all forms of human qualities and skills.

They feltplay activity was essential part to the healthy physical and social growth ofchildren.Plato believed that education should be compulsory and that it shouldprovide natural modes of amusement for children.Women did not enjoy the leisurely pursuits of men in Ancient Greece,although there are some historical accounts of women receiving modest education,and young girls participated in some athletic competitions.The ancient Greeks developed the art of town planning and customarilymade extensive provisions for parks and gardens, open-air theatres and stadiums.During the time of Plato, the gymnasium and the park were closely connected inbeautiful natural settings, often including outdoor halls, gardens and buildings formusical performances.

Early Athens had many public parks, which later gave wayto privately owned estates.A gradual transition occurred in the Greek approach to leisure and play. Atfirst, all citizens were expected to participate in sports and games, and the OlympicGames were restricted to free-born Greeks only. Gradually, however, the religiousand cultural functions of the Olympic Games and other festivals were weakened byathletic specialization. In time, sport and other forms of activity such as drama,singing, and dance were performed only by high skilled specialists (drawn fromthe lower classes or even slaves) who trained or perfected their skills throughoutthe year to appear before huge crowds of admiring spectators.4*From:http://www.jblearning.com/samples/0763749591/49591_ch03_mclean.pdf (Earlyhistory of recreation and leisure)Find the English equivalents in the text.•массовые скопления людей;•единство ума и тела;•быть тесно связанным с…;•ослаблять;•огромные толпы восхищенных зрителей;•участвовать в некоторых соревнованиях.1.2.3.Answer the following questions.What are the most important parts of ancient Greeks’ lives?What did the Athenian philosophers believe in?What was the role of women in Ancient Greece?Word listпоявляться, являтьсясбор, собраниесостязаниевовлекатьзаписыватьнеобходимый, существенныйсобраниепрыжоквстречаться, случатьсяобеспечениеопытный, квалифицированныйединстворазнообразныйборьбаto appearassemblycontestto engageto enroll inessentialgatheringleapingto occurprovisionskilledunity ofvariedwrestlingText 4Leisure in Ancient RomeLike the early Greeks, young Roman children had toy carts, houses, dollsand engaged in many sports and games.

Young boys were taught various sports5and exercises such as running and jumping, swimming, and horseback riding. TheRomans, however, had a different concept of leisure than the Greeks. Although theLatin words for “leisure” and “business” are otium and negotium, suggesting thesame view of leisure as a positive value (with work defined negatively as a lack ofleisure), the Romans supported play for utilitarian rather than aesthetic or spiritualreasons. The Romans were much less interested than the Athenians in varied formsof cultural activity.