HI! It’s Tom here with the VivaLing English podcast. Brittany is with us again today. Hi, Brittany! Mm, she’s busy. She’s thinking about hobbies. Maybe she’s got on her hobby horse again. What? Hobby horse? What’s that? A hobby horse is a children’s toy made of a stick attached to a toy horse’s head. Children can play on a hobby horse by pretending to ride a real horse in the garden or in the street, but there’s also an expression “to get on your hobby horse.” Brittany likes to get on her hobby horse, but what does it mean? Let’s find out at the end. Pay attention!
What do you love to do in your free time? We all have hobbies that we love now, have loved in the past, or will love in the future. So, let’s talk about it. In this podcast today, you will listen to a story about a girl, her family and the hobbies they enjoy.
There are many, many hobbies today
You have physical hobbies, such as hiking, camping, swimming, yoga or martial arts.
There are mental and emotional hobbies like gardening, listening to music, painting, drawing, cooking, coloring and my favourite, photography
Creative hobbies, such as cake or cookie decorating, soap making, quilting, crocheting, knitting and jewellery making, are very popular.
It’s time for a trivia question. What do you think is the top brain boosting hobby?
A. video games
B. learning a new language
C. exercise
D. traveling
You have to wait till the end of the podcast to get the answer.
It’s time to meet Molly and her family.
Molly is a happy 15-year-old girl who comes from a small town in the United States. There is not much to do in this small town. There is not even a bus to take her to different places to explore. So, she has to find clever ways to be creative, and what a creative mind she has. One of her favourite hobbies is reading. When she reads, she lets her imagination run wild. She enjoys reading different kinds of books, such as science fiction, mystery and romance. After she reads a book, she then creates amazing drawings of what she thinks the characters look like and the places where they live.
Molly has an older brother named Paul. Paul loves anything and everything that has to do with technology. He started out playing Minecraft. Technology is something he is very passionate about. His curiosity was heightened when he went to a technology class in school. That was when he decided that, in the future, he would love to have a career in building robots. Many people nowadays are turning their hobbies into careers. His mom suggested he become a gamer, but he loves robots more. Next year, he wants to take a robotics class to prepare himself for the future.
Now, do not play any music around Molly and Paul’s mom. She loves to dance. She can dance and will dance to anything. Since she was a young girl, she took dance lessons, and it shows. She is the best dancer in the family. She tries to take her husband, Molly’s dad, dancing, but he just cannot get the hang of it. Recently, Molly’s mom signed up for a dance competition. Can you believe she won first place? On the weekends she teaches young girls how to dance ballet, modern dance and jazz. She loves it so much, she does it for free.
Molly’s dad feels that active hobbies are the best way for him to stay healthy. It helps that being outdoors is his favourite place to be. Every morning he gets up and goes jogging at the park near his home. You would think that would be enough activity for him in one day, but it’s not. When he has finished work, he will ride his bike around their small town for 10 miles or 16 kilometers. He takes this time to think about what he is most grateful for in his life. The main thing that is on his mind is how happy he is to have such a great family. They share such great memories. Together, they all like to take walks and watch movies.
Before each movie Molly makes the popcorn, Mom bakes the cookies, Paul makes iced tea and dad goes out to get the candy.
But then who picks the movie? Well, they take turns. Every Friday is movie night, and they rotate who picks the movie.
Doesn’t their family sound fun? What are you and your family’s favourite hobbies?
Now let’s review:
1. Where does Molly live?
In a small town in the United States of America
2. What books does Molly like to read?
She enjoys reading different kinds of books, such as science fiction, mystery and romance.
3. What career does Molly’s brother want in the future?
He wants to build robots.
4. Molly’s dad rides his bike for how many miles or kilometers?
10 miles or 16 kilometers
5. What hobby does the family enjoy together?
They enjoy watching a movie every Friday.
How did you do in the review? Did you get all the answers correct?
Well, we have one more question. Do you remember our trivia question in the beginning? What do you think is the top brain boosting hobby?
A. video games
B. learning a new language
C. exercise
D. traveling
The answer is (drumroll, please) exercise!!!
Exercise is known to increase the heart rate, and when the heart rate is increased, it creates a healthy heart, and a healthy heart means a healthy brain.
Always remember to find time for the things that make you feel happy to be alive. So go out there. Pick a hobby that you love.
Thank you, Brittany. And Brittany’s hobby is listening to and recording podcasts. Do you remember my question from the beginning of this podcast? I talked about “getting on your hobby horse.” What does it mean?
When you talk too much about something that you’re interested in
For example, my grandfather talks about politics all the time when people come round to his house. He always gets on his hobby horse. Is Brittany getting on her hobby horse? No, I don’t think so because what she says is interesting and cool.
