A new hobby for a new year 新年培養新愛好

從古老的洞穴繪畫到現代的舞蹈、編織，再到郵票收藏，興趣愛好一直是人類生活的一部分。有些喜歡做手工的人從自己的興趣愛好中找到瞭商機，把愛好變成瞭生意。還有人喜歡通過扔斧頭之類的休閑運動來解壓。在新的一年裡，你打算培養什麼新的興趣愛好？

詞匯：hobbies 愛好

It’s the end of one year and the start of another. You’ve probably been considering New Year’s resolutions and you may have decided to take up something new for the year ahead. Perhaps, like Debbie Gustig, you could start ballet classes. At the age of 53, Debbie stepped into the dance studio, where, for a while, it feels like ‘the outside world is on pause’.

Hobbies are a way for us to keep busy and take our minds off the realities of work and life. People crave time to pursue interests that are valuable and satisfying. Humans have indulged in pastimes since the beginning of time, from drawing on cave walls to playing video games. Some hobbies involve collecting things. That means acquiring, possibly cataloguing, and then displaying or storing something precious, whether that be stamps, antiques or comic books.

Linda de Ruiter turned her hobby into a job. She is a yarn maker and now the owner of a small business. After helping out a friend with a stand at a craft market, she realised she wanted a stand for herself. She told the AYYBLOG she always thought yarn making would just be ‘a glorified hobby‘ for her, but she’s glad to have been proven wrong and says she is “having a ball“.

People often pursue hobbies as a way of de-stressing. In Canada, axe throwing is on the rise. In fact, there is even an axe-throwing league with branches across the country and more than 1,500 members. League founder Matt Wilson told the AYYBLOG that it’s “a zen sort of experience because it’s really not about power, but there is definitely something cathartic about the activity”.

So, ballet, collecting stamps, yarn making, axe throwing? What will you pursue in the new year?

詞匯表

resolution 決心
take up 開始（工作，活動）
ballet 芭蕾舞
take someone’s mind off 轉移某人的註意力，讓某人暫時忘記憂慮之事
pursue 追求
indulge in 沉溺於
pastime 休閑娛樂，消遣
collect 收集，收藏
acquire 購得，獲取
catalogue 記錄，分類
display 展示，陳列
store 儲存，儲藏
yarn maker 紡紗人
stand （零售）攤位
a glorified hobby 一個被美化的愛好，一個聽起來比實際上更有意思的愛好
have a ball 極為享受，非常盡興
de-stress 解壓
axe throwing （休閑運動）扔斧頭
zen 令人放松的
cathartic 宣泄情緒的

測驗與練習

1. 閱讀課文並回答問題。

1. How long have humans had hobbies?

2. What kinds of things do people collect for a hobby?

3. Why did Linde de Ruiter start her small business?

4. True or false? Axe-throwing is becoming more and more popular in Canada.

5. Why can axe-throwing be described as a way of de-stressing?

2. 選擇意思恰當的單詞或詞組來完成下列句子。

1. She’s always loved _______. She started when she was just four years old.

resolution hobby ballet pastime

2. They run a cheese _______ at a food market in the centre of town.

stand yarn ball antique

3. I’ve decided to _______ up yoga this year. I’ve always wanted to try it.

indulge take de-stress bring

4. I have a lot of CDs. I _______ them in a special case upstairs.

pursue acquire catalogue store

5. I’m your mum, but I feel like a _______ cleaner with the mess you make.

power cathartic glorified zen

答案

1. 閱讀課文並回答問題。

1. How long have humans had hobbies?

Humans have indulged in pastimes since the beginning of time, from drawing on cave walls to playing video games.

2. What kinds of things do people collect for a hobby?

Something precious, whether that be stamps, antiques or comic books.

3. Why did Linde de Ruiter start her small business?

Because after helping out a friend with a stand at a craft market, she realised she wanted a stand for herself.

4. True or false? Axe-throwing is becoming more and more popular in Canada.

True. In Canada, axe throwing is on the rise.

5. Why can axe-throwing be described as a way of de-stressing?

Because it’s “a zen sort of experience because it’s really not about power, but there is definitely something cathartic about the activity”, according to Matt Wilson.

2. 選擇意思恰當的單詞或詞組來完成下列句子。

1. She’s always loved ballet. She started when she was just four years old.

2. They run a cheese stand at a food market in the centre of town.

3. I’ve decided to take up yoga this year. I’ve always wanted to try it.

4. I have a lot of CDs. I store them in a special case upstairs.

5. I’m your mum, but I feel like a glorified cleaner with the mess you make.