3. Leisure activities (Volný čas)
Leisure or free time is when you do not have to be at school or work, have no duties and can do what brings you relaxation and pleasure. People are mostly free at weekends, on feast days, or during holidays.
There are quite a lot of possibilities how to have a nice time according to what people like and how much money they have. Going to the cinema or theatre, disco or clubs, or staying at home listening to the radio or watching TV, or even reading books if you are not dead tired. Cultural events which people can go and see in their free time include various concerts, dancing balls, exhibitions, lectures, fashion show, … People also like photography, making films, playing chess, keeping fish in home aquariums, keeping exotic animals, cooking and baking. Also, watching television is becoming more and more popular as the only thing you do is relax, have some small refreshments and forget all your worries.
Typical teenagers, like my friends and I, love both playing sports and watching them on TV, playing computer games, chatting on the Internet, watching films, going out with friends, dancing at discos, ….
Going to the cinema is another free-time activity. People do not go and watch movies too often. Perhaps they are extremely busy or another reason may be that very few good films are on these days. Some people find cinema tickets too expensive, others like to stay at home watching TV or films they borrow and play on their video or DVD players.
Music is a nice hobby, too. People like listening to it or playing a musical instrument. A lot of children attend a music school. Later, when they are grown, they mostly play for fun or for their families or friends. Playing a musical instrument or singing brings pleasure and fun.
Another popular way of spending leisure time is collecting things. Most people collect cheaper things like napkins, labels, beer cans, postcards, beer mats, chocolate and chewing gum wrappers. Others collect autographs of famous personalities, posters, dolls or bus or train tickets. People might collect insects, especially butterflies or spiders. More wealthy people like collecting more expensive things such as paintings, post stamps, antiquities, and old coins.
Sports are a nice, healthy and effective way of spending free time. Many of people do sports for fun, to keep fit and slim. Jogging, swimming or doing exercises are good examples. In winter, skiing, sledging or ice-skating are popular activities.
Travelling is popular with some people. They either walk or use some means of transport. Travellers often love historic sights as well as nature. But travellers should also speak at least one foreign language. „You live a new life for every new language you speak,“ a well-known Czech proverb goes.
Girls and ladies like needlework , such as sewing, knitting, ….. Men prefer to have their workshop or garage to do various little jobs or repair things. People living in their own house often keep pets or domestic animals.
As for me……..
