Unit 8: Hobbies and Interests

What we do for pleasure in our free time says a good deal about us — and, as this unit shows, it can even shape our careers. The first text surveys popular hobbies and what each one gives you. The second is a short poem about a child climbing an apple tree, which turns out to be about never giving up. In grammar you will learn the passive voice; in writing, an essay, an advertisement and paraphrasing.

8.1 Common Hobbies

About the text

"Common Hobbies" is an informative article with a lively, magazine-style voice. It lists hobbies popular around the world — reading, dancing, painting, collecting antiques, photography, writing and journaling, knitting — and for each tells you what you need, what you gain and how to start. Its underlying argument is that a hobby is not a waste of time: it relaxes the mind, builds skills and can lead to a career.

What the text says

• Why hobbies matter. A hobby is something we do for pleasure in our free time. It lets us let off steam, ignite a passion and give our life a new structure. Which hobbies are popular depends on individual taste and on culture.
• Reading. The most popular hobby, because it is fun and a way of improving yourself. You can choose among many kinds of books and need no special equipment.
• Dancing. Put on some music and let your body move to the beat. You can practise at home, join a dance studio or take an online course. Not only trained dancers choose dancing as a hobby.
• Painting. Visit an art-supply shop, buy paints and brushes and begin. Paintings let you express your feelings.
• Collecting and refurbishing antiques. Old objects can be refurbished and used for interior decoration, and they carry stories.
• Photography. Preserves memories and fills the walls with beautiful pictures. It does not need professional gear, and amateurs, not just professionals, enjoy it.
• Writing and keeping a journal. Writing down thoughts and plans helps people become more successful; a journal or a blog is a record and a way to think. (Many people also start a blog to share experiences.)
• Knitting. Its best feature is the flexibility of time and place; you can knit while hanging out with friends or travelling.

The article closes by saying that a hobby can change into a career: someone passionate about a hobby may become an in-demand professional.

Hobby table

Hobby	What you need	Main benefit
Reading	books, a quiet place	learning, imagination, vocabulary
Dancing	music, space	fitness, joy, confidence
Painting	paints, brushes, paper	expressing feelings, creativity
Antiques	patience, interest in history	decoration, knowledge of the past
Photography	a camera or phone	memories, art
Journaling / blogging	notebook or computer	clear thinking, success, record of life
Knitting	wool, needles	calm, flexible hobby, handmade gifts

Vocabulary

Word	Meaning	Example
ignite	to catch fire; to start a feeling	A good book can ignite a love of science.
in-demand	wanted by many people	Skilled nurses are in demand.
let off (steam)	to release energy or tension	Football helps us let off steam.
a notch	a small V-shaped cut; one step	She turned the volume up a notch.
passionate	having strong feelings	He is passionate about music.
refurbish	to renovate, make like new	They refurbished an old house.
blog	a website where a person posts regular entries	She writes a travel blog.
hang out	to spend relaxed time with friends	They hang out at the café.

Synonyms and antonyms from the text: unrevealed → hidden (synonym); sharpen → hone (synonym); boring ↔ exciting (antonym); unexcited ↔ enthusiastic (antonym); healing → curative (synonym); frame → structure (synonym).

Themes

• Hobbies enrich life. They give joy, calm and purpose.
• Different people, different choices. Culture and personality shape taste.
• From hobby to career. Passion can turn into profession.
• You don't need much. Many hobbies need only a little money and time.

Questions and model answers

Objective questions (1 mark each)

1. Write True, False or Not Given: Outdoor hobbies are more popular than indoor hobbies. [1]
2. Write True, False or Not Given: Only good dancers choose dancing as a hobby. [1]
3. Write True, False or Not Given: Keeping a journal helps people become successful. [1]
4. "Refurbishing" means [1]adestroyingbrenovatingcsellingdpainting

Answers

1. False (the text does not say this; reading, an indoor hobby, is called the most popular).

2. False.

3. True.

4. (b).

Short-answer questions (2 marks each)

1. What aspects of our life influence the hobbies we choose? [2]
2. What makes reading the most popular hobby? [2]
3. How can people practise dancing? [2]
4. What things are necessary for painting? [2]
5. Write two benefits of photography. [2]

Model answers

1. Individual interests and personality, and the culture and community we live in.

2. Reading is fun and also a way to improve oneself; it offers many kinds of books and needs no special equipment.

3. By putting on music and moving to the beat at home, by joining a dance studio or by taking an online course.

4. Paints and brushes, bought from an art-supply store, and paper or canvas.

5. It preserves memories and gives us beautiful pictures to hang on the wall; it needs no professional equipment.

Long-answer questions (4 marks each)

1. Do you think a person's hobby really helps in a professional career? Discuss. [4]
2. Describe any two hobbies mentioned in the text and say which you prefer. [4]

Model answers

1. Yes, a hobby often helps a career. A hobby teaches skills that can be used at work. A person who likes writing may become a journalist; someone who likes photography may become a photographer or film maker; a chess player learns strategy and patience that help in business. Hobbies also reduce stress, so people work better. Some hobbies, such as painting or knitting, even become businesses. A hobby, therefore, is not a waste of time but a way of discovering one's talent.

2. Reading is the most popular hobby because it is fun and improves our knowledge and vocabulary; it needs only a book. Photography saves memories and, with a mobile phone, anyone can begin. I prefer reading because it takes me to new places and ideas without leaving home, and a library is free.

8.2 Climbing

About the poet and the poem

Amy Lowell (1874–1925) was an American poet from a famous Massachusetts family in Brookline, near Boston. She was a leader of the Imagist movement, which wanted clear, concrete pictures in short poems instead of vague, ornamental language. She also wrote and lectured widely about poetry; after her death she was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry (1926) for her collection What's O'Clock. "Climbing" is a short, simple poem for a young reader, written in four rhyming couplets.

The poem

High up in the apple tree climbing I go, With the sky above me, the earth below. Each branch is the step of a wonderful stair Which leads to the town I see shining up there.

Climbing, climbing, higher and higher, The branches blow and I see a spire, The gleam of a turret, the glint of a dome, All sparkling and bright, like white sea foam.

On and on, from bough to bough, The leaves are thick, but I push my way through; Before, I have always had to stop, But to-day I am sure I shall reach the top.

To-day to the end of the marvelous stair, Where those glittering pinnacles flash in the air! Climbing, climbing, higher I go, With the sky close above me, the earth far below.

Meaning, stanza by stanza

1. Stanza 1. The speaker, a child, climbs an apple tree. Between sky above and earth below, each branch seems a step of a wonderful staircase leading to a shining town. The child imagines the tree as a way to a magic place.
2. Stanza 2. As the child climbs, the wind moves the branches and the child glimpses a spire, a turret and a dome, bright "like white sea foam". The poem moves from the real tree to an imagined fairy-tale city.
3. Stanza 3. The leaves are thick, but the child pushes through. In the past the child always stopped part-way. Today is different: "I am sure I shall reach the top".
4. Stanza 4. The child imagines reaching the end of the staircase where pinnacles flash. Now the sky is "close above" and the earth is "far below". The climb has brought the child to a new height.

Message

Determination and imagination help us reach our goals. Failure in the past (Before, I have always had to stop) need not decide the future; if we keep going, we may succeed. The climb is also a symbol for any hobby or ambition. (A hobby like climbing a tree is also a way of enjoying nature and testing yourself.)

Poetic devices

Device	Example	Effect
Rhyme (couplets)	go / below; stair / there; higher / spire	Musical, child-like rhythm
Repetition	"Climbing, climbing"	Shows long, steady effort and gives rhythm
Simile	"like white sea foam"	A picture of the bright domes
Metaphor	"Each branch is the step of a wonderful stair"	The tree becomes a staircase
Imagery (light)	gleam, glint, sparkling, glittering, flash	Makes the imagined town shine
Symbolism	sky = aspiration; earth = starting point	The climb stands for striving upwards
Contrast	sky above / earth below	Shows how far the child has come

Vocabulary

Word	Meaning
gleam	a soft, steady light (here, a reflection of light)
glint	a flash of light reflected from something shiny
turret	a small tower on a building or castle
stair	a set of steps between floors
marvellous	causing great wonder; extraordinary
bough	a main branch of a tree
spire	a tall pointed structure on a church tower
dome	a rounded roof
pinnacle	a pointed top of a tower or roof; the highest point

Questions and model answers

Objective questions (1 mark each)

1. The speaker views the town from [1]aa mountainba branch of the apple treecan aeroplaneda roof
2. What helps the speaker go higher and higher? [1]aa ladderbthe branchesca ropeda friend
3. The glow of the domes is compared to [1]athe moonbwhite sea foamcsnowdgold
4. The message of the poem is [1]anever give up in the middle of a taskbtrees are dangerouscbe carefuldapples are sweet

Answers

1. (b).

2. (b).

3. (b).

4. (a).

Short-answer questions (2 marks each)

1. Why does the speaker want to climb the tree? [2]
2. What things shine brightly from above? [2]
3. Is this the first time the speaker has climbed? How do you know? [2]
4. Make a list of words in the poem that describe light. [2]
5. What do the sky and the earth symbolise? [2]

Model answers

1. To reach the top and see the shining town above.

2. The spire, the turret, the dome and the pinnacles shine.

3. No. "Before, I have always had to stop" shows that the speaker had tried earlier and given up.

4. gleam, glint, sparkling, bright, glittering, flash, shining.

5. The sky stands for ambition and freedom; the earth stands for the starting point, the ordinary life we rise from.

Long-answer questions (4 marks each)

1. Describe the speaker's climb and what it shows. [4]
2. "The more determined you are, the better opportunity you will achieve." Do you agree? Discuss. [4]

Model answers

1. The speaker climbs an apple tree and imagines each branch to be a step of a wonderful staircase leading up to a shining town. Climbing higher, the speaker glimpses spires, turrets and domes sparkling like foam. The leaves are thick, but the speaker pushes through, because earlier attempts failed and this time victory seems certain. The poem shows the joy of effort and shows that imagination and determination can carry us beyond our earlier limits.

2. I agree. Determination keeps us trying when things are difficult. A student who fails a test but studies harder is more likely to succeed than one who gives up. Great people such as Mount Everest's first climbers, Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary, reached the top after earlier failed expeditions. Of course, talent and planning also matter, but without determination even talent is wasted. So, the more determined we are, the more chance we have in life.

8.3 Grammar and writing tasks of the unit

Grammar I: The passive voice

In an active sentence the doer (agent) is the subject: Ram feeds the dogs. In a passive sentence the receiver of the action is the subject: The dogs are fed by Ram. Use the passive when the doer is unknown, unimportant or obvious, or when you want to stress the action or the receiver.

Formula: object of the active → subject; be (in the tense of the active verb) + past participle; subject of the active → by + agent (often dropped).

Tense	Active	Passive
Simple present	Ram feeds the dogs.	The dogs are fed by Ram.
Present continuous	Ram is feeding the dogs.	The dogs are being fed by Ram.
Present perfect	Ram has fed the dogs.	The dogs have been fed by Ram.
Simple past	Ram fed the dogs.	The dogs were fed by Ram.
Past continuous	Ram was feeding the dogs.	The dogs were being fed by Ram.
Past perfect	Ram had fed the dogs.	The dogs had been fed by Ram.
Simple future	Ram will feed the dogs.	The dogs will be fed by Ram.
Modal	Ram can feed the dogs.	The dogs can be fed by Ram.

Exercise A — Complete with the passive

1. Ram feeds the dogs. → The dogs ____ by Ram.
2. The police catch a lot of criminals. → A lot of criminals ____ in a city.
3. Sita wrote this poem. → This poem ____ by Sita.
4. They are building a new bridge. → A new bridge ____.
5. The cook has prepared the dinner. → The dinner ____.
6. The teacher will announce the result. → The result ____ by the teacher.

Exercise B — Change into the passive voice

1. People speak English in many countries.
2. The farmers grow rice in the Tarai.
3. Somebody cleaned the room yesterday.
4. The students are painting the wall.
5. The government has built a new road.
6. Raju will invite all the neighbours.
7. Nobody can solve this problem.
8. Hari broke the window.

Grammar II: Passive with being and having; passive to active

The -ing forms of the passive are used after prepositions and verbs such as enjoy, avoid, mind, like: being + past participle (present) and having been + past participle (earlier action).

Active	Passive
She hates people telling her what to do.	She hates being told what to do.
I remember my father taking me to the zoo.	I remember being taken to the zoo by my father.
He was angry because they had not invited him.	He was angry about not having been invited.
Having finished the work, the staff left.	The work having been finished, the staff left.

Passive to active

To change a passive sentence back to active: make the by-agent the subject (add a suitable subject if the agent is missing: someone, people, they), keep the tense, and make the old subject the object.

Passive	Active
The match was won by Nepal.	Nepal won the match.
A new school is being built.	They are building a new school.
The letter has been posted.	Someone has posted the letter.
English is spoken here.	People speak English here.

Exercise C — Rewrite with being or having been

1. He doesn't like people criticising him.
2. She was pleased because they had praised her work.
3. The children enjoy people telling them stories.
4. I remember somebody giving me a gift at that age.

Exercise D — Change into the active voice

1. The poem was written by Devkota.
2. The road is being repaired by workers.
3. A letter has been sent to the headteacher.
4. The window had been broken by the boys.
5. A mistake was made.

Writing I: An essay on hobbies and career

Task. People have different hobbies and interests, which may lead them to their careers. Write an essay on your hobbies explaining how they might influence your career.

A good essay has an introduction (state your hobby and the idea), body paragraphs (one point each, with examples), and a conclusion.

Writing II: An advertisement and paraphrasing

An advertisement (vacancy announcement) is short and formal. It gives: name of the institution, the post and number of vacancies, qualifications, experience, age/other conditions, how to apply and the deadline, and contact details. Use a box or a bold heading and a list.

Paraphrasing

To paraphrase is to say the same thing in your own words, keeping the meaning but changing the words and the structure. A paraphrase is not a summary (it is usually about as long as the original). Steps: (1) read and understand; (2) replace key words by synonyms; (3) change the order or the structure (active ↔ passive, join or split sentences); (4) compare with the original to check that the meaning is the same.

Original	Paraphrase
Hobbies help us to relax after a hard day.	Doing something we love in our spare time helps us to rest our minds after tiring work.
Reading is a fun way of improving yourself.	Books entertain us and make us wiser at the same time.
The more determined you are, the better your chances.	If you are very determined, you will have a greater likelihood of success.

Chapter summary

• Common Hobbies describes reading, dancing, painting, antiques, photography, journaling and knitting; hobbies relax us, build skills and can become careers.
• Climbing by Amy Lowell (American Imagist poet): a child climbs an apple tree; the staircase of branches leads to a shining imagined town; message — determination can carry us to the top.
• Devices in the poem: rhyming couplets, repetition, simile, metaphor, light imagery, symbolism.
• Passive: be + past participle in the same tense as the active verb; use by + agent only when it matters; being / having been for -ing forms.
• An essay has an introduction, body paragraphs and a conclusion; an advertisement gives post, qualifications, experience, how to apply and the deadline; a paraphrase says the same in your own words.

Practice questions

Objective questions (1 mark each)

1. The poem "Climbing" was written by [1]aTagorebAmy LowellcWhitmandKipling
2. "Pinnacle" means [1]aa rootba pointed top or highest pointca branchda leaf
3. The passive of "Ram feeds the dogs" is [1]aThe dogs fed RambThe dogs are fed by RamcThe dogs were fed by RamdThe dogs is fed
4. Which is a passive sentence? [1]aHari broke the cup.bThe cup was broken by Hari.cHari is breaking the cup.dHari will break the cup.

Answers

1. (b).

2. (b).

3. (b).

4. (b).

Short answer questions (2 marks each)

1. What does the speaker say about earlier attempts to reach the top? [2]
2. Why can a hobby become a career? [2]
3. Change into the passive: "They have built a new hospital." [2]
4. Change into the active: "The match was watched by thousands of fans." [2]

Answers

1. The speaker says that before, she had always had to stop, but today she is sure she will reach the top.

2. Because hobbies build skills and passion, and people who are passionate and skilled may become in-demand professionals.

3. A new hospital has been built.

4. Thousands of fans watched the match.

Long answer questions (4 marks each)

1. Write an advertisement for a vacancy of a computer operator in your school. [4]
2. Write an essay of about 150 words on "The Importance of Hobbies". [4]

Answers

1. Outline: school name and address; VACANCY ANNOUNCEMENT; post and number; qualification (e.g. a diploma in computer science); experience; skills (typing, office software); documents to submit; deadline; contact.

2. Outline: introduction (what a hobby is); body 1 (relaxation and health); body 2 (skills and talent); body 3 (friends and social life, possible career); conclusion.