Passage 2

Speaker 1

Interviewer: Tell me about leisure activities in the States. What kind of spectator and participation sports are there?

Speaker 1: OK, well, the, the four most popular ones are baseball, basketball, American football of course, and ice hockey.

Interviewer: Yeah, and, and what about – um – indoor activities, rather than sports, the kind of things that you do inside?

Speaker 1: Well, you could say, could say martial arts. That's very popular. Tae kwon do – that sort of thing. Bowling. And movies.

Interviewer: Yeah.

Speaker 1: Watching television, of course. The average American, I think, watches television about two and a half hours a day.

Interviewer: And, apart from sports, what other outdoor activities are there?

Speaker 1: Cycling, tennis, golf, walking and jogging of course and now, more and more people are playing soccer.

Interviewer: Right. And what kind of cultural activities are very popular in the States?

Speaker 1: We all like going to concerts, I think. Er, a lot of people now are joining book clubs.

Interviewer: Book clubs?

Speaker 1: To be a member of a book club, do something ...

Interviewer: So just local groups ... with friends?

Speaker 1: Yes, local groups.

Interviewer: And you discuss books?

Speaker 1: Yes, you take a book each, each week or each month. You, you read it and then you go back and discuss it. That's very popular now.

Interviewer: And how about weekend and holiday activities?

Speaker 1: Some people like hunting. I'm not one of those at all. I don't like that. But that's very popular in, in the rural areas. Then, of course there's camping and hiking, also. A lot of Americans volunteer for a, a wide range of causes – from raising funds to helping people who are less fortunate, tutoring students, or leading Scout troops or doing youth sports, that sort of thing.

Interviewer: Right, yeah.

Speaker 2

Interviewer: Tell me about leisure activities and sports in Russia. What do you like doing?

Speaker 2: Well, football is the favourite sport. But, er, we like also ice hockey in the winter. Winter sports.

Interviewer: And what about indoor sports? Or indoor activities other than ...?

Speaker 2: We like very much playing chess. And we are very good at playing chess. Also, television is very common and, in the cities – Moscow and St Petersburg – we like to club, go dancing.

Interviewer: Oh, right. Yeah. OK. Yeah. And what about outdoor activities?

Speaker 2: Well, believe it or not, collecting mushrooms. In the autumn, we like it very much. And also the skiing. Again, the ice hockey in the winter. Very popular.

Interviewer: And I believe cultural activities are very important to you? What kind of things do you like doing?

Speaker 2: Very important, yes. In particular, the ballet.

Interviewer: Yeah.

Speaker 2: And of course, the opera as well. Even the small towns have theatres and a cinema. We like the country people, the rural people, they like to watch films. They call it a "Palace of culture".

Interviewer: Right. Yeah.

Speaker 2: Yes.

Interviewer: And what kind of weekend and holiday activities do you enjoy?

Speaker 2: Well, you find the rich Russians, they very often have a dacha, which is a cottage.

Interviewer: Right.

Speaker 2: In the county.

Interviewer: Right.

Speaker 2: You go there for a holiday and maybe for the weekend.

Interviewer: Right. Thank you.

Speaker 3

Interviewer: Tell me about leisure activities in Australia. What kind of sports do you enjoy?

Speaker 3: Well, Australian rules football is our main spectator sport. Of course, we also love our rugby and our cricket. You know, our national teams are definitely now among the best in the world.

Interviewer: Yeah.

Speaker 3: What else? We have association football. And also very popular now is horse racing.

Interviewer: Right. And what kind of indoor activities, other than sports, do you like doing?

Speaker 3: We're very much an outdoor nation but when we're inside I think we like to watch TV and, you know, go to the movies.

Interviewer: So, what kind of outdoor activities are there?

Speaker 3: Well, for this we like our cycling. Some people play golf and some play tennis. And some play lawn bowls.

Interviewer: Right, yeah.

Speaker 3: Of course, you know, most Australians do live near the coast and we love to do sailing and surfing; very, very keen on our swimming and I know a lot of people do fishing as well.

Interviewer Right. And what about culture? Do you do any cultural activities?

Speaker 3: Oh yes, no, no, Australia does have its culture. We've got our aboriginal music and our dancing and a lot of art. And of course, we've got our very, very famous Sydney Opera House – you know, best in the world.

Interviewer: Yeah, yes. And what about weekend and holiday activities? What do you like doing then?

Speaker 3: I think people like to be very social. We do a lot of barbies – you know – barbecues in the back garden and some people like to go bushwalking as well.

Interviewer: Great. Thank you.

Speaker 3: You're welcome.

Answers

Passage 2

6 Look at the photos. Decide in which countries, the US, Russia or Australia, you're likely to see the leisure activities.

Answers

  US: American football;

  Australia: surfing;

  Russia: chess

8 Work together and complete the table.

Answers

	The US	Russia	Australia
1	baseball, basketball, American football, ice hockey	football, ice hockey	Australian rules football, rugby cricket, association football, horse racing
2	martial arts eg tae kwon do, bowling, movies, watching television	chess, television, dancing	television, movies
3	cycling, tennis, golf, walking, jogging, soccer	collecting mushrooms, skiing, ice hockey	cycling, golf, tennis, lawn bowls, sailing, surfing, swimming, fishing
4	concerts, book clubs	ballet, opera, watching films	aboriginal music, dancing, art
5	hunting, camping, hiking, volunteering	going to a dacha	barbecues, bushwalking