OMAN COLLEGE OF MANAGEMENT AND TECHNOLOGY
General Foundation Program
Speaking Level 3
Topic: Hobbies and Interest
I.VOCABULARY
All
athletics (pl. n)
browse (v)
used when referring to the whole of something
sporting events such as running, jumping and throwing.
if you search the internet, you look for interesting
information using a computer.
category (n)
a set of things with a particular characteristic in common
cricket (n)
is an outdoor game played by two teams who take turns at
scoring runs by hitting a ball with a bat.
dislike (v)
something or someone, you think they are unpleasant
and do not like them.
few (adj. n.)
used to refer to a small number of things
golf (n)
is a game in which players use special clubs to hit a small
ball into holes that are spread out over a large area of
grassy land.
guitar (n)
a musical instrument with six strings which are
strummed or plucked
gymnastics (n)
is physical exercises, especially ones using equipment
such as bars and ropes
heading (n)
a piece of writing that is written or printed at the top of a page or column
of a table
hockey (n)
is a game in which two teams use long sticks with curved ends to try to hit
a small ball into the other team's goal.
karate (n)
is a sport in which people fight each other using only their hands, elbows,
feet, and legs.
motor racing (n)
is a sport in which fast cars race on a track.
skating (n)
is an activity in which you slide over a surface.
social networking website (n)a website on the internet used to keep in contact with friends and
family
yoga (n)
is a type of exercise in which you move your body into various positions in
order to become more fit and flexible.
II. Answer the following questions
Part 2
Describe a hobby
You should say:
What is your hobby
Where and how you do it
How often do you do it
Why do like doing it?
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OMAN COLLEGE OF MANAGEMENT AND TECHNOLOGY
General Foundation Program
Part 3
1.Do you think you can still do this hobby now? How about in the future?
2.What were some hobbies of past generations?
3.What do you think will be the hobbies in the future?
4.How can you bridge the gap between the hobbies of different generations? Seriously?
5.What can you suggest to working people regarding hobbies?
III. Model Interview
Test Tip
If you didn't hear properly, you can say:
- Sorry, I didn't catch that.
- Could you repeat the question, please?
If there's a word that you don't understand, you can say:
- Could you repeat X, please?
- What does X mean?
Part 2:
Describe a hobby
One of my hobbies is photography. I take photos on my phone almost every day, and I have a proper
camera that I use on special occasions. If I see something interesting or I want to record a particular
memory, I take photos wherever I am. I take photos so that I have a record of the things I’ve seen or
done. Most of my photos are of friends and family, but I also take pictures of interesting things that I
see.
I like photography because it’s a creative hobby and it makes you notice the world around you. I love
capturing special moments or unusual or beautiful images, and it’s a great feeling to be able to look
back through my pictures and relive different experiences. These memories usually cheer me up.
The last time I took photos on a special occasion was at my friend’s wedding a few weeks ago. I got
some great pictures of the bride and groom and their guests celebrating. After the wedding I made an
album of all the best pictures and sent it to my friend as a present.
Part 3
1.Do you think you can still do this hobby now? How about in the future?
Yes, I could but I'm not as fanatical about soccer as I used to be. I can still play for fun and
sometimes do, but that's about it nowadays. In the future I think I'll probably play less although Ihave
been approached about a coaching position by a local school so maybe soccer will still be important for
me but in a different way in the future.
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OMAN COLLEGE OF MANAGEMENT AND TECHNOLOGY
General Foundation Program
2.What were some hobbies of past generations?
Well, apart from sports like in my case, I know that many people used to have different hobbies such
as collecting things, gardening, craft work and so on. My grandfather used to collect stamps and I
used to have an uncle who made things from wood, all kinds of things such as chairs and tables, all as
a hobby, he was an electrical engineer not a carpenter, but that was his hobby. I think many
'traditional' hobbies are disappearing, or have already disappeared, as technology and entertainment
seem to have taken over our leisure and free time.
3.What do you think will be the hobbies in the future?
That's almost impossible to say. The way things are developing I don't think we will have hobbies in
the future or we won't call them hobbies. We seem to be moving towards a lifestyle where we just
have many different activities which all blend together to form our life.
It's like the changes you can see happening in the way we work. People used to leave home and arrive
at the factory or office and then start work. Then they would leave work and go home and they had
their home life. Nowadays work follows people around, thanks to cell phones and the internet, you see
people talking about work in the car, at lunch and at the weekend; they never seem to stop. I think in
the future we will do less things that are not necessary, like hobbies, and we will be occupied doing
more things that are necessary. That means that the division between free time and work time will
become very difficult to distinguish in some cases. Maybe we will stop calling sport a free time activity
and start considering it to be an essential activity so that we can be healthy to do all the other
activities that are necessary.
4.How can you bridge the gap between the hobbies of different generations? Seriously?
I don't think you can or need to. Each generation has its 'things' and I don't see any need to pass
them all on to the next generation. Some things transfer naturally, but take stamp collecting as an
example, we hardly use stamps nowadays thanks to email and SMS so why would it be important to
teach someone about stamp collecting unless they have a real passion for it, in which case they will
learn all about it by themselves.
5.What can you suggest to working people regarding hobbies?
I think the easy answer to that one is to just do whatever it is you like. Everybody needs a break
from their other normal activities, so as long as it's something which you enjoy it's got to be good for
you. If it's something that relaxes you or is really interesting then all the better, but it's nice to have
something special and different to focus your mind and energy on for a while.
Sources
ww.britishcouncil.om/IELTS
ielts-simon.com/ielts
http://www.stgeorges.co.uk/blog/shopping-vocabulary-the-naked-stunt#sthash.wJRZ4SBf.dpuf
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