My Hobby

This material contains samples of short stories about hobbies, with Russian translation of words and phrases. Related words and phrases can be found in the materials Typical Day (the part "Free time, sports, hobbies") in the section Vocabulary and About Myself in the section Phrases.

Данный материал содержит образцы коротких рассказов о хобби, с русским переводом слов и фраз. Другие слова и фразы по теме можно найти в материалах "Typical Day" (часть "Free time, sports, hobbies") в разделе Vocabulary и "About Myself" в разделе Phrases.

This material is intended as help for parents and their children studying English. The material can also be useful for other learners of English. Four stories are for beginning learners; three stories are for intermediate learners. Write stories about your hobbies using the stories below as examples.

Данный материал предназначен в помощь родителям и их детям, изучающим английский язык. Материал может быть полезен и другим изучающим английский язык. Четыре рассказа – для начинающих; три рассказа – для изучающих среднего уровня. Напишите рассказы о ваших хобби, используя рассказы ниже как примеры.

My hobby is reading

My hobby is reading. I like to read books in my free time. I like funny stories, fairy tales, and poems for children.

I like to read fairy tales very much. My favourite fairy tale is "The Snow Queen" by Hans Christian Andersen. I have read it several times. Gerda is my favourite fairy-tale character.

I usually read in the evening before sleep. I also like to read in a garden or in a park, sitting on a bench.

Recently I began to read short stories in English. It is difficult for me to read in English.

But I want to learn English, and I want to read books in English.

Words and phrases

hobby – хобби, увлечение, любимое занятие; free time – свободное время; reading – чтение; my favourite book – моя любимая книга;

stories – рассказы, истории, повести; fairy tales – сказки; poems for children – стихи для детей; novels – романы;

I have read it several times – я прочитала её несколько раз; fairy-tale character – сказочный герой;

in the evening – вечером; before sleep – перед сном; sitting on a bench – сидя на скамейке; recently – недавно;

it is difficult for me to read in English – мне / для меня трудно читать на английском языке; I want to learn English – я хочу изучить английский язык.

I like to play with my dog

My dog's name is Red. Red is an Irish setter. He is clever and friendly. He is also very active.

Red loves to go for a walk, to run, to swim, and to play with a ball or a stick.

When I'm doing my homework, Red just lies on the carpet in my room, sleeping or watching me and sighing once in a while.

When I say "Let's go for a walk now", Red jumps up from the floor, wagging his tail and barking joyfully.

Then he rushes to the hall and brings his collar and leash. It always makes me laugh.

Words and phrases

Irish setter – ирландский сеттер; to go for a walk – ходить на прогулку; to play with a ball or a stick – играть с мячом или палочкой;

to lie on the carpet – лежать на ковре; to sleep – спать; to watch – наблюдать; to sigh – вздыхать;

watching me and sighing once in a while – наблюдая за мной и вздыхая время от времени;

jumps up from the floor – вскакивает с пола; wagging his tail and barking joyfully – виляя хвостом и радостно лая;

to rush – помчаться, броситься, устремиться; the hall – коридор, прихожая, to bring – принести;

collar and leash – ошейник и поводок; it makes me laugh – это заставляет меня смеяться.

Coin collecting

When I was a child, I used to collect coins. I collected coins from different countries.

My father brought Italian, French and Swiss coins for me from his business trips.

I brought some coins from Spain and Turkey when my mother and I visited those countries.

My coin collection was small. And there were no rare or valuable coins in it. But coins interested me.

I used to lay them out on the table in order to examine and compare them. I also liked to read about their history.

I don't collect coins now. I gave my coin collection to my nephew as a birthday present.

Words and phrases

I used to collect coins – я (раньше, когда-то) собирал монеты (но теперь не собираю);

foreign coins – иностранные монеты; rare coins – редкие монеты; valuable coins – ценные монеты; gold coins – золотые монеты;

coin collecting – собирание, коллекционирование монет; coin collection – коллекция монет;

French – французский; Swiss – швейцарский; Spain – Испания; Turkey – Турция;

business trip – деловая поездка, командировка; to visit – посетить; these – эти; those – те;

there were no rare coins in it – в ней не было редких монет; to interest – интересовать;

to lay out – раскладывать; in order to examine – чтобы рассмотреть, изучить; to compare – сравнить;

nephew – племянник; birthday present – подарок ко дню рождения.

My hobby is swimming (1)

My hobby is swimming. I go to the swimming pool three times a week.

There are six children in my group. Swimming lessons last 45 minutes.

My swimming teacher teaches us to swim well. He also teaches us to be careful in water.

I can already swim very quickly, but only a short distance. I am also learning to swim on my back.

I like swimming very much. I like to swim in the swimming pool and in the sea.

Words and phrases

swimming – плавание; swimming pool – плавательный бассейн; swimmer – пловец;

there are six children in my group – в моей группе шесть детей;

three times a week – три раза в неделю; to last – продолжаться, длиться; 45 minutes (forty-five) – 45 минут;

he teaches us to be careful in water – он обучает / учит нас быть осторожными / внимательными в воде;

I am learning to swim on my back – я учусь плавать на спине; short distance – короткое расстояние;

I like to swim in the sea – я люблю / мне нравится плавать в море.

My hobby is swimming (2)

My hobby is swimming. I go to the swimming pool five times a week. My swimming pool is very good. The pool is 25 metres long and has six lanes. More than a thousand children have swimming lessons there every month.

My swimming instructor is experienced and friendly, but he is also strict. He teaches us to swim well and to be careful in water.

Lessons last 45 minutes, but I usually train for an hour and a half. During the lesson I swim about two kilometres. My favourite swimming styles are crawl and backstroke.

I practice a lot to improve my swimming skills. I want to achieve good results. Last month I participated in a swimming competition. Ten swimmers from three schools took part in the competition. I won first prize.

Swimming is my favourite sport. Swimming is interesting and pleasant, and it helps me to keep fit.

I also like swimming in the sea and diving for seashells. And I'm learning to dive from a diving board.

Words and phrases

the pool is 25 (twenty-five) metres long – бассейн имеет длину 25 метров; BrE: metre, kilometre – AmE: meter, kilometer;

lane – дорога, дорожка, полоса; length – длина; width – ширина; height – высота; depth – глубина;

to train – тренировать, тренироваться; an hour and a half – полтора часа; instructor, coach, trainer – инструктор, тренер; experienced – опытный;

crawl (front crawl), backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly – кроль, на спине, брасс, баттерфляй;

diving – ныряние, прыжки в воду; diver – ныряльщик, прыгун в воду; diving board – трамплин для прыжков в воду; to dive for seashells – нырять за морскими ракушками;

BrE: to practise – AmE: to practice (практиковаться, тренироваться, упражняться); существительное "practice" (практика, упражнения);

to achieve good results – достичь хороших результатов; to improve skills – улучшать навыки / умения;

to participate / to take part in a competition – участвовать / принять участие в соревновании; participant – участник; to win first prize – выиграть первый приз;

to keep fit, to stay fit, to be / to keep / to stay in shape – быть здоровым, быть в форме, поддерживать форму.

My hobby is woodcarving

I have several hobbies. My hobbies are woodcarving, listening to music, collecting miniature toy cars, and playing computer games.

I learned some woodcarving at school, and I have a good manual on woodcarving. I usually listen to quiet music when I carve.

I prefer to use soft wood like pine or aspen. I have a good knife for carving and a small saw for sawing chunks of wood.

I like to carve very small objects from wood – small wooden knives, candlesticks, cones, pyramids, cubes, cylinders, and spheres. I use sandpaper to make them smooth. I don't use varnish.

My wooden pyramids, cones and spheres look very nice and interesting, and it is pleasant for me to hold them in my hands.

And it is a very good exercise to roll two or three small wooden balls with your fingers while holding them in your hand.

Also, I'd like to say that in order to prevent cutting your fingers, hurting someone or breaking something, it is necessary to follow work safety rules when you carve wood.

Words and phrases

miniature toy cars – миниатюрные игрушечные автомобили; to play computer games – играть в компьютерные игры; quiet music – спокойная музыка;

woodcarving – резьба по дереву; to carve – вырезать, резать (по дереву); to carve from wood – вырезать из дерева; manual – руководство;

soft wood – мягкое дерево, мягкая древесина; softwood – дерево, древесина мягких пород; hardwood – дерево, древесина твёрдых пород;

pine, fir, cedar – сосна, ель, кедр; aspen, birch, maple, oak – осина, берёза, клён, дуб;

knife – knives (нож – ножи); to cut – резать; a saw – пила; to saw – пилить; chunk of wood – брусок, кусок дерева;

candlestick – подсвечник; cone, pyramid, cube, cylinder, sphere – конус, пирамида, куб, цилиндр, шар / сфера;

sandpaper – наждачная бумага; smooth – гладкий; varnish – лак; it is pleasant for me to hold them in my hands – мне приятно держать их в руках;

to roll small wooden balls with your fingers while holding them in your hand – катать маленькие деревянные шарики пальцами, держа их в руке;

in order to prevent – чтобы предотвратить; to follow / to observe work safety rules – следовать правилам / соблюдать правила техники безопасности.

My hobby is gardening

Gardening is my favourite pastime. I like flowers. I remember that I liked flowers even when I was a little child.

When someone gave me flowers, it was the best present for me. I could look at flowers for a long time, marvelling at their beauty.

We usually spend summers at our summer house in a small village not far from my hometown.

My mother and grandmother grow berries, vegetables and fruit. My father and I help them to plant the seeds, to weed the garden, to water the plants, and to gather the crop.

We usually have a good crop of strawberries, black currants, raspberries, cucumbers, and tomatoes. My younger brother and I eat a lot of fresh berries in summer, and my parents also make strawberry jam and freeze berries for winter.

I have my own garden plot where I grow my favourite flowers. Daffodils and tulips are the first flowers that appear in my little garden in spring. Their bright colours make them an unforgettable sight!

There are also asters, chrysanthemums and snapdragon in my little garden. And I planted daisies along the paths. They grow very well.

I'm also preparing a small flowerbed for roses. Roses are very beautiful, but they are not easy to grow.

I'm reading an interesting book on gardening. The book is full of helpful tips on growing flowers in our climate. I hope to have nice roses next summer.

During autumn and winter I grow flowers and other decorative plants in flowerpots on the windowsills in our flat. My eyes really rest when I look at various shades of green on my windowsill.

Words and phrases

gardening – садоводство; pastime – приятное занятие / времяпровождение; to marvel at – удивляться чему-то (с восхищением); beauty – красота;

summer house – летний дом, дача; my hometown – мой родной город (где постоянно живу или где родился);

to grow – расти, растить, выращивать; to plant – сажать; to weed – полоть; to water – поливать; to gather the crop – собирать урожай;

plants – растения; seeds – семена; weeds – сорняки; berries, vegetables, fruit – ягоды, овощи, фрукты;

strawberry, black currant, raspberry, cucumber, tomato – клубника, чёрная смородина, малина, огурец, помидор;

to make strawberry jam – делать / варить клубничное варенье / джем; to freeze berries – замораживать ягоды;

garden plot – небольшой участок земли под садовые посадки; flower garden – цветник, цветочный сад; vegetable garden – огород; bed – грядка, клумба; flowerbed – цветочная клумба / грядка;

aster, daffodil, daisy, tulip, chrysanthemum, rose, snapdragon – астра, нарцисс, ромашка, тюльпан, хризантема, роза, львиный зев;

to appear – появиться, появляться; in spring – весной; unforgettable sight – незабываемое зрелище;

along the paths – вдоль дорожек / тропинок; they are not easy to grow – их нелегко выращивать;

a book on gardening – книга по садоводству; be full of – быть полным чего-то; helpful tips / useful tips – полезные советы; in our climate – в нашем климате;

decorative plants – декоративные растения; flowerpots – цветочные горшки; on the windowsills in our flat – на подоконниках в нашей квартире;

my eyes rest – мои глаза отдыхают; various shades of green – различные оттенки зелёного;

BrE: flat; colour; favourite; marvelling – AmE: apartment; color; favorite; marveling.