BBC随身英语｜新年培养新爱好

A new hobby for a new year

It's the end of one year and the start of another. You've probably been considering New Year's resolutions and you may have decided to take up something new for the year ahead. Perhaps, like Debbie Gustig, you could start ballet classes. At the age of 53, Debbie stepped into the dance studio, where, for a while, it feels like 'the outside world is on pause'.

Hobbies are a way for us to keep busy and take our minds off the realities of work and life. People crave time to pursue interests that are valuable and satisfying. Humans have indulged in pastimes since the beginning of time, from drawing on cave walls to playing video games. Some hobbies involve collecting things. That means acquiring, possibly cataloguing, and then displaying or storing something precious, whether that be stamps, antiques or comic books.

Linda de Ruiter turned her hobby into a job. She is a yarn maker and now the owner of a small business. After helping out a friend with a stand at a craft market, she realised she wanted a stand for herself. She told the BBC she always thought yarn making would just be 'a glorified hobby' for her, but she's glad to have been proven wrong and says she is "having a ball".

People often pursue hobbies as a way of de-stressing. In Canada, axe throwing is on the rise. In fact, there is even an axe-throwing league with branches across the country and more than 1,500 members. League founder Matt Wilson told the BBC that it's "a zen sort of experience because it's really not about power, but there is definitely something cathartic about the activity".

So, ballet, collecting stamps, yarn making, axe throwing? What will you pursue in the new year?

词汇表
New Year's resolutions [ˌrezəˈluːʃ(ə)n] 新年计划，新年决心
take up 开始从事，着手做
ballet [ˈbæleɪ] 芭蕾舞
dance studio [ˈstjuːdiəʊ] 舞蹈室，练舞房
be on pause [pɔːz] 暂停，处于停顿状态
take one's mind off 转移某人的注意力，让某人暂时忘记忧虑之事
crave [kreɪv] 渴望，热望
pursue [pə(r)ˈsjuː] 追求，追逐，从事
indulge in [ɪn'dʌldʒ] 沉溺于，尽情享受
pastime [ˈpɑːsˌtaɪm] 消遣，休闲活动
cave walls [keɪv] 洞穴壁
catalogue [ˈkætəlɒɡ] 将…编入目录，记录，分类
stamp [stæmp] 邮票，印记
antique [ænˈtiːk] 古董，古物
comic books [ˈkɒmɪk] 漫画书，连环画
yarn [jɑː(r)n] 纱，纱线
stand （零售）摊位，货摊
craft market [krɑːft] 手工艺品集市
glorified [ˈɡlɔːrɪfaɪd] 美化的，吹捧的，吹嘘的
have a ball 极为享受，玩得开心
de-stress [ˌdi: 'stres] 放松，减压
axe throwing [æks] 扔斧头，掷斧运动
be on the rise 在兴起，呈上升趋势
branch [brɑːntʃ] 分支机构，分部，分行
zen [zen] 令人放松的；禅
cathartic [kəˈθɑː(r)tɪk] 宣泄情绪的；导泻的

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