Exercises:
Do all exercises in unit 7 except listening and speaking.
Discussion:
What free time activity should more young people take up? Why?
Post your comments in the discussion forum.
I think that there are several free time activities that young people should take up. First of all, there are open door activities and social ones that help to feel closer to nature and respect it, then to develop a sense of collaboration and cooperation. However it’s important to have a balanced range of activities, so they should interchange outdoor with indoor activities and social with lone ones, mantaining the right measure among them.
But despite sports, musical instruments, books and other typical activities, I think that there is one which can be considered a hobby and unfortunately it’s not so common among teenagers nowadays, but I think that more young people should take up it. I mean cooking. It could sound strange but in my opinion cooking is a form of art that can teach you a lot of things: to be creative and productive, to prove your capabilities, to satisfy three of the five senses and to be independent because you can provide for your survival on your own. In addition, it’s a way to transmit traditions while having fun and being proud of the creations you made. It’s also a way to learn how to stay with others and cooperate (if you take up a course) or to spend time alone without get boring. Cooking is also a physical activity because you can’t never be lazy and stay in the same position but you must hurry up, be concentrated and do many things at the same time. It is a very demanding activity but extremely rewarding: you can see the result of your work and even taste it. Cooking is also sharing with others, so it’s a method to be generous and it creates the perfect occasion to gather friends or relatives and spend time together.
In conclusion, I consider cooking a summary of social and lone activities, in which you can combine tradition and technology, fun and learning, effort and relax. I think that is a complete free time activity that could be very useful for young and also for adults.
I consider the theme of the free activities of young people a central question. As a matter of fact, it involves not only the individual growth, but also the education and many fundamental social aspects.
First of all, I believe that these genres of acitivities should be intellectual, practical and physical: it would be a mistake to prefer one than the others of these three typologies. Realted to this point - I underline - the schools should give inputs toward a similar way of thinking. Making an example, a young person should learn to cook, to do small practical things, to draw, paint and play music, also to create handicrafts, stimulating in a nice way creativity and hand capabilities; but at the same time, he should learn to use technology in a correct way and to find important informations on the net too. That young person should also do sports, encouraged by the presence of public spaces and spaces designated to the activities of the community; and, on the other side, he should excercise himself to write (not only with the PC but also on paper), go to museums to watch and comment teh objects, enjoy to interpret signs, read and watch films, in order to satisfy and feed curiosity, critical judgement and intelligence. That one requires not a servile study, but a continuous growth of our personal skills, trained through a many-sided activity. Maybe, this can be a good path to follow so that young people can react to the reality.
Although I have never dedicated myself to them seriously, because of laziness and shortage of time, I think that young people should mostly take up outdoor activities that involve the contact with nature, like climbing or swimming. But there is one particular activity I have always appreciated and never done, that is gardening.
Probably I have been prevented from doing it by the wrong general conviction which looks at gardening as an activity just for old people. Instead, this activity would allow young people to disconnect themselves from their stressful and frenetic life, made up of exams, arguments with friends, sport competitions, job problems, and to relax themselves in the middle of a peaceful and quite atmosphere.
However, it is not only a relaxing activity, but also healthy and satisfying. In fact, if you have the green thumb, you are able to make flowers, plants and trees grow successfully, as if they were your own creatures. Through gardening, you can give life to something that will gradually develop by itself.
Moreover, this activity would enrich young people and their general knowledge, allowing them to learn how nature works, its needs , steps and infinitive varieties.
Gardening is also useful for young people because it makes them understand what perseverance means: if you want to reach something, you have to be steady and patient.
For all these reasons, I believe that gardening is something really formative and restful .