Reading 27: Learning how to use leisure well

Nhằm cải tiến bài học “Note from News”, mình sẽ tìm các bài đọc liên quan đến các topic trong Writing Task 2 của IELTS. Như vậy, các bạn sẽ không chỉ học được từ vựng theo chủ đề mà còn có thể học hỏi các ý tưởng, cách sắp xếp, khai triển ý hữu ích, áp dụng được ngay vào phần Writing.

Riêng về bài đọc sau đây “Learning how to use leisure well”, chủ đề này không chỉ phổ biến trong Writing mà còn phổ biến hơn nữa trong Speaking. Ở bài này có nhiều cái hay về từ vựng, ngữ pháp, ý tưởng, linking words mà có thể phải đọc đi đọc lại nhiều lần mới thấm hết được.

VIC : dành cho từ vựng (click vào chữ để xem nghĩa)

VIC : dành cho gợi ý làm bài

VIC : Cách nối câu

Dạng đề liên quan: hoạt động trong thời gian rảnh rỗi, áp lực công việc, cách thư giãn, tệ nạn xã hội. (các bạn có thể bổ sung qua comment)

Đề bài gợi ý: Some people think that it is important to use leisure time for activitiesthat improve the mind, such as reading and doing word puzzles.Other people feel that it is important to rest the mind during leisure time. (các bạn có thể bổ sung qua comment)

Bài đọc:

The post-Christmas holidays can offer a rare opportunity to shut off from the demands of work and enjoy a little of that precious commodity, leisure – freely disposable time that we can use as we choose. Time in which we can do “something, anything or nothing”, as an essayist once said.

For a brief, halcyon period we can be masters or mistresses of our destiny, free to pursue our passions and interests and to do the things that we most value and enjoy.

Yet while an overwhelming number of people report valuing leisure time, few reflect much upon how to make the best use of it. We tend to focus on doing what we want, without giving much consideration to the separate and arguably more important question of whether we enjoy what we do.

While we might have a career plan, how many of us can boast a leisure plan? Our education system focuses primarily on preparing us for a life of work. But we may have to educate ourselves about how to spend our leisure if we are fully to enjoy its fruits.

This was certainly Aristotle’s opinion; he thought the chief point of a liberal education should be to teach citizens how best to enjoy their leisure and the privileges and opportunities it offers.

Philosophical reflection and empirical research suggest we do not use our leisure time as wisely or as well as we could. We engage in activities that do not bring us enjoyment and lasting satisfaction.

Interestingly, we are often unaware that our choices are faulty and that better options exist. This may be one reason why so many of us trade in our leisure time, with its untappted seam of riches, for yet more non-discretionary hours of work.

How many of us, after a hard day at the office, plonk ourselves down on the couch and turn on the TV in the expectation that we will feel relaxed and gratifyingly entertained? How many of us go shopping, thinking that we’re “treating ourselves” and enhancing our wellbeing?

Passive and isolating activities, such as watching TV, and pursuits such as shopping that keep us busy but don’t bring lasting gratification, occupy the majority of the average Australian’s leisure time. We spend more time shopping for leisure goods than engaged in leisure itself, and more time watching sport on television than actually playing it.

The average person spends three hours and seven minutes each day in front of the TV; slightly more if they have access to subscription television.

Apart from its well-known toll on our physical wellbeing, research has found that watching TV induces mood and brain states akin to mild depression and anxiety, although watchers themselves may be unaware of it. The popular genre of forensic crime shows appears to have a particularly pronounced effect, increasing feelings of anxiety and insecurity that persist well after the TV has been switched off.

In general, we would be much cheerier, and considerably more relaxed and fulfilled, if we were to spend our time doing something else.

What leisure activities do bring us lasting joy and satisfaction? Empirical research suggests the following: socialising, doing voluntary community or charity work, visiting new places, meditation or worship, cultural activities, being engrossed in a stimulating book or hobby, getting a good night’s sleep, and physical exercise.

Activities that combine intellectual or physical stimulation with socialising, such as book clubs and playing team sports, bring proportionately greater enjoyment.

This is just as true for introverts, whose natural inclination is to avoid social gatherings, as it is for company-loving extroverts. Studies show that husbands who reluctantly attend dinner parties at the insistence of their wives have a markedly improved mood during and after the dinner party, despite their grumbling.

Our beliefs about what we enjoy can be inaccurate, and this is one reason why in leisure, as in life, we can find ourselves unwittingly doing things that bring us less overall joy and satisfaction.

Another reason is that getting the most out of our leisure can initially feel like hard work. Finding deep and lasting gratification often requires time and effort to develop an interest’s necessary skills. (Think of learning to play a sport or a musical instrument, or maintaining close friendships.)

Along with lasting satisfaction, these activities can generate the experience of “flow” – where one is so absorbed in a challenging activity that one loses sense of time and self. But this often happens only once we have overcome those initial learning frustrations.

Importantly, because it is discretionary, leisure time enables us to put in the effort where it can benefit us most. We are free to pursue things for their own sake and can choose to pursue those activities most suited to our natures, our talents, or even our whims.

Christmas is an especially fitting time to reflect on how best to use our leisure. Not only do we have leisure to enjoy, we also do many of the things research suggests bring enjoyment.

We socialise, get out and about, and visit new places. We worship, meditate, and help others. We play sport. We switch off the television - in part thanks to the non-ratings season.

This time of year contains some of the central elements of a sound leisure plan. These elements could readily be incorporated into our everyday lives, with the result that we might feel cheerier and more gratified the whole year through.

Từ vựng trong bài:

(Click vào chữ để xem vị trí trong bài)

Leisure (noun)	[ˈliʒər , ˈlɛʒər]	Thì giờ rỗi rãi, lúc thư nhàn.
Commodity (noun)	[kəˈmɒdɪtɪ]	Hàng hoá; loại hàng, mặt hàng.
Halcyon (adj)	[ˈhælsɪən]	Thanh bình, êm ả.
Synonyms: happy, tranquil, placid, calm, peaceful. Antonyms: unhappy, unpeaceful, turbulent.
Boast (verb)	[boust]	Khoe khoang, khoác lác.
Antonyms: conceal, cover, hide, secrete, withhold, modesty.
Privilege (noun)	[ˈprɪvɪlɪdʒ]	Đặc quyền, sự ưu đãi.
Synonyms: advantage, prerogative, right, benefit.
Untapped (adj)	[dɪˈskrɛʃənərɪ -ənrɪ]	Chưa dùng, chưa khai thác
Discretionary (adj)	[dis'kreʃnəri]	Được tự do làm theo ý mình, tuỳ ý mình
Seam of riches (idiom/phrase) = a rich seam of		Cơ hội
Plonk one’s down (slang)		Ngồi xuống và cố thư giãn
Induces (verb)	[in'dju:s]	Sai khiến, gây ra
Akin (adj)	[ə'kin]	Hơi giống, na ná
Mild (adj)	[maild]	Nhẹ, dịu dàng, ôn hòa
Anxiety (noun)	[æɳ'zaiəti]	Nối lo âu, phiền muộn
Introvert (noun)	[,introu'və:t]	kẻ nhút nhát