从古老的洞穴绘画到现代的舞蹈、编织，再到邮票收藏，兴趣爱好一直是人类生活的一部分。有些喜欢做手工的人从自己的兴趣爱好中找到了商机，把爱好变成了生意。还有人喜欢通过扔斧头之类的休闲运动来解压。在新的一年里，你打算培养什么新的兴趣爱好？

　　词汇：hobbies爱好

　　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 decided¹ 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 crave² 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 yarn³ maker⁴ and now the owner of a small business. After helping⁵ 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 glorified⁶ 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, axe⁷ 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 founder⁸ 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 cathartic⁹ about the activity".

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

　　词汇表

　　resolution 决心

　　take up 开始（工作，活动）

　　ballet 芭蕾舞

　　take someone's mind off 转移某人的注意力，让某人暂时忘记忧虑之事pursue 追求

　　indulge in 沉溺于

　　pastime 休闲娱乐，消遣

　　collect 收集，收藏

　　acquire 购得，获取

　　catalogue 记录，分类

　　display 展示，陈列

　　store 储存，储藏

　　yarn maker 纺纱人

　　stand （零售）摊位

　　a glorified hobby 一个被美化的爱好，一个听起来比实际上更有意思的爱好have a ball 极为享受，非常尽兴

　　de-stress 解压

　　axe throwing （休闲运动）扔斧头

　　zen 令人放松的

　　cathartic 宣泄情绪的

 

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