TALK ABOUT PASTIMES, PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS, ENTHUSIASM Secret Passions Study the article by yourself or read it before your English class. We a have our passions in life. Some folk like coecting stamps. Others play a musical instrument. Some people play a sport. However, other pastimes can be just a bit more bizarre. In Tokyo, Japan, many people are crazy about comic books. They love to read and collect them. Some people are so into comic books that they like to dress up as their favorite comic book characters at the weekend. This is called cosplay in Japanese (short for costume play ). At these cosplay parties participants usually dress up as manga characters from all sorts of comic books and animation. Some people pay a small fortune for their costumes and pay close attention to detail. At the parties people dance, chat and admire each other s costumes. Sam Harvey, an Australian, has been attending cosplay parties since he came to Japan five years ago. I ve been dressing up as a character from a comic book called Sailor Moon for a couple of years now. It s great fun. I just love to come here and chat with people who have the same interests as me, Sam says, It s a good way to let your hair down and blow off steam. Many of the people involved in cosplay are often thought of as geeks. In fact, it involves a good deal of dedication and social interaction. So why not get out and give it a try? It might be a laugh. Preparatory Reading 1. What is cosplay? 2. Where is cosplay very popular? 3. Find a word or phrase that means the same as the following: i. hobby ii. people iii. really like iv. a lot of money v. relax vi. good fun 4. Use words from the article to complete the following sentences: I m always playing computer games. I m a real computer. Playing sports is a good way to. My favorite is reading. I paid a for my new car. I like to as Superman 5. Would you like to try this? 6. What are you crazy about?
A - Discussion: Answer the questions below 1. What do you like to do in your free time? 2. Do you know anyone with an unusual hobby? 3. Are there any pastimes you d like to take up? B - Mingling Activity: Stand up and ask questions of your classmates Name Find someone who... Details is crazy about something has had a hobby for a long time can play a musical instrument collects something has been studying something for ages has a secret passion has been playing a sport for ages had an interesting hobby as a kid C - Vocabulary: Match the words to their meaning Match the words to their meaning. 1. bizarre a. intense love 2. guilty pleasure b. very strange 3. to blow off steam c. get rid of stress 4. crazy about d. really interested in 5. obsessed e. can t stop thinking about 6. passion f. very rare and valuable things 7. geek g. something you enjoy, but know you shouldn t 8. collectors items h. someone overly interested in their hobby
D - Conversation: Use the words to fill the gaps, then practice. collectors items obsessed geek passion blow off steam bizarre guilty pleasure crazy about DAVID: Hi there, Eric. Oh. What are you up to? Why are you dressed up like that? ERIC: Oh, I m just getting ready to go to a cosplay party. This is my costume. DAVID: What do you mean? ERIC: Well, it means costume play. It s a kind of party where everybody dresses up as Japanese manga characters. I m going as Lupin the Third. I m quite a comic book. DAVID: Wow. That s a pretty pastime. You must be really comic books. ERIC: Yeah. I m with them. I ve got hundreds. DAVID: Each to his own, I suppose. So how long have you been collecting them? ERIC: I ve been collecting them for years. Some are actually. They re quite valuable. Don t you have any hobbies? What do you do to relax? DAVID: Well, actually I go kick-boxing every weekend. I ve been doing it since I was a kid. It s a great way to. ERIC: Wow Do you do anything else? DAVID: Well, to tell the truth, my real secret is trainspotting. It s a real, but I can t help it. I just love it ERIC: Ha You re as nuts as I am Comprehension Check 1. Where is Eric going? 2. What is his costume? 3. What does Eric collect? 4. What are David s interests? 5. What is David s guilty pleasure? Discussion Questions 1. What are you obsessed with? 2. What is your guilty pleasure? 3. What do you do to blow off steam? 4. Do you have any collector s items? 5. Have you ever done anything bizarre?
E - Language Practice How long have you been doing it? Action Verbs How long have you been collecting comic books? I ve been collecting them for ten years. I ve been collecting then since I was a kid. Stative verbs: e.g. know, love, like, have, be How long have you known him? I ve known him for ten years. I ve had this watch since I was a child. 1 For or Since? Circle for or since in the following passage. I ve always loved collecting things. I ve been collecting stamps for / since I was a little kid. I have a huge collection now. It s a popular traditional hobby. People have been collecting stamps for / since the 1800 s. Over the years I ve spent a lot of money on my hobby. I ve been going to trading fairs for / since about ten years. I trade stamps with other collectors. I ve even started selling my stamps online. I ve been doing that for / since three years now. I even met my wife because of stamps. She s a collector too. We met at a collectors fair. We ve been married for / since five years. 2 Write matching answers and questions. 1. Q: How long have you been collecting comic books? A: I ve been collecting comic books for 10 years. 3 2. Q: How many years have you been playing soccer? A: I was a high school student. 3. Q: How long have you had your car? A: 1998. 4. Q: Jim. A: I ve known Jim since my university days. 5. Q: baseball. A: I ve only been playing baseball for a few years. 6. Q: How long have you been a teacher? A: fifteen years. Write some questions using How long...? Then ask your partner the questions. 1. How long _? 2. How long _? 3. How long _? 4. How long _? 5. How long _?
F - Express Yourself Enthusiasm Lack of Enthusiasm I m absolutely crazy about... I can t live without... It s not my kind of thing. I just love......is my life. I m not really into... I can t get enough of......is my passion I can t stand... I m really into... I can take it or leave it. 1 Complete the sentences with your own ideas. 1. I m crazy about. 2. I can t get enough of. 3. is my life. 4. _ is not my kind of thing. 5. I can t stand. 6. I m not really into. 2 Fill in the answers for yourself. Then ask two more students. What do you feel about... You Student 1 Student 2 your favorite band? heavy metal music? comic books? sports? video games? studying English? television? computers? 3 Writing Write a short paragraph about your interests..
TALK ABOUT PASTIMES, PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS, ENTHUSIASM Final Discussion 1. What did you think of the topics in this unit? 2. What new words have you learned? 3. What would you like to study further? Project Work Prepare a presentation on this topic: My Interests. Go to http://college-englishmag.com to print the presentation preparation worksheet. Review Secret Passions Puzzle Read the clues to solve the puzzle. 1 2 3 4 5 6 8 9 11 IN THIS UNIT YOU: 1. talked about Secret Passions 2. reviewed present perfect continuous 3. practiced expressing enthusiasm 7 10 12 13 14 At college-englishmag.com you can find plenty more exercises and activities to practice this English. 15 16 Across Down 4. He's totally with her. He can't stop thinking about her. 5. At the weekend I like to out in the park. 6. At soccer games the crowd show their by cheering and chanting. 10. Very unusual and strange. 12. My secret is collecting toy trains. 13. I like to old comic books. I have hundreds of them. 14. I just can't jazz music. 15. Hobby. 16. I've been playing soccer I was a kid. 1. He's always playing video games - he's such a computer. 2. These are very old, precious comic books. They're items. 3. I'm not into it. It's not really my kind of. 7. At the weekend I like to let my down. 8. People. 9. My secret is stamp collecting. 11. Sport is a good way to blow off. 13. I'm absolutely about jazz dance.