Speaker 1: Ah, Welcome to Spotlight. I'm Andrew Davis.
Speaker 2: And I'm Alice Irasari. Spotlight uses a special English method
Speaker 2: of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand no
Speaker 2: matter where in the world they live.
Speaker 1: Todd Hinson works with computers in the information technology field.
Speaker 1: He has done this for almost forty years. It is
Speaker 1: a stressful job. He manages many big projects. He often
Speaker 1: works late at night and on week ends. He must
Speaker 1: finish projects when they are due. When he finishes work,
Speaker 1: he needs to rest. His favorite way to have fun
Speaker 1: is to play tennis. He is a good tennis player.
Speaker 1: He enjoys competing against other players. He also joins tennis
Speaker 1: groups to work on certain skills. He practices to improve
Speaker 1: his weaknesses. Hinson escapes the pressures of his job through tennis.
Speaker 1: Tennis makes him happy. Tennis is his hobby.
Speaker 2: Today's Spotlight is about hobbies. Hobbies are fun activities that
Speaker 2: people pursue outside of their main work. Hobbies are meant
Speaker 2: for enjoyment and inspiration. Sometimes people pick a hobby in
Speaker 2: an area that already interests them. They might enjoy finding things,
Speaker 2: so they start collecting unique postage stamps. Stamps are small
Speaker 2: labels that prove postage was paid to cover the cost
Speaker 2: of sending the letter or package. One woman may like
Speaker 2: working with her hands. She starts carving wooden statues or
Speaker 2: making clothing with woolen yarn.
Speaker 1: Sometimes people try something completely new. A friend might encourage
Speaker 1: him to join a cooking class, or he might want
Speaker 1: to learn how to brew beer. Others learn how to
Speaker 1: play a new sport like golf. Some go to writing classes.
Speaker 1: Some take lessons to learn how to play music.
Speaker 2: Hobbyists often make friends with others in clubs or classes.
Speaker 2: These friends share the same passion. Often these new friendships
Speaker 2: last a long time because of the bond their hobby created.
Speaker 2: A man named Mark joined a photography club. He had
Speaker 2: taken pictures with his camera for years, but he always
Speaker 2: worked alone. He wanted to learn more. He was very
Speaker 2: nervous on the first day of the photography club. He
Speaker 2: was scared to walk into the room. He did not
Speaker 2: think he would be as good as the other photographers
Speaker 2: in the club. But by the end of the night
Speaker 2: he made a few new friends. He even planned to
Speaker 2: take pictures that weekend with one of his new friends.
Speaker 2: The hobby blog I'm Coming says.
Speaker 3: Hobbies are better when shared. Research shows that seventy five
Speaker 3: percent of hobbyists make at least one new friend through
Speaker 3: their activities. Why because shared passions give a natural foundation
Speaker 3: for building connections. When you are doing something you love,
Speaker 3: speech comes easy, relationships grow naturally.
Speaker 1: Hobbies can improve physical health. A man named James struggled
Speaker 1: with back pain for years. He tried different medical treatments
Speaker 1: without improvement. He felt helpless. He gave up hope, but
Speaker 1: then he tried a new hobby called yoga. Yoga combines stretching,
Speaker 1: breathing techniques, and different body positions to improve a person's
Speaker 1: overall well being. James started slowly with yoga. He did
Speaker 1: not believe it would help, but he kept doing it.
Speaker 1: He learned different breathing techniques that allowed him to manage
Speaker 1: his pain. Instead of resisting his discomfort, he learned to
Speaker 1: focus his mind on managing it. He became mentally strong.
Speaker 1: He began seeing his physical pain as just another part
Speaker 1: of life that he could deal with. His back pain
Speaker 1: was no longer an overwhelming obstacle. James grew stronger at
Speaker 1: every yoga session. Yoga reduced his stress. It made him
Speaker 1: feel like he was in control of his body. For
Speaker 1: the first time in years. His mobility and enthusiasm increased.
Speaker 1: He returned to favorite activities he had given up because
Speaker 1: of his pain.
Speaker 2: Hobbies also improve mental health. Hobbies such as learning a
Speaker 2: new language, playing chess games, or finishing word puzzles involve
Speaker 2: problems solving. Hobbyists must learn new skills to succeed. These
Speaker 2: hobbies sharpen and strengthen brains. This is especially important for
Speaker 2: older people. Sometimes mental abilities decline. If an older person
Speaker 2: exercises their brain, their memory and attention may improve. Doctor
Speaker 2: Lee Jong studied the brains of older adults.
Speaker 4: She said, we encourage older adults to play a musical
Speaker 4: instrument or to learn a new language. We want them
Speaker 4: to exercise regularly. They need to pursue other hobbies that
Speaker 4: can strengthen mental abilities and slow age related decline.
Speaker 1: Grandma Moses lived and worked on a farm for most
Speaker 1: of her life. When she was old, she moved in
Speaker 1: with her daughter. She started to paint pictures. She managed
Speaker 1: to sell a few paintings at a local store for
Speaker 1: a little money. Then an art collector saw them and
Speaker 1: loved Moses' simple, yet unique style. Moses used bold colours
Speaker 1: to show American farm life the paintings reminded the collector
Speaker 1: of simpler times long ago. He bought all of them
Speaker 1: and went to her house and bought ten more paintings.
Speaker 1: Moses' paintings were then shown in museums and galleries. By
Speaker 1: the time she died, each of Moses's paintings cost eight
Speaker 1: to ten thousand dollars.
Speaker 2: Sometimes a person has no choice but to start a
Speaker 2: new hobby. Emily Kim is from South Korea. When she
Speaker 2: moved to America, she could not find any businesses that
Speaker 2: served Korean food. In her She started making Korean food
Speaker 2: and giving it to Korean friends. They loved it. Her
Speaker 2: cooking became very popular. She began publishing Korean food cooking
Speaker 2: videos on YouTube. She now has over five million subscribers
Speaker 2: on YouTube. She also wrote and published a cookbook with
Speaker 2: her Korean recipes.
Speaker 1: One of the best hobbies that anyone can do is
Speaker 1: help others. A person can use his passion and skills
Speaker 1: with a particular hobby as a way of helping someone else.
Speaker 1: Someone who loves gardening can help with community gardening projects
Speaker 1: in local areas. A cook can help in kitchens that
Speaker 1: support homeless people. A teacher can help tutor students who
Speaker 1: need extra help.
Speaker 2: Hobbies provide rest and inspiration. Hobbies give opportunities to help others.
Speaker 2: They create friendships. On the worst days, hobbies offer something
Speaker 2: to look forward to On the best days, they change
Speaker 2: their lives.
Speaker 1: Do you have a hobby? How long have you been
Speaker 1: doing it? Have you heard of any of the hobbies
Speaker 1: mentioned in this program. You can leave a comment on
Speaker 1: our website at www dot Spotlight English dot Com. Can
Speaker 1: also find us on YouTube, Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, and x
Speaker 1: You can also get our programs delivered directly to your
Speaker 1: Android or Apple device through our free official Spotlight English app.
Speaker 2: The writer of this program was Peter Anderson. The producer
Speaker 2: was Michyo Osaki. The voices you heard were from the
Speaker 2: United Kingdom and the United States. All quotes were adapted
Speaker 2: for this program and voiced by Spotlight. No AI or
Speaker 2: artificial intelligence was used in this program. Spotlight programs are written, voiced,
Speaker 2: and produced by real people for real people, no matter
Speaker 2: where in the world they live. This program is called
Speaker 2: Hobbies Make Us Happy.
Speaker 1: We hope you can join us again for the next
Speaker 1: Spotlight program. Goodbye,