Реферат: Leisure time

— What do you usually do in your leisure time?

— Unfortunately, as I have not had much free time this year, I havedone my best to spend it wisely. It is known, that people can do all kinds ofthings in their spare time. They go shopping, play football, collect records orstamps. Of course, some of the time activities, like visiting relatives ortaking driving lessons, may not be fun. In big cities people spend their freetime by going to the theatre, cinema, museums, art galleries, concert hall,fitness or disco clubs. When I have some free time I can choose any of them.But when the weather is fine, I like to go for a walk along the boulevards andstreets of the city with my friends, enjoying its architecture.

— A re you fond of collecting anything?

— No, I am not. I have not enough time to collect anything. Myfriend collects coins. His collection is rather rich. Coins of differentcountries are gathered there. Moreover, he has a lot of books devoted tonumismatics and albums picturing the coin collections of different museums.

— What do you think about it?

— Everyone has the right to collect various, even the most unusualthings, if it gives sense to his or her life. People collect paintings, stamps,match boxes, bottles, cans, buttons, books, etc. I know that girls are fond ofcollecting dolls. Some of them do not give it up even when they are of age. Intheir spare time people can read books, listen to their favourite music, invitetheir friends to a cafe or a park, or watch TV. Watching TV is also a popularleisure activity. Sometimes it is pleasant to be entertained without leavingthe apartment. But excessive TV watching deprives a person of his initiative.Very often TV addicts are governed by television.

— Do you have the same problems?

— No, I don't. We turn on our television to watch only selectedprogrammes. In my leisure time I read books, go to the theatre or cinema.

— Do you like to go to the theatre?

— Yes, I do.

— Do you often go to the theatre?

— No, I do not. I do not often go to the theatre. If I have achance, I prefer to go to the Bolshoi Theatre, Mali Theatre or Art Theatre. Ilike conventional rendering of the classical ballets, op eras and plays. Thetradition of Russian realist theatre was exemplified in the work of KonstantinStanislavsky of the Moscow Art Theatre. The leading theatre companies of balletare the Bolshoi in Moscow and Mariinsky in St. Petersburg. Russian ballet had aformative role in Western dance through a number of figures, such as SergeyDiaghilev and Vaslav Nijinsky.

— Do you like ballet?

— Yes, I do. Once saw a ballet «Giselle». The performancewith its beautiful music, designs and cast was perfect. My concentration andenjoyment were intense. I also saw some new ballets with music from«outerspace», with dancers resembling mysteriously lit sculpturalimages, and severely geometrical de signs, and I can not say that I delightedin them. I prefer classical performances.

— What do you expect when you go to the theatre?

— When I go to the theatre I expect more than just fun of it. I wantto see some actors I've heard of or a new version of the classical play.Recently I've seen the theatrical adaptation of Oscar Wilde's «Picture ofDorian Gray». It is excellent. If you want a thought provoking evening atthe theatre, that's the one you want to see. But most of all like to go to thecinema.

— Is it your hobby?

— Yes. It is one of my hobbies.

— What kind of films do you like to see?

— I delight in seeing all kinds of films: comedies, love-stories,thrillers, westerns, war films, and cartoons. I like films if they areexciting. I do not like horror films because of their frightening moments evenif they are superbly made and the acting is marvellous.

— What are your favourite films?

— One time I liked films directed by James Cameron. When I wasyounger I saw his heavy-metal Sci-Fi «Terminator» and«Terminator 2» several times. The special effects were wonderful andimportant to the success of the films. I took pleasure in ferociously exciting«Aliens». I liked his «Titanic» too. «Titanic»was no mere disaster movie. It was an epic love story. Cameron's 'Romeo andJuliet' on a sinking ship became an international sensation.

— What other films have impressed you?

— I was really impressed by two movies — «Gladiator» and«Pearl Harbour». «Gladiator» is a very amazing movie. Wellphotographed and directed it is really the best movie of the past decade. It isreally magnificent. The fight scenes were great, and the characters were welldeveloped. The screenplay is excellent. It is a sweeping story of courage andrevenge. Russell Crowe is fabulous as Maximus. His portrayal of the majorcharacter is superb. His leadership, confidence, skill and heart arepersuasive. In the first minutes, I completely realized the utter devotion thatMaximus secured from his men, and his Caesar. I am actually keen to see itagain, just to catch those things I missed while trying to keep up with it all.I would love to see all those sweeping views of Rome and the wonderful statuesthrough the city. As for «Pearl Harbour», unfortunately it tried tobe a war movie and a love story at the same time, and whilst«Titanic» knew when to stop with the love story and focus on the tragedy,«Pearl Harbour» was not capable of achieving the same distinction. Itdoes not mean that I did not enjoy «Pearl Harbour». I want to saythat the movie had the potential to be so much more than it actually was.

— Do you like to read books?

— Yes, I do. I am fond of reading books.

— What books do you like to read?

— I am fond of science fiction.

— When did this form of fiction develop?

— This form of fiction developed in the 20th century. It deals withthe impact of actual or imagined science upon society or individuals. This termis used to refer to any literary fantasy that includes a scientific factor asan essential orienting component.

— What does such literature consist of?

— It consists of an extrapolation of scientific facts andprinciples, or it incorporates absolutely contradictory facts and principles.In either case, likelihood based on science is a requisite.

— Who were the precursors of the genre?

— In the 18th century they were Voltaire with his«Micromegas», Jonathan Swift with «Gulliver's Travels». Inthe 19th century the precursors of the genre were Mary Shelley with her Gothicnovel «Frankenstein», Robert Louis Stevenson's with his «StrangeCase of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde».

— When did science fiction begin?

— Science fiction began at the end of the 19th century with thescientific romances of Jules Verne, whose science was rather on the level ofinvention, as well as with the science-oriented novels of social criticism ofH.G. Wells. They pioneered what may be properly termed science fiction.

— When did science fiction emerge as a mode of serious fiction?

— With the publication of stories and novels of such writers asIsaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke, and Robert A. Heinlein, science fiction emergedas a mode of serious fiction. Such writers as Aldous Huxley, C.S. Lewis, andKurt Vonnegut, who were not de voted exclusively to science fiction, also addedmuch to it.

— Whose works became paperback best-sellers during the postwarperiod?

— The works of such science-fiction writers of notable merit in thepostwar period as A.E. Van Vogt, J.G. Ballard, Ray Bradbury, Frank Herbert,Harlan Ellison, Poul Anderson, Samuel R. Delany, Ursula K. LeGuin, FrederikPohl, Octavia E. Butler, and Brian Aldiss became paperback best-sellers. Thesewriters' approaches included predictions of future societies on the Earth,analyses of the consequences of interstellar travel, and imaginativeexplorations of forms of intelligent life and their societies in other worlds.Radio, television, and motion pictures have reinforced the popularity of thegenre.

— What were the aims of the science fiction writers?

— Since the days of Wells's «Time Machine» and«Invisible Man», the aims of science fiction were didactic. The worksof contemporary writers opposed the utopianism that Wells built on thepotentialities of socialism and technology. Aldous Huxley's «Brave NewWorld» showed how dangerous utopianism could be, since the desire forsocial stability might overlook techniques that would destroy the fundamentalhuman right to make free choices. Toward the end of his life Huxley produced acautious Utopian vision in «Island», but the dystopian horrors of hisearlier novel and of his «Ape and Essence» remain more convincing.Orwell's «Nineteen Eighty-four» showed a world in which a tyrannicunity is imposed by a collective solipsism, and contradictions are liquidatedthrough the constant revision of history that the controlling party decrees.Anthony Burgess' «Clockwork Orange» and «Wanting Seed»portray ghastly futures that extrapolate, respectively, philosophies of crimecontrol and population control out of present-day tendencies that are onlypotentially dangerous.

— Are there any science-fiction books without prophetic or warningintent?

— The fantasist who fantasizes without prophetic or warning intentis rarer, but works such as Nabokov's «Ada», Tolkien's «Lord ofthe Rings» cycle, and «Christine Brooke-Rose's Out» rep resentlegitimate and heartening stretching of the imagination, assurances that thenovelist has the right to create secondary worlds, as well as characters, ofhis own.

— Who created secondary worlds?

— Only three masters became architects of a complete secondaryworld. The vast Middle Earth trilogy «The Lord of the Rings», byJ.R.R. Tolkien, was not written for children. It reworks many of the motives oftraditional romance and fantasy. It is essentially a structure of sheerinvention. Tolkien's fellow scholar, C.S. Lewis, created his own otherworld ofNarnia. It is more clearly Christian- allegorical, more carefully adapted tothe tastes of children. The seven volumes of the cycle are exciting. And thefinal scenes of «The Last Battle» are deeply moving. The third ofthese classic secondary worlds is in a sense not a creation of fantasy. Thefour volumes about the «Borrowers», with their brief pendant,«Poor Stainless», ask the reader to accept only a singleimpossibility, that in a quiet country house, under the grandfather clock, livethe tiny Clock family: Pod, Homily, and their daughter Arrietty. All thatfollows from this premise is logical, precisely pictured, and carries absoluteconviction. Many critics believe that this miniature world so lovingly, sopatiently fashioned by Mary Norton will last as long as those located at thebottom of the rabbit hole and through the looking glass.

— Is it difficult for a person to have a hobby?

— No, I don't think so. I can say that there are a lot of ways ofspending one's free time. I always have a lot to do in my leisure time. It isgreat to have some free time and do what is really pleasant. 

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