Free time: Relaxation and leisure

1. Some adjective to describe free time and leisure pursuits

rewarding (adj) bổ ích, thỏa mãn
fruitful (adj) tạo kết quả tốt
lucrative (adj) có lợi, sinh lợi
therapeutic (adj) có thể chữa bệnh
relaxing/calming (adj)
time-consuming (adj) tốn nhiều thời gian

_ I enjoyed being secretary of the sports club but it was very time-consuming. I had to give up two evenings a week to do it.
_ I'd like to be on the club committee, but I've heard it's very time-consuming and I don't have a lot of free time.
_ The conversation work I do is very rewarding, I feel I'm doing something good and useful.
_ Doing unpaid work at the hospital has been a rewarding experience for me.
_ Photography has been a lucrative pursuit (nghề nghiệp, hoạt động) for her. She often sells her pictures to magazines.
_ I enjoy selling the pictures I paint, but it's not very lucrative. I only made $300 last year.
_ Painting is such a therapcutic activity. It make me feel good, and teaches me patience.
_ I find writing poetry very therapcutic. It helps me to get a truer understanding of myself and gives me a good feeling inside.
_ Gardening is very relaxing/ calming. It reduce strees levels and calms you down.
_ I've had a fruiful partnership with Jane for serveral years; she plays the piano and I play the violin. It's been very good for both of us.

2. Some informal words describing the way people spend their leisure
_ Bob's real culture vulture; he goes to every theatre and art gallery he can find. (big fan of anything cultural)
_ I'm a bit of a couch potato; I spend hours every day just watching TV. (physically very inactive person)
_ Mary's a bit of dabbler: she does a pastime (trò giải trí) for a couple of weeks, then she gets bored and starts something different. (person who never keeps doing one activity for long)
_ Laura's a shopaholic. She buys all sorts of things she doesn't need. (person addicted (v- say mê, nghiện) to shopping; compare alcoholic; addicted to alcohol)

3. Expressions and collocations connected with involvement in activities
_ Joe is heavily into downhill skiing these days. (informal: takes a great interest in/ is very involved in)
_ My dauthter's into folk music. She buys a lot of folk CDs. (My daughter's extremely interested in folk music)
_ I went off football and I started playing golf instead. (informal: stopped liking/ lost interest in)
_ She locks herself away for hours in front of the computer and surfs (v- lướt sóng) the Internet every night. (isolates herself from the world)
_ He's totally hooked on motor racing these days. (informal: is addicted (adj) to)
_ What do you get up at weekends, Michael? (informal: do)
_ Do you have a hectic social life? Yes, I have a pretty full diary. (a lot of commitments/ activities)