A hobby is a special interest or an activity that people like to do in their free time．Most people in Britain have their own(hobby)．

   Some people train dogs to race or keep pigeons(鸽子)(carry)messages．Some people are crazy about plants．They put many  (kind)of beautiful flowers in their kitchens and living rooms．(other)are mad about their cars or motorbikes．They spend their weekends(wash)them，painting them and trying 

(make)them go faster．Children and teenagers are  (interest)in collecting things．They collect stamps，postcards or pictures of a favourite pop star．

   (learn)something new is also people's hobby．Some people go to evening classes to learn  (dance)，body building，bread making and so on．Some people learn these things by (they)．

    I have been collecting stamps since I was a little kid. I began to collect stamps1I was eight years old. At that time, my mother  2 at an international bank. Every Friday, she 3 home stamps from all the letters she had received during that week. I 4had many pen friends in different countries, and we 5 letters to each other very often. By the 6 I was twelve, I have collected more than l, 000 stamps from fifty different countries! I've7  collecting stamps, but now it's  more  8 . My mother retired(退休) from her job, and my pen friends send me  9 messages instead of letters. The Internet has been very  10  for my stamp collection !

    My parents took me to Japan when I was little. I lived there for five years. 1 I came back, my Japanese was very good. "Can I do something useful with my Japanese?" I asked myself. Then, one day last spring, I got a good opportunity(机会). Everyone was afraid of SARS, so I stayed at home with 2 to do. My father brought me a Japanese book. "Why don't you translate(翻译) it into Chinese? It will be better than 3 computer games all day." I promised(许诺) to do 2000 words each day. But 4 I found it was hard to keep the promise. One day in May, the weather was beautiful. But I couldn't go out. Those 2000 words were still 5 me. After translating only three pages, I already lost interest in the book. I looked at it for a long time. But I couldn't make myself turn the pages. How I 6 I could just go outside and play football with my friends! I counted the words again and again. I just wanted to give up. I felt as if two people were fighting 7 my mind. One said, "Don't give up! Keep working hard and you'll do well!" But then the other one said, "Go and play! It will be more 8 than translating. Do your work tomorrow. I stood up and would 9 the computer. But then I remembered 10 my parents had told me: "Whatever you do, don't stop halfway." So I sat down and went on with it.