The British spend their free time in different ways. People generally use it to relax, but many people also do voluntary work, especially for charities.

IV. Read the text carefully, then do the tasks.

The British spend their free time in different ways. People generally use it to relax, but many people also do voluntary work, especially for charities.
A lot of free time is spent in the home, where the most popular leisure activity is watching television, the average viewing time being 25 hours per week. Reading is also a favourite way of spending leisure time. The British spend a lot of time reading newspapers and magazines. In the summer gardening is popular, and in winter it is often replaced by ‘do-it-yourself’, when people spend time improving or repairing their homes.

Some leisure activities are mostly or entirely social. Inviting friends for a drink or a meal at home is the most usual one. Sometimes people join friends for a drink in a pub, or have dinner in a restaurant.
The extra time available at weekends means that some leisure activities, many of them to do with sport, normally take place only then. Traditional spectator sports includefootball, cricket, horse racing, motor racing and motorcycle racing. Popular forms of exercise are swimming, tennis, ice skating or roller-skating, cycling, climbing, and hill or country walking.

Families often have a ‘day out’ at the weekend, especially in summer, with a visit to a local event such as a festival, fair or show. Young people especially go to clubs and discos, while people of all ages go to the theatre, the cinema, art exhibitions and concerts.

A. Decide whether the following sentences are true (T) or false (F).

1. Many British people use their free time to help people in need.
2. In the summer, the British prefer indoor activities.
3. All free time activities are individual activities.
4. Most British people watch or do sports at the weekend.
5. Sometimes people go with their friends to a pub or restaurant.
6. British young people don’t like going to the movies.
   B. Answer the questions.
7. What’s the most popular free time activity in the UK?
8. How many hours a week do the British watch TV?
9. In winter, what do the British often do in their spare time?
10. Which sports do many British people enjoy watching?

V. Rewrite the second sentence so that it has a similar meaning to the first one

1.My house is smaller than your house.
→ Your house ……………………………………………………………….
2.I love listening to music.
→ I like…………………………………………………………………………
3.The black dress is more expensive than the white one.
→ The white dress …………………………………………………………
4.No one in my group is more intelligent than Mary.
→ Mary ……………………………………………………………………….

A. Decide whether the following sentences are true (T) or false (F).

1. Many British people use their free time to help people in need. T
2. In the summer, the British prefer indoor activities. F
3. All free time activities are individual activities. F
4. Most British people watch or do sports at the weekend. F
5. Sometimes people go with their friends to a pub or restaurant. T
6. British young people don’t like going to the movies. F

B. Answer the questions.

1. What’s the most popular free time activity in the UK? Watching television is the most popular free time activity in the UK, with an average viewing time of 25 hours per week.
2. How many hours a week do the British watch TV? The British watch an average of 25 hours of television per week.
3. In winter, what do the British often do in their spare time? In the winter, the British often do ‘do-it-yourself’ activities, such as repairing or improving their homes.
4. Which sports do many British people enjoy watching? Many British people enjoy watching traditional spectator sports such as football, cricket, horse racing, motor racing, and motorcycle racing.