Describe a leisure activity (a game, hobby, or sport) that is popular in your country.
You should say:- what this activity is
- where people usually do it
- why people enjoy doing this activity
and explain what you like/dislike about this activity.
[You will have to talk about the topic for one to two minutes. You have one minute to think about what you're going to say. You can make some notes to help you if you wish.]
Model Answer 1:
There are a number of leisure activities in Canada, my native country, and people there get involved with these leisurely activities to enjoy their times with friends and families. But, as far as my leisurely activity is concerned, I like to play basketball.
Basketball is a rather popular leisurely activity in Canada since people from all walks of life and from all over Canada like to get involved with it in order to pass their times, be it on the weekdays or the weekends. However, even though this sport is enjoyed by people from all walks of life, it is more popular among the college and university going young people.
Anyway, to explain a little about this sport, basketball is a low-cost game which can be played either alone or in a team. In professional basketball, two teams, consisting of 5 players each, play against each other in a rectangular court, usually indoors. Each team tries to score by tossing the ball through the opponent's goal, which is an elevated horizontal hoop and net called a “basket”. Of course, this sport can also be played in the front yard of a house if people just want to have fun and pass their time with their friends and families. After all, this leisurely activity doesn’t exactly require a large space.
But, whether it is played alone or in a team, people actually enjoy doing this leisurely activity because it is a rather easy and fun way of passing time which doesn’t exactly require too much efforts or time.
Finally, what I really like about this leisurely activity or sport is that it is a low-maintenance game. In fact, all you need to enjoy this activity is a ball, a net and the little amount of energy to throw the ball into the basket. What I also like about this sport is that I can actually play it with my friends and my families in our privacy just in the frontyard or backyard of my home.
Model Answer 2:
At present, people in my country can enjoy more leisurely hours than at any time in the past. So, people have taken up a good number of different pastime activities which they enjoy a lot.
Interestingly, playing video games is a popular leisure activity among the people in my country. This activity is more popular among teenagers and young people. Almost every house in our country contains different electronic devices and gadgets, and playing digital games are becoming hugely popular with the increasing use of smartphones.
Usually, people play video games inside their home and on their personal device. Sometimes, they play games on their mobile phones and other times, they connect their gaming gadgets to a large-screen television and play games on their TV. Some of the games are available for specialised gaming devices like Xbox or PlayStation. However, it is not uncommon for many young people to play such games while they are travelling or sitting somewhere outside especially because they carry their phones and tabloids wherever they go.
I believe spending too much time playing video games can be detrimental while playing it once in a while to enjoy and learn could be beneficial. So some people like it, particularly those who play them, while many parents are worried that their offspring spend too much time playing electronic games on their devices. Since digital games are often addictive, they can be harmful to young students as they might find playing games more fascinating than concentrating on their studies and that's one aspect I dislike about this activity. However, if good games are selected and played, it could help young people learn new things, which I consider a great way for cognitive development at a young age.
Finally, such games are a good way of spending leisure time, but it is also true that spending too much time playing such electronic games are never beneficial as they kill valuable time and dissuade people from having other important social activities.
Personally, I am not against playing video games, but they should be played sensibly.
Model Answer 3:
Thank you so much for this nice topic. In Ukraine, my homeland, boxing is a popular form of sport and people take part in it during their leisure hours. This is an exciting sport as the sports galleries get filled with spectators during the boxing matches. Moreover, the number of supporters of this sport is increasing day by day.
Boxing is mostly an indoor sport and particularly participated by men. This is mostly held in indoor venues, and a notable number of indoor venues are available in our country. Sometimes, young women also take parts in it and enjoy it as much as men's do.
Sometimes, it becomes quite hard to manage tickets during international matches. People try to get their tickets in advance so that they do not need to wait in queues prior to the match. These days, the number of such events is on the rise. The local boxers are performing very well in different international matches as well.
For several reasons, people enjoy boxing matches in our country. First, it contains so many elements to thrill the audience. The audiences eagerly wait for the contestant to be the winner they support. The boxers try to demonstrate their best during the matches. Moreover, many national and international brands and businesses advertise their products through sponsorship of this sport.
I like several aspects of this popular leisurely activity. But I don't like it absolutely. Sometimes, the boxers get severely injured with the blow from the opponent. And often the injuries lead to minor to major disabilities which seems quite crazy to me.
Idea generation for this Cue Card topic:
"Describe a leisure activity (a game, hobby, or sport) that is popular in your country."People love spending leisurely hours doing things that they feel passionate about and accordingly have invented numerous activities for that. Here are a couple of other hints to answer this cue card in a different way. Hope you will get the necessary ideas in developing an answer for this cue card topic.
1. Skydiving in our country is an exciting leisurely activity. A notable number of people take part in this adventurous pursuit. Due to its thrilling nature, it has occupied the list of most popular free-time activities among people in our country. It is popular among adult and young people alike.
2. Denver, in the USA, is a heaven for rock climbers and rock climbing is gaining its momentum these days. In fact, a large number of climbers crowd in this city to climb on rocky shelves. Professional assistance in rock climbing is also available here. This has become a popular leisurely activity in past decades.
3. Japanese people love to play badminton, and this game has gained huge popularity. Professional players participate in different types of national and international badminton competitions. But people mostly play badminton to enjoy their time, do some sort of exercise and spend their leisure hours effectively.
4. Swimming is one of the most popular free-time activities in India. People love swimming and many modern swimming pools, as well as natural rivers and ponds, are available across the country. Many people take part in it as their daily ritual which is quite interesting and unique to our culture. People of all ages do this whenever they feel like doing it.
5. Kite flying is a form of competitive sport and one of the most popular pastime activities in China. People often arrange huge events to fly kites and this gives the area a festive mode. They have invented various types of kites and when they fly their kites in the sky, it looks amazing. In fact, kite flying is a traditional pastime for the Chinese people and I like it very much.
6. Americans love camping. It is an outdoor activity which is one of the favourite pastime activities for people. People take the camping equipment and use tents to stay out for two or three nights consecutively. It is most popular among young people who love outdoor adventures. The thrill of camping, cooking food, staying in nature and sleeping under the open sky is so addictive that some people do it often. I like it due to the sheer excitement it offers.
7. Playing lawn tennis is an entertaining activity for the Vietnamese people and perhaps one of the most popular pastime activities for them. They love participating in Tennis. They mostly prefer lawn tennis to table tennis. In fact, after a hefty day, they want relaxation and tennis is perfect for that. It also allows people to spend some quality time with their dear ones.
8. Brazilians love to enjoy their leisure time, and enjoying cinemas in a theatre is a popular activity in Brazil. Many people visit theatres to enjoy a movie in small or large groups. Perhaps this is the only activity that people do so passionately and regularly.