Salute to Sir Churchill, a world leader and a Nobel prize laureate in literature
Salute to people who made, organized, and put this stuff online and New English Concept 4 and its lectures on Youtube
46. Hobbies — Churchill
Who, according to the author, are ‘Fortune’s favored children’?
A gifted American psychologist has said, ‘Worry is a spasm of the emotion; the mind catches hold of something and will not let it go.’ It is useless to argue with the mind in this condition. The stronger the will, the more futile the task. One can only gently insinuate something else into its convulsive grasp. And if this something else is rightly chosen, if it is really attended by the illumination of another field of interest, gradually, and often quite swiftly, the old undue grip relaxes and the process of recuperation and repair begins.
The cultivation of a hobby and new forms of interest is therefore a policy of the first importance to a public man. But this is not a business that can be undertaken in a day or swiftly improvised by mere command of the will. The growth of alternative mental interests is a long process. The seeds must be carefully chosen; they must fall on good ground; they must be sedulously tended, if the vivifying fruits are to be at hand when needed.
To be really happy and really safe, one ought to have at least two or three hobbies, and they must all be real. It is no use starting late in life to say: ‘I will take an interest in this or that.’ Such an attempt only aggravates the strain of mental effort. A man may acquire great knowledge of topics unconnected with his daily work, and yet get hardly any benefit or relief. It is no use doing what you like; you have got to like what you do. Broadly speaking, human beings may be divided into three classes: those who are toiled to death, those who are worried to death, and those who are bored to death. It is no use offering the manual laborer, tired out with a hard week’s sweat and effort the chance of playing a game of football or baseball on Saturday afternoon. It is no use inviting the politician or the professional or business man, who has been working or worrying about serious things for six days, to work or worry about trifling things at the weekend.
As for the unfortunate people who can command everything they want, who can gratify every caprice and lay their hands on almost every object of desire — for them a new pleasure a new excitement is only an additional satiation. In vain they rush frantically round from place to place, trying to escape from avenging boredom by mere clatter and motion. For them discipline in one form or another is the most hopeful path.
It may also be said that rational, industrious, useful human beings are divided into two classes: first, those whose work is work and whose pleasure is pleasure; and secondly, those whose work and pleasure are one. Of these the former are the majority. They have their compensations. The long hours in the office or the factory bring with them as their reward, not only the means of sustenance, but a keen appetite for pleasure even in its simplest and most modest forms. But Fortune’s favored children belong to the second class. Their life is a natural harmony. For them the working hours are never long enough. Each day is a holiday, and ordinary holidays, when they come, are grudged as enforced interruptions in an absorbing vocation. Yet to both classes, the need of an alternative outlook, of a change of atmosphere, of a diversion of effort, is essential. Indeed, it may well be that those whose work is their pleasure are those who most need the means of banishing it at intervals from their minds.
psychologist
psyche
psychosis
psychiatric
Charles was suffering from a psychiatric disorder.
psychoneurosis
futile
a futile attempt / effort
a futile attempt to save the paintings from the flames.
My efforts to go back to sleep proved futile.
it is futile to do something
It was futile to continue the negotiations.
Actions or activities that are useless
pointless / futile / useless
insinuate: imply
insinuate that
Are you insinuating that the money was stolen?
To gradually gain someone’s love, trust etc by pretending to be friendly and sincere.
He managed to insinuate his way into her affections.
insinuate yourself into something
He insinuated himself into his confidence.
convulsive
a convulsive effort
convulsive rage
a convulsive movement of the muscles
illuminate
With the deepest gratitude I wish to thank every person who has come into my life and inspired, touched, and illuminated me through their presence.
lumin = light
lumen = light (Latin)
luminance
luminescence
luminosity
luminary
Now that a new light shone upon the horizon, this older luminary paled in the west. — Sister Carrie
sedulous
sed, sess, sid, sit = sit
situate
subsidy
sedative
sedimentary
Quotations
Knowledge is power.
Awareness of ignorance is the beginning of wisdom. —
Familiar notions are often those least examined.
Mutual ignorance breeds mutual distrust
Genius is 1 percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration.
Such is the opinion of (remark made by) one of the great man.
This view (remark) has been shared (confirmed) time and again by more and more people (many historical events).
Worry
I am getting itchy about it.
I feel on edge just before the interview.
I am so nervous I cannot see straight.
He got nervous and sweaty.
You are too uptight. = I am a nervous wreck.
I am on pins and needles waiting for the results.
Do not worry
Do not take it too hard.
Do not let it get to you.
Do not panic.
Do not sweat it.
Do not overreact.
It is not worth losing sleep over.
Do not dwell on it.
Put it behind you.
Why torture yourself?
Do not worry. There is still next year. (an encouragement to redeem themselves next year. )
The pianist forgot his music and had to improvise (the accompaniment).
I must improvise with him because of his great size. — The old man and the sea – Ernest Hemingway
Hobby
A. Do you have any hobbies? What is it or what are they?
B. I am interested in watching TV or other relaxing games.
A. How do you spend your spare time?
B. I usually read or do some sports.
A. What kind of book are you interested in?
B. My favorite books are those about detectives.
A. Well, those books are really good. I like them too. Do you think you are introverted or extroverted?
B. In fact, I wouldn’t call myself extroverted. Sometimes I enjoy being by myself very much. but other times, I like sharing activities with others too, especially during these last few years.
A. What kind of sports do you like?
B. I like almost all sports, and I enjoy both playing and watching. I especially like tennis and mountain climbing.
A. What kind of personality do you think you have?
B. Well, I approach things very enthusiastically, I think, and I don’t like to leave anything half-done. It makes me nervous — I can’t concentrate on anything else until the first thing is finished.
classification
There are three kinds of book owners. The first has all the standards sets and best-sellers — unread, untouched. The second has a great many books — a few of them read through, most of them dipped into, but all of them as clean and shiny as the day they were bought. The third has a few books or many — every one of them dog-eared and dilapidated, shaken and loosened by continual use, marked and scribbled in from front to back.
topic
Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? People should sometimes do things they do not enjoy doing. Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer.
When we are children, we constantly complain about having to do things that we do not want to do, like doing homework or taking out the garbage. As we grow older and become more mature, we start to see that sometimes we have to do things in life that we really do not enjoy doing. After we grow up, we have to do things we do not want to do sometimes because we take on responsibilities and we might also learn about something new that can enhance our lives.
As a member of a family, a group of friends, a team or company, people have obligations and responsibilities that they cannot ignore. For example, if a couple gets married and plan spending their lives together, they have to realize that being in love is not the only requirement for a happy and fruitful life. Unless they are born rich or win the lottery, they will have to work. Traditionally, the husband is responsible for providing food and a place to live, not to mention extras like a TV and a car. If the husband gets tired of working, should he just quit? Especially, if the couple has a child, the husband must find the strength to continue working in order to fulfill his obligations and responsibilities to his family.
In addition, we can learn something new by doing something that we do not want to do. There might be a bright side to doing things that we do not want to do. For example, if you are working in an office, doing boring, routine, but easy tasks day after day, it will probably become hard to bear. However, a situation might come along where you are asked to do something different outside of your regular duties. Maybe you work in the accounting department, and the marketing department needs help on something. Though you do not want to do the extra work, you may discover a strong interest in marketing that you can develop and make part of your career. In this way, by doing something that you initially do not want to do, you may learn of an interest that you were not aware of.
Having to do things that we do not want to do is a normal part of human life, whether as a child or an adult. We have to accept this situation as adults because as we grow older, we take on more responsibilities, such as a family. Additionally, having to do something we do not enjoy might turn out to be a benefit by teaching us something new and interesting that we were unaware of. For these two reasons, we should accept the fact that we sometimes have to do things we do not want to do.