82. Hobbies (Listen and Read)

A lot of people have hobbies.

Hobbies are interesting things that people like to do in their spare time.

My father has a hobby.

He has a model railroad set that he put together.

A tiny electric train runs through make-believe villages

and travels through tunnels and over mountains.

My father also enjoys sailing.

He has a real sailboat that he takes us out on.

He is teaching me how to sail.

I like to collect things.

I collect comic books, stamps and coins.

I trade comic books with some of my friends,

and sometimes I buy comic books at stores.

Some of the very old comic books are worth a lot of money.

I have stamps from all over the world.

Whenever any of my friends get a letter from a faraway place,

they save the stamps for me.

I have stamps from England, Japan, Australia and even Russia.

I use a magnifying glass to look at the stamps,

and I keep them in a special album.

I don't have too many coins yet,

but I have a very old dime from Canada,

and I have a coin with a hole in it from Africa.

My mother used to collect dolls when she was a little girl.

The dolls wore costumes from different countries.

My friend John's hobby is painting.

He does oil painting.

He has even sold some of his paintings.

He is a good artist.

My friend Linda sews.

She has made clothes for herself and some of her friends.

Maybe Linda will be a fashion designer when she gets older.

Sometimes people's hobbies lead them into their careers.