With almost all the spare time spent watching television and playing video games, many of today’s children have never experienced the rewards (回馈) of a hobby.

Not long ago, _________ to a large audience, I asked, “How many of you, when you were children, had a hobby?” Nearly everyone _________ their hands. I then asked them to keep their hands in the air if at least one of their children had a hobby. Most of the hands _________ down.

Thirty years ago, almost every kid in my neighborhood had some kind of hobby. Collecting and trading baseball cards was a(n) _________ hobby, as were coin and stamp collecting. One of my friends was into photography. He’s now a well-known _________. Another enjoyed building radios and he’s now an electrical engineer. So you can see, hobbies often _________ lifelong interests, even careers (事业).

Hobbies benefit children in many ways. Because they are _________ of personal achievement and a way of self-discovery, hobbies help build _________. Hobbies are actually educational _________, too. For example, a child who becomes __________ making rockets learns about propulsion (推进力) and aerodynamics (空气动力学). By working on hobbies, children learn to set goals, make __________, and solve all kinds of problems.

Some parents __________ that hobbies will not influence the kids’ lessons positively. However, studies have shown that children with an active hobby __________ do better in school. Hobbies sharpen their focus and open their minds, __________ kids academically (学业上).

In a word, having a hobby outside of school will enrich kids’ lives and can provide many extra benefits you might not be __________ of.