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Collecting as a hobby IELTS reading passage
Collecting as a hobby
There are many forms of collecting that come with a technical name. An arctophile collects teddy bears, a philatelist collects postage stamps, and a deltiologist collects postcards. Gathering hundreds and thousands of postcards, chocolate wrapper and others, takes much time, energy and money that will end-up in using your productivity. Although there are millions of collectors over there throughout the world. Why do they do it?
Some become collectors because they want to make money, those are meant as an instrumental reason for collecting, that means to an end. These collectors were looking for antiques which they could buy cheaply and sell for a profit. It has a psychological element too, buying cheap and selling it high gives them a triumph feel. Also, selling it online is more easy, that makes most of the people joining in.
Many become collectors to get into the social life, attend meetings with other collectors, exchange facts about the collection. This is similar while joining a club or gym which gathers like-minded people and develops connections. Another motive to collect the items is the desire to find special items or any specific reason with the collected item like a rare recording of a famous singer.
Some people may spend their whole life hunting for rare or unique items. By seeing psychologically it gives a purpose for one’s life or else it’s aimless. It also has a negative effect, if they only concentrate on what they look for instead of celebrating the success, they will end-up feeling empty which makes them lose the focus on the goal.
If you think about the collection of postage stamps, the main reason and the result of collecting is, it gives educational value. Collecting postage stamps will give a great opportunity to know about the different countries, plants, animals or famous people that are in the stamps.
In the 19th century, many of them collected fossils, animals and plants across the globe. Those collections provided a great knowledge about the natural world. Only with those collections, our understanding towards it developed.
A popular form of collecting, trainspotting was particularly made by boys and men in the past and even nowadays to some extent. It is something that involves exploring every locomotive of the particular type with the published data which is identified by each person, and checking off each engine after seeing it. These people exchange information through mobile phones these days, so they can plan accordingly to see a particular engine. As a by-product, they gain more knowledge about the railway operations or the technical aspects of each type of the engines.
Similarly, the doll collectors go beyond not only collecting, they develop an interest with the making of the dolls and the materials used in it. Back in the 16th century, in Europe the wooden dolls were standard, in later centuries it turned into wax and porcelain and now it became plastic. Also collectors are inspired in knowing how dolls reflect what children think or ought to like.
Not all collectors will be interested in learning from their hobby, though as a psychological reason it gives a sense of control and helps with dealing with insecurity. For instance, stamp collectors arrange their stamps in albums neatly and organise it based on certain principles such as countries in alphabetical order, or grouping it based on the people, birds, and so on.
It might be done consciously or not, the one reason why someone chooses to collect is to show their individualism. For instance, someone who decides to collect dog collars conveys that they themselves are interesting to know. Believe it or not, there is at least one dog collar museum that existed as it started as a personal collection.
It’s known that all hobbies give pleasure, but in collecting the common factor is passion. In collecting, people will get more personal satisfaction and also seek attention than performing any other hobbies, and here pleasure plays a mild role. For non-collectors it may look like an eccentric way of spending time, but really collecting involves a lot in it.
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Collecting as a hobby IELTS reading questions
Questions (1-6)
Complete the sentences below
Choose ONE WORD ONLY from the passage for each answer
- The writer specifies the collection of _____________ as one of the examples for making money.
- By buying and selling items, collectors will get a feeling of _________________.
- Joining clubs makes the collectors get the opportunity to improve _____________.
- Collecting special items may turn into a lifetime _______________.
- Collection of stamps provide __________ about different countries.
- A hobby mostly done by male is _________.
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Questions (7-11)
Do the following statements match the information with the passage?
Write
TRUE if the statement agrees with the views of the writer
FALSE if the statement contradicts the views of the writer
NOT GIVEN if it is impossible to say what the writer thinks about this
7. Throughout the centuries a number of people started buying dolls.
8. European dolls in the 16th century were made with wax.
9. The less common method in the stamp collection is arranging the stamps by size.
10. The collectors of the unusual items want to show them as unusual11. Unlike any other hobby, collecting will inspire you.
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Questions (12-15)
Choose the correct letter, a, b, c or d
12. What did they collect in the 19th century?
- Dolls
- Stamps
- Fossils, animals, plants
- Antiques
13. Who collects the postage stamps?
- Trainspotters
- Philatelist
- Hunters
- None of the above
14. How does collecting negatively affect?
- Showing individualism
- Getting personal satisfaction
- Feeling empty
- Seeking attention
15. What do they do beyond collecting with their hobby?
- Learn from their hobby
- Organise it
- Start museum
- Check off the activities
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Collecting as a hobby IELTS reading answers
1. Antique
2. Triumph
3. Facts
4. Hunt
5. Education
6. Trainspotting
7. Not given
8. False
9. Not Given
10. True
11. True
12. C
13. B
14. C
15. A
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