Please please read the following passage twice - slow and fast speed - in two separate recordings - It is from an ESL textbook for 11th graders.
There are a number of things I like to do in my free time. They are my hobbies.
The hobby I like most is playing my guitar. My uncle, who is an accomplished guitarist, taught me how to play. Now I can play a few simple tunes. I have even begun to sing while playing the guitar, but I have not been very successful at this. My uncle tells me that all I need is to practise regularly and I should be able to do it. He is very good at accompanying people singing with his guitar and I admire him very much.
Another hobby of mine is keeping fish. I have a modest little glass fish tank where I keep a variety of little fish. Some of them were bought from the shop while some others were collected from the rice field near my house. They look so beautiful swimming about in the tank. I love watching them and my mother loves watching them, too.
I keep stamps, too. However, I would not call myself an avid stamp collector. Actually, I just collect the stamps from discarded envelopes that my relatives and friends give me. Mostly I get local stamps. Once in a while, I get stamps from places like Russia, the USA, Britain, Australia, China and others. I keep the less common ones inside a small album. The common ones I usually give away to others or if no one wants them I simply throw them away.
There are other hobbies that I indulge in for a while, but they are not as interesting as the ones I’ve been talking about. They really keep me occupied and I am glad I am able to do them.
Thank you very much!