ESL Podcast 889 – Taking Up a New Hobby

 　　Eric: Who were you talking to on the phone?

　　Melissa: My mother. I was commiserating¹ with her about Dad’s retirement².

　　Eric: Your father retired³ two months ago. That was a good thing, right?

　　Melissa: Well, it’s good that he doesn’t have to work anymore, but he’s driving my mother up the wall. He putters around the house and gets in her way. She retired last year, so she’s had a year to establish her new routine. He’s still kind of lost.

　　Eric: Why doesn’t he take up a hobby? That would give him something interesting to occupy his time.

　　Melissa: Believe me, my mother has tried to interest him in gardening, woodworking, and even scrapbooking, but nothing has worked.

　　Eric: Those sound too sedentary for somebody as active as your father. How about encouraging him to take up bird watching or golf?

　　Melissa: He wouldn’t be interested in those hobbies. I think he needs something more challenging, maybe playing chess or doing genealogy⁴. Maybe he could even learn to play a musical instrument.

　　Eric: Maybe your Dad just needs time to find his footing again. Given time, he’ll figure out what he wants to do with his newfound free time.

　　Melissa: Maybe. But what does my mother do in the meantime?

　　Eric: She can take up a new hobby, too – out of the house!

　　Script by Dr. Lucy Tse

1 commiserating   

v.怜悯，同情( commiserate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Tigress, far from commiserating, offered her a loan (repayable later on) to make herself more presentable. 虎妞不但不安慰小福子，反倒愿意帮她的忙：虎妞愿意拿出点资本，教她打扮齐整，挣来钱再还给她。 来自汉英文学 - 骆驼祥子
• Were they commiserating or comparing notes? 他们是在同病相怜还是在合对口供？ 来自电影对白

2 retirement   

n.退休，退职

参考例句：

• She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
• I have to put everything away for my retirement.我必须把一切都积蓄起来以便退休后用。

3 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

4 genealogy   

n.家系，宗谱

参考例句：

• He had sat and repeated his family's genealogy to her,twenty minutes of nonstop names.他坐下又给她细数了一遍他家族的家谱，20分钟内说出了一连串的名字。
• He was proficient in all questions of genealogy.他非常精通所有家谱的问题。