Leisure&Entertainment Reading

Focus on Skills Unit 4: Leisure and Entertainment
Prof. María Estela Medina
E.I.D.I. – Enseñanza Integral de Inglés
EASY DOES IT
RELAXING ISN'T EASY. I know -
I have tried it.
I can see, therefore, why Japan's
Ministry of International Trade
and Industry should want
corporations to have full time
"leisure advisers". It seems an
idea worth copying.
A start should, perhaps, be made
at the very top. Captains of
industry often find it hardest of all
to relax.
Workers at least have the excuse
that they need to protect their job
and pay off the mortgage. Many
tycoons have all the money they
could ever hope to spend. So why
don't they ease up?
Some buy a luxurious yacht, a
beach house, or even an island,
but seldom make use of these
expensive leisure facilities. "I
don't have time for a holiday,"
they insist.
What they usually mean is that
they could find the time, if
pressed, but that they don't want
to.
Some consider themselves so
indispensable that their business
would collapse if they were not
around to supervise every detail.
Some are prisoners of their own
success: they sit on so many
boards of directors, and have
such a heavy schedule of
appointments that they "haven't a
moment to spare."
But more often than not the plain
truth is that they don't know how
to ease up. No one has ever told
them how to do it. You can't be a
frantic executive one day and a
leisurely beachcomber the next:
the contrast is too great. The
bronzed young drifters who make
it look simple have had years of
practice.
Put a captain of industry on a
beach and he tends to get bored
and restless. He misses the pace,
the action. Invite him to play
tennis and he will probably
decline because he fears that he
will look foolish - he prefers to
play games in the office, where
he is a proven winner.
If he has a holiday home, or stays
in a plush hotel, he will be on the
telephone six times a day, doing
what he does best. Relaxing is for
wimps.
So what can a "leisure adviser"
do for him - or, increasingly, her?
The basic task is to change
attitudes, and gradually to
introduce him to various leisure
activities.
Some experts believe in playing
what is known as the "fear card".
The executive is warned of the
risk of "burnout" and told that, if
he doesn't take care of his health,
the business will suffer. Does he
realise what it would cost if he
had to go into hospital? More,
much more than a holiday. That is
the bottom line.
But I believe in a more positive
approach. A good start is to
persuade him that holidays are a
"psychological investment", and
that it is perfectly feasible to

combine business with pleasure.
This has to be done step by step:
the cold turkey treatment is rarely
effective.
They can take work with them. (A
recent survey by the Hyatt
Corporation showed that nearly
half of the executives questioned
to do so.) For a captain of
industry, holidays are ideal for
strategic planning. They can call
the office, though the aim must be
to reduce the number of calls as
the holiday progresses.
They can have faxes sent to
them, though the staff should try
to cut down on the rolls of fax
paper: one should be sufficient
after a while.
They can be persuaded to take
up golf. It is not only a pleasant
(and healthy) way of going for a
leisurely walk, but it can also be
good for business.
Some of the biggest deals of the
past decade have begun with a
casual remark on the golf course,
and bankers have acquired some
of their most lucrative clients
while blasting their way out of a
bunker. It no doubt helps to
explain why golf has become the
favourite sport of senior
executives throughout the world.
There are plenty of courses in the
sun. Executives should be
reminded that this is the time of
the year when it becomes
imperative to embark on
inspection tours of overseas
subsidiaries in places like Florida,
Australia and Jamaica.
Once the initial leisure training
period has been completed you
can try to hook him on other
activities which are every bit as
challenging as a take-over bid.
He can climb mountains, ride
Focus on Skills Unit 4: Leisure and Entertainment
Prof. María Estela Medina
E.I.D.I. – Enseñanza Integral de Inglés

river rapids, and go scuba diving.
He may well end up making a
happy discovery: leisure can be





fun.





READING
1. What sorts of people do you think find it especially hard to take time off and relax? What advice
would you give someone who finds it difficult? Read quickly through the text to find out the writer's
views on these two questions.

2. Find ten words and phrases in the text associated with each of the following:
the world of work

leisure activities

3. Read the text again in detail to complete the following statements.

1. Top executives often find it difficult to take time off because
a. it would cause them financial problems.
b. they need to protect their jobs.
c. they have never really learnt how to relax.
d. they simply don't have the time.

2. For many executives the worst thing about going away on holiday is
a. having to stay in a hotel or holiday home.
b. having to lie on a beach in the sun.
c. being out of touch with the office.
d. being unable to escape the telephone.



Focus on Skills Unit 4: Leisure and Entertainment
Prof. María Estela Medina
E.I.D.I. – Enseñanza Integral de Inglés

3. The main role of a leisure adviser is to
a. teach an executive a new leisure activity.
b. give an executive a full medical check-up.
c. help an executive alter his approach to life.
d. organise a holiday for an executive.

4. The author believes executives need to be convinced of the
a. psychological benefits of a holiday.
b. financial benefits of a holiday.
c. commercial benefits of a holiday.
d. social benefits of a holiday.

5. If the initial training is successful, an executive might then be persuaded to
a. have regular holidays abroad.
b. take up an exciting new activity.
c. spend more time at home.
d. reorganise his business.



YOUR THOUGHTS
What do you think of the idea of a "leisure adviser"?
How easy is it for you to relax?