Recently some one asked about the phrase “pet project”.

If you think of a pet and what it usually means to the pet owner then we can begin to understand what type of project a pet project is and what it may mean to the person or group who want to complete such a task.

First let’s just think about having a pet. If you have a puppy dog, it’s yours, no one else’s. You look after it, you care for it, you love it and you want it to grow safely.

Well with this in mind then a pet project can be thought of as an activity or pastime or hobby that someone is engaged in or occupied with that is of particular concern and interest for them.

Think of a pet which is close to your heart and you hold dear. Well a pet project is something similar which you are working on that is of special importance to you.

E.g. one of my recent pet projects has been working with disadvantaged children of migrant workers. Every weekend I volunteer my time to teach English to young kids who usually wouldn't have the chance to attend private English language classes with a foreign teacher.

Another pet project I am working on concerns the environment and I have started up a workplace recycling effort concerning paper.

More recently in the news President Barack Obama said he will crack down on future spending for “congressional pet projects”.

Such pet projects would be those activities which politicians hold dear to them and their citizens - things like building roads or schools, promises they made to get elected, things they think are important but which under the present financial crisis are more difficult to carry out.

So people with all that said and done I wonder what pet projects you have been working on or are close to your heart?

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以上討論問題來自翻吧（translate.chinadaily.com.cn）

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