Read an interview with two skateboarders from Los Angeles.

Monica and Carl are teenagers from Los Angeles in the United States. They both love skateboarding. Read this interview with them and find out more about their favourite sport.

Who invented skateboarding?

Monica: Skateboarding began in California in the 1950s, but we don’t know who the first person to go on a skateboard was.

Carl: In the beginning, skateboarding was popular with surfers. They wanted to practise surfing on land when the ocean was calm or the weather was bad.

Where can you go skateboarding?

Monica: There are skate parks in lots of towns and cities. They are special places for skateboarding. You can practise jumps at skate parks and meet other skateboarders.

Carl: You can skateboard in the street too, but you have to look out for the traffic, people, bicycles and dogs.

When did you start skateboarding?

Monica: When I was a child, I liked going rollerskating with my friends. When I was thirteen, one of my friends got a skateboard and I tried it. I fell several times but I loved it. Two weeks later, I got my first skateboard. I haven’t stopped rollerskating. I like both sports now.

Carl: I live in the city and there’s a skate park near my house. When I was eleven, my dad gave me a skateboard for my birthday and I spent the summer skateboarding at the skate park. I love the freedom and speed. When I was a child, I rode my bike every day, but I never ride it now.

Is skateboarding dangerous?

Carl: All skateboarders fall off their boards but fortunately most injuries are minor. It’s a good idea to wear a helmet to protect your head.

Are there skateboarding competitions?

Monica: Yes, there are. They usually take place in skate parks. Skateboarders do jumps or tricks. The skateboarders who do the most difficult jumps or tricks win.

Carl: There was a campaign to get skateboarding included in the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro but unfortunately it wasn’t successful. But who knows? Maybe, skateboarding will be in the 2020 games!

Tell me about “Go Skateboarding Day”.

Monica: “Go Skateboarding Day” is on the 21st of June every year. In the United States, Europe and Australia, there are competitions, parties and barbecues for skateboarders.

What about fashion? Is there a skater look?

Carl: At the moment, the fashion is for skateboarders to wear tight jeans or black trousers and a T-shirt or check shirt. Baseball caps and hats are popular too.

Monica: A lot of skateboarders have long hair too. But fashion doesn’t matter. For me, enjoying the sport is more important than clothes.

What’s a long board?

Monica: A long board is skateboard that’s longer and has got bigger wheels. Skateboards are usually 70 to 80 centimetres long, but long boards are 90 to 120 centimetres long. It’s difficult to do jumps on a long board, but you can go fast.

Carl: Listen to this! In 2006, a skateboarder went across Australia on a long board. That’s 5,850 kilometres!

 

 

Про студентов Артура и Миру..

 

Arthur: Morning, Myra.
Myra: Oh hi, Arthur! You're taking Ecology Three Eleven, too?
A: Looks like it. It's my only elective this term.
M: Really? What happened?
A: Oh, I just took too many my second year, and now I've got to pick up all the required courses I've been ignoring. University's just too much fun, I guess.
M: Too many parties?
A: No. (laughs) Well, yeh, that too. But you know-- there're just so many interesting things to learn about, and we've only got four years here to explore them. I've been having too good a time at it, that's all. But it has helped me decide my major, finally.
M: And?
A: Bus Ad. I've learned a lot here, and one thing I've learnt is that most fields don't hold out a lot of promise for gainful employment! So I'm playing it safe and going for my BA in business administration.
M: So, why Three Eleven? An ecology course isn't going to help you in your office job at some corporation.
A: Prob'ly not, but... it still seems interesting-- and important. We all need to know about the environment, no matter what we do for a living.
M: Yeah, you're right. And maybe you will be able to use it. Maybe you'll end up working for a green company or something.
A: Could be. There's more and more of those every day.
M: And thank goodness. Poor old Earth!
A: Is that why you're taking this?
M: Well, it's not an elective for me. I need Three Eleven for my BS program. We need several cross-field courses to "broaden our understanding", and this is one of them. Actually, though, I'm looking forward to this course: "Nature's Influence on Man-- Man's Influence on Nature"! Sounds like a really useful topic, doesn't it? And Dr Forsythe is supposed to be a very engaging lecturer.
A: Well, his website is a gas, at least! He's got an hilarious little eco-game on it: shoot the wolves and see how many deer reproduce and eat all the grass!
M: Hmm. I suppose that would teach, uh, fifth graders about the balance of nature.
A: Hey, it was fun! Anyway, he's also got some good information there-- it'll probably come in handy when he gives us homework.
M: Wow, you're right! I better take a look at it myself. Can you give me his URL?
A: It's listed right in the course guide where they describe the course, but if you can't find it, I'll give it to you next time. Or I could email it to you-- what's your address?
M: That would be great, thanks. [email protected]. Here, I'll write it down for you. Did you pick up your textbook yet?
A: No. I've been looking for a secondhand copy before I spring for a new one. It's expensive-- forty-five bucks!
M: (sighs) They all are, aren't they? Why do poor college students have to pay so much for their textbooks? It ain't fair.
A: It's just economics. Nobody reads them except the students that take the courses. The publishers probably didn't print more than a few hundred copies of our text, you know.
M: Still, they could print them in paperback, couldn't they? That would save us some money.
A: And on newsprint-- sure! (laughs) Some students do keep them, though, for reference after they graduate, if they're working in that field. In that case, they need to be durable. My dad's still got his college accounting textbooks-- and he uses them all the time.
M: I suppose you're right. Where you gonna find a used copy? At the bookstore?
A: They don't have any there now-- I checked. I put up some notes on the Science Building bulletin boards yesterday. Maybe someone there's got one they don't want to keep anymore.
M: Well, uh, if you hear about two of them, will you let me know? I'd like to save a little money, too.
A: Sure. If I do, I'll buy it for you and you can pay me back. How much are you willing to pay?
M: Oh, anything under thirty-five dollars'll be fine. A penny saved is a penny earned. But if you haven't found one by next Monday, I'll have to buy a new one then, so email me Sunday night either way, will you?
A: You bet. Oops! Here's Dr Forsythe now.