1. Skateboarding was probably born sometime in the late 1940s or early 1950s when surfers in California wanted something to surf when the waves were flat. No one knows who made the first board. It seems that several people came up with similar ideas at around the same time. Nowadays it is a popular sport around the world. Here are some of the reasons why.翻译
滑板运动也许兴起于20世纪40年代末或50年代初，那时加利福尼亚州的冲浪者在海面风平浪静的时候想用某种工具冲浪。没有人知道谁制作了第一块滑板。一些人似乎几乎同时想出了类似的办法。如今，滑板运动是世界上流行的体育运动项目。下面是它之所以如此流行的原因。
DANGEROUS
2. Everyone likes to feel brave now and again. Skateboarding can be very dangerous. It’s fast and you really have to push yourself to do the impossible. The skateboarders may end up hurt when doing risky jumps and difficult tricks. It is because these tricks are dangerous that skateboarding is a really exciting sport to watch and take part in.翻译
危险
每个人都想时而尝试一下勇敢的滋味。 滑板运动也会非常危险。它的速度非常快，你必须强迫自己去突破极限。当滑板者做一些危险的跳跃或高难度的花样时，可能会受伤。然而，正是因为这些花样十分危险，滑板才成为一项无论是旁观者还是亲身参与者都会感到兴奋异常的运动。
ONE-PERSON GAME
3. It doesn’t matter if you’re doing it on your own or in a group. Other popular sports such as football need lots of people to make up teams. This means you may not be able to play unless you have lots of friends or can join a team. With skateboarding, all you need is a board and your own two feet. What’s more important is that anyone can try it. You don’t have to be very fit or to be good at other sports.翻译
一个人的游戏
滑板可以一个人玩，也可以和一群人一起玩。而其他广受欢迎的运动如足球就需要一群人组队后才能玩。这意味着，要是你没有足够多的朋友或不加入一个团队就没法玩。滑板运动需要的只是一块滑板和你自己的双脚。更重要的是，任何人都能试着玩一下，而无需非得拥有怎样的身体条件或必须是运动健将。
FREEDOM
4. Once you have your board, you are free to skate anywhere. Skateboarders are always trying to think up ways they can skate on everyday objects such as pavements, stairs, hills and railings.翻译
自由
一旦你有了自己的滑板，就可以滑着它去任何地方。滑板手们总是在想着如何能在人行道、楼梯、斜坡和栏杆等这些日常物体上滑行。
5. These are only a few reasons why skateboarding is so popular. Maybe if you give skateboarding a try, you will be able to come up with some reasons of your own.翻译
以上只是滑板如此流行的部分原因。也许当你亲身尝试这项运动之后就能说出你自己的理由来。