Skateboarding
Nov 06 2009
Skateboarding can be an easy and convenient way to zip across campus or over to a friend’s house. But skateboarding is more than just a mode of transportation. It’s also a look, a sport, and a subculture. Skaters even have their own slang, some of which has become common outside of the skateboarding world as well. Know what I’m saying, dude?
Skaters are typically seen as reckless rebels and punks. But some skaters are serious athletes, who perform amazing tricks in major competitions like the X Games. Others are just ordinary guys and girls looking for a cheap, easy way way to get around. Ella thinks skaters are sexy. Find out if Jason will impress her with his moves.
English, baby! English lesson audio.
Ella: Skateboarders are pretty hot.
Jason: Yeah?
Ella: Yeah. Don’t know much about actual skateboarding, but the whole look is pretty attractive.
Jason: Is it just the look, or is it the fact that they actually skateboard, get out there, do some 360s…
Ella: Yeah, I mean the moves are impressive too, just by name. Ollie, that just sounds fun, you know? A half-pipe? Like, hello!
Jason: Totally. I mean, I was a skater when I was like 15…
Ella: Oh wow.
Jason: I just didn’t think it would still be around. You know, like I had baggy pants and skate shoes and I could do a kickflip, but I kinda thought it was a fad.
Ella: I don’t know. I still see people using it more as a sport, but also as a mode of transportation. It’s just easy to get around like on campus in college. It’s a little faster, but not quite the bike. You can just haul it right in your book bag.
Jason: And you get to feel like you’re in your favorite video game, right?
Ella: Exactly.
Jason: I think that’s why it’s so huge right now.
Ella: It’s really “bro” and “dude”-ish now, though.
Jason: Yeah, the skateboarder lingo has totally infiltrated our normal speech, bro.
Ella likes the skateboarding look, which usually includes shaggy hair and skate shoes. It sounds like she’s more impressed by guys who get the style right than guys who know how to land the tricks.
Jason used to be a skater in high school, and he thought it was just a passing fad. But it seems like skating is here to stay. It’s become more legitimate as a sport since the X Games started in the 1990s, and it’s also an easy and cheap mode of transportation for a lot of young people. Skating video games like the Tony Hawk series have also helped keep it popular.
Do you like to skateboard? Have you ever seen the X Games? Is skate culture big in your country?
Your vs. You’re
Jason says that when you skateboard, “You get to feel like you’re in your favorite video game.” In this sentence, your and you’re sound the same and look very similar, but they mean two different things.
You’re is actually a contraction of “you are,” as in “You’re cute.” Contractions like this are especially common in spoken English.
Your is a possessive adjective. It describes a noun by telling us to whom it belongs, as in, “I love your new dress!” (The dress belongs to you.) Other possessive adjectives are: my, his, her, their, and our.
Which is correct, “You’re a good skater,” or, “Your a good skater”?