Scooters Are Back in Town

There are some hobbies and sports， such as cycling and playing football， which are always trendy， while there are others which seem to go through peaks and troughs[高峰期和低谷期] in terms of popularity. Skateboarding， for instance， originated in the USA in the 1950s and was the height of fashion in the early 1960s. But its popularity waned[衰退]， and it wasn’t until the mid 1970s when a new， improved board design emerged， that young people took an interest in it again.

One sport which is all the rage[非常流行] in the UK at the moment is ‘stunt scooting[特技滑板]’， and young people of all ages （especially boys） are joining in. The scooter of choice is small， with a light aluminium frame which is fixed rather than folding， giving it extra strength. While stunt scooters retail at around ￡100， enthusiasts frequently spend as much again customising their ride with wheels， bars， brakes， forks and clamps[夾鉗] of various eye-catching colours and special grip tape which is attached to the deck to make the scooter unique.

“The great thing about scooting is that you can do it anywhere，” says 14-year-old Jack Yeomans， who spends most of his spare time stunt scooting with his friends. “You can just skate in the street， but most towns have free leisure facilities with ramps[坡道]， and lots of places now have big indoor skate parks where you can watch the pros in action. Many of these have foam pits so you can practise new stunts without hurting yourself.”

There are many stunts to master， from simple bunny hops to tail whips[神龍擺尾]， which involve jumping and whipping the scooter deck round while in the air， 360 degree rotations， and for the more adventurous， front and back flips[空翻] off high ramps.

As well as performing stunts， enthusiasts also enjoy capturing some of their best tricks—and their worst fails—on film. Their mini stunt movies usually make it onto the internet through sites like YouTube.

Ten top scooter stunts：

1. Bri flip

2. Flair

3. Tail whip

4. 360

5. Bar spin

6. American bunny hop

7. Deck grab

8. Cliffhanger

9. Whip rewind

10. Transfer

Activity

Mark these phrases with ‘+’ if they mean high popularity， or with ‘-’ if they mean lower popularity.

a） Trendy

b） Peaks in popularity

c） Troughs in popularity

d） The height of fashion

e） Their popularity waned

f） All the rage