VOA慢速英語:Cambodians Get Lessons in Skateboarding, Life

This is the VOA Special English Education Report.

(SOUND)

Some young Cambodians are learning a new sport -- skateboarding. The country's first skateboard park is located on the grounds of a local charity group at the edge of Phnom Penh, the capital.

Fifteen-year-old Chea Sophanit has been skating for about six months. "When I see the different styles from skateboarding, especially from the best skaters, I just want to be like them," he says.

A group is using the sport of skateboarding to help at-risk children in Cambodia

Sports like Khmer boxing and soccer are wildly popular in Cambodia. But Chea says skating has already become his favorite sport.

The skaters are learning tricks like launching off a jump or half-pipe and flying through the air on their narrow wooden boards.

A nongovernmental organization called Skateistan Cambodia organizes weekly programs at the park. Skateistan started its work in Afghanistan. Rory Burke works with the group which expanded to Cambodia last year.

RORY BURKE: "Yeah, it's definitely not a typical Cambodian pastime. And I think the idea of 'why skateboarding' is that it's not been done before here. We want to use skateboarding as something saying, 'Hey this is new, this is something different.' And that kind of itself becomes a little bit of hook. People see it and they think and they say, ‘Whoa, what is that?' and they want to get involved."

Skateistan partners with local groups that work with young people. The park is on the grounds of the group known as PSE, where children attend school and learn a trade. There are almost one hundred twenty participants. Many come from troubled lives.

Sean Burke says for some, skateboarding is a chance just to be a kid for a couple of hours a week. He says he hopes the program will help them build life skills through sport.

Seventeen-year-old Sang Rotha is a student at PSE. "Sometimes I don't do well on topics like math," he says. "I feel bad when I find it hard to keep up with my lessons. So that's why I skateboard, to improve my bad feelings."

He says he began skateboarding more than a year ago. Before he started training, it seemed very easy. But it was very difficult to learn tricks, and he got hurt a lot from falling off.

Rory Burke says learning to deal with the difficulties is part of the lesson for these young skateboarders.

RORY BURKE: "You know, it's pretty daunting to get on a skateboard for the first time. And then when they drop in for the first time and ride some of the ramps, it's pretty scary. It kind of teaches them, 'Hey, you're going to fall down a bunch, but you've got to get back up.'"

Skateistan Cambodia plans to open the country's first public skate park later this year in Phnom Penh.

This is the VOA Special English Education Report.

這里是美國之音慢速英語教育報道。

Some young Cambodians are learning a new sport -- skateboarding. The country's first skateboard park is located on the grounds of a local charity group at the edge of Phnom Penh, the capital.

一些柬埔寨年輕人正在學習一項新運動--滑板。該國首個滑板公園坐落在首都金邊邊緣一家本地慈善組織的場地上。

Fifteen-year-old Chea Sophanit has been skating for about six months. "When I see the different styles from skateboarding, especially from the best skaters, I just want to be like them," he says.

15歲的Chea Sophanit玩滑板已經(jīng)六個月了。他說，“當我從滑板，特別是從頂尖滑板選手看到這種不同的風格時，我只想和他們一樣。”

Sports like Khmer boxing and soccer are wildly popular in Cambodia. But Chea says skating has already become his favorite sport.

高棉拳擊和足球等運動在柬埔寨廣受歡迎。但Chea表示，滑板已經(jīng)成為他最愛的運動。

The skaters are learning tricks like launching off a jump or half-pipe and flying through the air on their narrow wooden boards.

滑板選手正在學習從障礙物或半管滑道起跳，然后通過滑板在空中飛行的技巧。

A nongovernmental organization called Skateistan Cambodia organizes weekly programs at the park. Skateistan started its work in Afghanistan. Rory Burke works with the group which expanded to Cambodia last year.

一家名為柬埔寨Skateistan的非政府組織在這個滑板公園舉辦每周一次的節(jié)目。Skateistan創(chuàng)辦于阿富汗。羅里·伯克(Rory Burke)就職于這家去年擴大到柬埔寨的組織。

RORY BURKE: "Yeah, it's definitely not a typical Cambodian pastime. And I think the idea of 'why skateboarding' is that it's not been done before here. We want to use skateboarding as something saying, 'Hey this is new, this is something different.' And that kind of itself becomes a little bit of hook. People see it and they think and they say, ‘Whoa, what is that?' and they want to get involved."

伯克：“是的，它絕對不是一種典型的柬埔寨運動項目。我認為以前這里沒有滑板的想法。我們希望用滑板來傳達，'這是新的，不同的東西。'而滑板本身有點引人上鉤。人們看到它就會想說，‘哇，那是什么?’然后他們就想要參與進來。”

Skateistan partners with local groups that work with young people. The park is on the grounds of the group known as PSE, where children attend school and learn a trade. There are almost one hundred twenty participants. Many come from troubled lives.

Skateistan和致力于年輕人的本地團體合作。這家滑板公園位于一家名為PSE的組織的場地上，孩子們在PSE組織上學并學一門手藝。這里有近120名參與者，多數(shù)來自困難家庭。

Sean Burke says for some, skateboarding is a chance just to be a kid for a couple of hours a week. He says he hopes the program will help them build life skills through sport.

伯克表示，對一些人來說，滑板是每周幾個小時只做個孩子的機會。他希望這個項目能夠通過運動幫助他們培養(yǎng)生活技能。

Seventeen-year-old Sang Rotha is a student at PSE. "Sometimes I don't do well on topics like math," he says. "I feel bad when I find it hard to keep up with my lessons. So that's why I skateboard, to improve my bad feelings."

17歲的Sang Rotha是PSE組織的一名學生。他說，“有時候我做不好數(shù)學等題目，當我發(fā)現(xiàn)我跟不上課程時我感覺很不好。所以這是我為什么玩滑板的原因，為了改善我的壞情緒。”

He says he began skateboarding more than a year ago. Before he started training, it seemed very easy. But it was very difficult to learn tricks, and he got hurt a lot from falling off.

他說自己一年多前開始玩滑板。在他開始訓練前，滑板看上去很容易。但學習技巧非常困難，他因為摔落受傷好幾次。

Rory Burke says learning to deal with the difficulties is part of the lesson for these young skateboarders.

伯克表示，學會處理困難是這些年輕滑板選手的課程之一。

RORY BURKE: "You know, it's pretty daunting to get on a skateboard for the first time. And then when they drop in for the first time and ride some of the ramps, it's pretty scary. It kind of teaches them, 'Hey, you're going to fall down a bunch, but you've got to get back up.'"

伯克：“你知道，首次站上滑板是相當艱巨的。當他們首次遇到坡道，這是相當可怕的。這相當于教育他們，‘嘿，你會摔下來很多次，但你一定要站起來。’”

Skateistan Cambodia plans to open the country's first public skate park later this year in Phnom Penh.

柬埔寨Skateistan計劃今年晚些時候在金邊開設該國首家公共滑板公園。