Zaman International School Newspaper Issue 15

Volume 1 Issue 15

INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL NEWSPAPER

“You’re going to reach the top with us.”

1 June 2004

Exam Hints Exam week can be difficult, dangerous, even overwhelming. You may feel helpless and hopeless, as though there is nothing you can do. After a semester of too many classes and too much work, you think you'll have to stay up all night studying to pass your final

exams. But wait! Help is on the way! Here is how to prepare for exam.

Weeks Before the Exam ZAMAN NEWSPAPER Zaman, Publisher Zulfi Erken, Editor -in-Chief Murat Tutumlu, Editor at Large

! Make up a set of study sheets

for each class. ! Each set of study sheets should summarize the reading, your class notes, and any handouts. ! Type the study sheets so they are easily readable. Use plenty

of bold type and white space to accentuate important ideas. ! For the next weeks, read through your study sheets three times each day. Do not tr y hard to memorize the information. Just read the notes once, three times per day.

Oum Vantharith, writer Malik Ates, writer

toast), and protein (milk, eggs, meat, cheese). This will help your blood sugar stay at a stable level, and since your brain runs on sugar, you don't want to have it dip too low or rise too high. ! Caffeine has been shown to increase alertness and

per formance. If you are a habitual user of caffeine (as little as one can of caffeinated pop a day), be sure to get your accustomed dose. ! Take along a piece of fruit to eat during the exam. This will help keep your blood sugar even, so you don't tire during the second half of the exam period.

The Night Before the Exam During the Exam

Zaman International School Newspaper dedicated to educating students and training journalists.

Published 2 times a month in Zaman International School.

Copyright 2003 by the Zaman International School.

All rights reserved.

No part of this periodical may be reproduced in print or electronically without the consent of The Zaman International School.

!

Read your study sheets as usual. ! Go to bed early and get a good night's sleep.

The Day of the Exam

! Set your alarm and get up early. Allow plenty of time to get to the exam. ! Eat a good breakfast (lunch, dinner), including simple sugars (fruit juice), complex carbohydrates (cereal or

! If you feel tense, relax, take a deep breath, and remember that you know the material because you've been reviewing for two weeks. ! Keep your eye on the clock while taking the exam. Allow enough time to finish the entire test. Avoid focusing on one question and running out of time on others. ! Read the entire exam before beginning to write. Know your

enemy, in other words.

! Be sure your name is on the

test. (This sounds silly, but sometimes if we feel tense or pressured, we forget the little things.) ! Read each question a second time, then answer that question.

! Go on to the next question.

Remember to look at the clock and keep moving through the test. ! At the end of the first hour, take a couple of minutes to sit quietly. Relax, stretch, eat that piece of fr uit you brought along to keep your blood sugar steady. Calm down. You know the material. ! Use the entire exam period rather than rushing through the test. It's not about finishing; it's about finishing well.

Preparing for the exam The large majority of people are nervous before an exam, and one of the best ways of coping with nerves is to arrive at the exam feeling thoroughly prepared and organised. Most of this will rely upon having done appropriate and Continued page 2

1 June 2004

ZAMAN INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL NEWSPAPER

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AND ALSO sufficient revision, but you can also help yourself by heeding a few suggestions on what to do before the exam: ! Make sure that you know exactly at what time the exam is to be held. !Make sure that you know, as far as is possible, what type of exam it will be: - Essay questions - Short-answer questions - Objective tests (e.g. multiple c h o i c e, t r u e / f a l s e, a s s e rtion/reason) - Practical - or a mixture of these. It could also be: - an unseen exam (no prior knowledge to the exam content) - a seen exam (e.g. essay titles given in advance; which allows materials to be taken into exam) ! Try to get a good night’s sleep. Avoid l a s t m i n u t e c r a mming the night before: it ’s usually ineffective, adds to y o u r n e r v o u s n e s s, and will result in you waking up feeling tired. !Arrive in plenty of t i m e, b u t n o t t o o early, so as to avoid the usual pre-exam conversation along the lines of what certain people think will or will not be on the paper.

(Inevitably someone will be sure that a subject that you are not confident in will be on the paper, and this is really not helpful to your nerves). ! Make sure that you have everything you need for the exam: spare writing tools, a fresh battery in your calculator, any materials for a seen exam, a watch.

Starting the exam

! Once the exam has started,

the most important thing is to try and remain calm. If you suffer badly from nerves, try some deep breathing or other relaxation technique before you attempt the paper. ! First of all, check the rubric of

the exam paper: how many questions must be answered, are any compulsor y, does each question require a fresh answer book, do the questions carry equal marks? Check that there aren’t more questions overleaf. ! Read through all the questions before deciding which one(s) to do if there is a choice.

Answering the questions (i) Objective tests

!For objective test exams, work through the questions m e t h o d i c a l l y, b u t i f y o u cannot answer one, mark the place, pass on and come back to it. !If you really do not know the answer, then a guess is better than leaving it blank (there will always be a chance that you guess right, whereas a blank will guarantee zero marks).

However, make it an informed guess: look at the options, reject any which are obviously false, carefully relate the others back to the question, and choose the best remaining option. !Opinions differ as to whether you should go back and change an answer that you are not sure of, or to stick with your first choice. There is no real solution to this problem. If you do not know the correct

a n s w e r, t h e n y o u r f i r s t o r second guess is equally likely to be right, so this is something that only you can decide in each case. ii) Essay-type exams !When you have read through all the questions and decided which one(s) you will attempt, before you begin to write the answer you should underline or highlight the key words or phrases and decide exactly what the question is asking, i.e. decipher the instructing words, such as ‘discuss’, ‘evaluate’ or

‘contrast’. Is there more than one part to the question? Does it specifically ask for examples? Spend a couple of minutes planning your answer, e.g. jot down any keywords which you associate with the topic; plan the essay structure: how will you order your themes into a logical argument, where will you include examples, how will you link to another component of the question? !When writing the answer, remember to include a strong i n t r o d u c t o r y s t a t e m e n t, demonstrating that you have understood the question. Finish with a concluding paragraph, which is not a reiteration of the essay title, but is an indication of how your answer has taken the argument forward, and identified any implications arising from it.

!Don’t be misled into thinking that marks will be given purely for the amount that you write: they won’t. Examiners are looking to see that you have answered the question, and not merely regurgitated all that you know about the subject.

Check back to the question from time to time, and make sure that you have not wandered from the point. !Remember that essays for an e x a m, a s f o r c o u r s e -w o r k a s s i g n m e n t s, s h o u l d n o t include unsupported opinions, but demonstrate an understanding of the subject backed up by evidence from the literature. !Keep an eye on the time.

If you are answering a question on one of your better subjects, make sure that you do not run on too long, as this will give you less time to answer the others. !If you do find yourself running out of time, then it is better to attempt to write something on each question than leave one out completely. You may accrue more marks from two half answers (which probably contain the major points about each subject), than from getting a good score for one and zero for an unattempted question. !Write legibly. There is no point in making some excellent points about your topic if the examiner cannot read it. !Use diagrams when appropriate, as they can often explain something more succinctly than words. !T r y t o a l l o w y o u r s e l f 1 0 minutes at the end of the exam to read through your script. Check for mistakes or omissions. Does what you have written make sense? Is it legible? Look for ways to tidy it up e.g. underlining.

Enjoy! The final exam brings some closure to the semester.

You know the material, so show teachers what you can do.

Good luck and wish you highest scores.

1 June 2004

ZAMAN INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL NEWSPAPER

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EDUCATION

8 Success Secrets The views on success of many of the motivational speakers can be summarized into 8 success secrets.

If you truly understand belief systems, levels of commitment and positive attitudes toward life--and integrate these ways of thinking into your own belief system--you should be able to succeed at anything you put your mind to. can enjoy what you have and make the most of it. Then as you see problems and negative situations that may harm you or hold you back, you can look at them as challenges to meet and overcome. Having the right attitude will help bring success.

Celebrate and enjoy every success and achievement you have. Enjoy the people around you. Savor life and the adventures you experience.

Take 100 percent responsibility for your life In a society where people blame everything from their parents to the government for their failure to get ahead in life, these men and women refused to buy into the mentality that says "I could succeed if only it weren't for _____."

They realized that when you say someone or something outside of yourself is preventing you from succeeding, you're giving away your power to that someone or something. You're saying, "You have more control over my life than I do!"

Successful people don't buy into this victim thinking. Rather, their personal credo is "If it's to be, it's up to me!"

problems while expending just enough effort to get by.

Do the job now But, when you live your life on purpose, your main concern is doing the job right. You love what you do-and it shows. Your conviction is as evident as it is persuasive.

And you will find that people want to do business with you because they sense your commitment to giving your all.

Be willing to pay the price for your dreams Wanting a big house, a luxury car or a million dollars in the bank is all very nice, but the problem is that practically everyone wants these things.

The question then is, "Are you willing to pay the price to get them?"

This is one of the major differences between the successful and the unsuccessful.

Successful men and women find out what it's going to cost to make their dream come true. Then they find a way to make it happen. Most importantly, they don't complain about the work it takes to achieve their dreams. You can get practically anything you want in life--if you are willing to pay the price.

Stay focused Every day, we are bombarded with hundreds of tasks, messages and people all competing for our time. This is why the ability to focus on your goal is so critical to achieving it.

Focusing requires giving up some things in the present because you know the time invested will pay off big-time down the road.

Live your life "on purpose" Focus on dreams Spend as Perhaps what separates these much of your day as you can motivational superstars from focusing on achieving your others more than anything else goals and dreams. Every day, is that they live their lives "on pur- ask yourself, "Is what I'm doing pose." That is, they are doing right now bringing me closer to what they believe they were my goal?" If it's not, do someput here to do. thing that will. Focusing is like The difference between living any habit: the more you do it, your life on purpose and not liv- the easier it gets. ing it on purpose is like night and day. The latter consists of Become an expert in your simply getting through the field week with the least amount of One striking factor about all 15

motivational speakers I interviewed is how seriously they take their profession. Their drive to be the best at what they do is phenomenal. They'll do almost anything if they think it will help improve their speaking skills.

What do you do? If someone followed you around at your business all day with a video camera to make a how-to tape for people who want to do what you do, would it be a tape you'd be proud of? Or embarrassed about? If the latter, make the decision today to work toward being the best in your field. How? By studying the experts. The quickest way to become successful is to find out what the best are doing, then do what they do.

Write out a plan for achieving your goals Taking the time to write out an action plan, or map, for how you're going to achieve your goals is one of the best ways to get there faster.

Need a map Most people try to reach their goals without taking the time to write out an action plan.

Forget the fact that your odds of reaching your destination are extremely slim. The frustration and wasted time, energy and money will probably cause you to give up long before you get to your goal.

With a map in hand, however, you'll not only enjoy the trip much more, but you're also virtually assured of achieving your goal in the shortest time possible.

Never give up It may sound simple, even obvious, but when you're truly committed to achieving your goal, giving up isn't even an option.

You must be willing to do whatever it takes to make it happen.

Don't delay We do not know how much time we have left to accomplish our dreams. We must remember that we don't have forever. The clock is ticking, there are no time-outs, and

sooner or later your number is going to be called. Top achievers know this, but rather than seeing it as something negative or depressing, they use it to spur them on to go after what they want as energetically and as passionately as possible.

In conclusion Follow the 8 "secrets" from motivational experts and take 100 percent responsibility for your life, live your life on purpose, be willing to pay the price for your d r e a m s, s t a y f o c u s e d, become an expert in your field, write out a plan for achieving your goals, never give up, and don't delay. These ideas follow well within the School for Champions philosophy.

Challenging Problems Answers of previous issue.

English: The first word (not sentence) spoken on the moon was “okay�. *** Mathematics: Answer is 0 (x-x)=0 so 0 * any number = 0 *** Science: Name of the scientist is Leucippus *** Rewards goes to; English: No correct answer Science: Eang Roth Virak 10B Maths: Tann PhonSeila 10B

Note: Students whose names written can take their reward from Zulfi Erken.

1 June 2004

ZAMAN INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL NEWSPAPER

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SCIENCE

How The Things Work

W

Question and Answer hy the planets are not twinkling, while the stars

are?

S

ince stars are so distant, they subtend a minute angle of the total visual field despite their enormous diameter. In other words, they approximate point sources of light. As this light travels through the atmosphere, it passes through areas of lower and higher density, and therefore lower and higher indices of refraction. These areas act as virtual lenses, refracting light and concentrating first greater amounts, and then lesser amounts of total radiant energy on any one point on the surface of the Earth. This is the source of the 'twinkling' of

stars - i.e. the fluctuation of intensity.

Planets are much closer to the Earth and therefore subtend a larger angle within the total visual field. That is why we often speak of the planetary 'disk' in

astronomy: even under slight magnification (e.g. through binoculars) the human eye interprets a planet as a 2 dimensional source of light and not a point source.

Most peoples' visual acuity is

not sufficient to notice the discrepancy between the angle subtended by a star and that subtended by a planet.

However when the planet's light is refracted through the atmospheric 'lenses' the spread of light from the disk is sufficient to blur the focused area and therefore prevent the light reaching the eye from ever dipping to as low a level as it does from a point source.

In other words, the darkest parts of the twinkle cycle from one part of the disk may be overlapped by focused light from other regions of the disk, keeping the light intensity closer to some mean value and reducing fluctuation. In short, no twinkle!

1 June 2004

ZAMAN INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL NEWSPAPER

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CULTURE

TURKEY WELCOMES YOU

Turkey is a paradise of sun, sea, mountains, and lakes that offers the vacationer a complete change from the stress and routine of everyday life. From April to October, most places in Turkey have an ideal climate that is perfect for relaxing on sandy beaches or enjoying the tranquility of mountains and lakes.

Turkey also has a magnificent past, and is a land full of historic treasures from 13 successive civilizations spanning 10,000 years. Even if you spend only a short time in Turkey, you can see a lot of this great heritage.

There is no doubt that one visit will not be enough, and you will want to come back again and again as you discover one extraordinar y place after another. All of them, no matter how different, have one thing in common: the friendly and hospitable people of this unique country.

WHEN TO COME Marmara, Aegean, and Mediterranean coasts: These coasts have a typical Mediterranean climate with hot summers and mild winters.

The swimming season becomes shorter the further north one goes: Marmara and North Aegean - June to September; South Aegean and Mediterranean - April to October.

Black Sea Coast: Warm summers, mild winters, and relatively high rainfall.

Central Anatolia: Steppe climate with hot, dry summers; cold winters.

Eastern Anatolia: Long snowy cold winters with mild summers.

Southeast Anatolia: Hot summer with mild, rainy winters.

W H A T

T O

W E A R

a) Marmara, Aegean, and Mediterranean coasts: Light, cotton summer clothing and cardigans for evening. b) Black Sea, Central and Eastern Anatolia: Summer

Did You Know That ?

! Anatolia is the birthplace of many historic legends, such as: the powerful phrygian king midas, the world’s first historian heredotus and st paul, the apostle. Archeologists from the pennsylvania museum opened the tomb of king midas in 1957. They discovered some of the earliest and

! The only city in the world located on two continents is istanbul which has been the capital of three great empires – roman, byzantine and ottoman – for more than 2000 years. ! The oldest known human settlement, dating back to 6500 bc., is in Çatalhöyük, near Konya in the central anatolian region of Turkey. The earliest landscape painting in history exists on a wall of a Çatalhöyük house. It shows the e r u p t i o n o f a v o l c a n o, probably that of nearby hasandag. !Two of the seven wonders of the world stood in anatolia: the temple of artemis at ephesus and the mausoleum at halicarnassus - bodrum. !The first coins were minted at sardis, the capital of the ancient kingdom of lydia in western anatolia, at the end of the 7 th century bc. Lydia is the first known civilization in the world to use money as a means of exchange. ! The seven churches mentioned in the book of revelation, the last book of the bible, are all located in anatolia: ephesus, smyrna, pergamum, thyateira, sardis, philadelphia and laodicea.

best preser ved wooden furniture in the world.

St. Nicholas, known today as santa claus, was born in patara and served as bishop of myra (demre) on turkey’s mediterranean coast. It is believed that nicholas died in myra on december 6th at the age of 65. The village is home to the famous church of st. Nicholas which houses a sarcophagus believed to be the original tomb of st. Nicholas. ! According to the old testament, the patriarch Abraham was born in sanli urfa, a city in southeast turkey. The city’s ancient name was ur or edessa. A cave there is thought to be Abraham’s birthplace. It has become a place of pilgrimage and is now surrounded by the halil rahman mosque. !Trojan wars, depicted in homer’s epic iliad took place in western turkey in about 1200 bc. A symbolic wooden horse at the site commemorates this legendary war. !According to the legend of the great flood mentioned in both the Koran and the old testament, Noah’s ark landed at mount ararat (agri dagi) in eastern anatolia. For centuries scientiests have launched

wear, warmer clothing should be taken for cool evenings at high altitudes. c) Comfortable shoes are necessary for visiting archeological and historical sites. d) Sun hats and sunglasses are advisable in the summer.

expeditions on the mountain’s slopes in search of the remains of the noah’s ark. !The word “turquoise” comes from “turk” meaning turkish, and was derived from the beautiful color of the mediterranean sea on the southern turkish coast. !Coffee was first brought to istanbul from yemen in the 16th century. It was in turkey that a new method of preparing ground coffee -now called turkish coffee- was invented and turks introduced this new drink prepared in their own way to europe by the 17th century. Pierre loti, victor hugo, dumas, moliere and balzac are among those who are known to have admired turkish coffee. Drinking coffee is still an essential element of turkish culture. !Tulips were introduced to holland from turkey by ogier ghiselin de busbecq which started the craze for the flower in the netherlands and england. He was the ambassador of charles v to the court of ottoman emperor süleyman the magnificent in 1554.

It was from giresun, a city on the black sea coast of turkey, that the roman general lucullus exported the first cherry trees to europe. Giresun is a variation of the ancient name kerasus, meaning city of cherries, from the greek word for cherry, kerasi. ! Piri reis, well-known turkish captain and navigator of the late 15th century, prepared and drew the map known today as “piri reis map” in the city of gallipoli-turkey in 1513.

Drawn on gazelle hide, this map showed the then known portions of the world: europe, asia, africa and such parts of america as had been discovered. Erich von daniken in his famous book “ the chariots of the gods” advocates that he was taken to an airship by the visitors from the universe to see the world and drew this map which resembles the photos of the earth taken from the satellites

1 June 2004

ZAMAN INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL NEWSPAPER

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ENTERTAINMENT

This Is Why Teachers Get Gray Hair TEACHER: How old were you on your last birthday?

STUDENT: Seven.

TEACHER: How old will you be on your next birthday?

STUDENT: Nine.

TEACHER: That's impossible.

STUDENT: No, it isn't, Teacher.

I'm eight today.

TEACHER: George, go to the map and find North America.

GEORGE: Here it is!

TEACHER: Correct. Now, class, who discovered America?

CLASS: George!

TEACHER: Willy, name one important thing we have today that we didn't have ten years ago.

WILLY: Me! SUBSTITUTE TEACHER: Are you chewing gum?

BILLY: No, I'm Billy Anderson.

TEACHER: Alfred, how can one person make so many stupid mistakes in one day?

ALFRED: I get up early.

TEACHER: Didn't you promise to behave?

STUDENT: Yes, Sir. TEACHER: And didn't I promise to punish you if you didn't?

STUDENT: Yes, Sir, but since I b r o ke m y p r o m i s e, I d o n ' t expect you to keep yours.

TEACHER: Tommy, why do you always get so dirty?

TOMMY: Well, I'm a lot closer to the ground then you are.

HAROLD: Teacher, would you

punish me for something I didn't do?

TEACHER: Of course not. HAROLD: Good, because I didn't do my homework.

TEACHER: Why are you late?

WEBSTER: Because of the sign.

TEACHER: What sign?

WEBSTER: The one that says, "School Ahead, Go Slow."

TEACHER: I hope I didn't see you looking at Don's paper.

JOHN: I hope you didn't either.

GARY: I don't think I deserve a zero on this test.

TEACHER: I agree, but it's the lowest mark I can give you.

M OT H E R : W h y d i d y o u g e t such a low mark on that test?

JUNIOR: Because of absence.

MOTHER: You mean you were absent on the day of the test?

JUNIOR: No, but the kid who sits next to me was.

SILVIA: Dad, can you write in the dark?

FATHER: I think so. What do you want me to write?

S Y LV I A : Yo u r n a m e o n t h i s report card.

feet.

HYGIENETEACHER: How can you prevent diseases caused by biting insects?

JOSE: Don't bite any.

TEACHER: Ellen, give me a s e n t e n c e s t a r t i n g w i t h " I. " ELLEN: I is...

TEACHER: No, Ellen. Always say, "I am."

ELLEN: All right... "I am the ninth letter of the alphabet."

TEACHER: Max, use "defeat," "defense," and "detail" in a sentence.

MAX: The rabbit cut across the field, and defeat went over defense before detail.

MOTHER: Why on earth did you swallow the money I gave you?

JUNIOR: You said it was my lunch money.

TEACHER: If you received $10 from 10 people, what would you get?

SASHA: A new bike.

TEACHER: Well, at least there's one thing I can say about your son.

FATHER: What's that?

T E A C H E R: W i t h g r a d e s l i ke these, he couldn't be cheating.

TEACHER: If you had one dollar and you asked your father for another, how many dollars would you have?

V I N C E N T: O n e d o l l a r.

T EA CHER ( s adl y) : You d on 't know your arithmetic.

V I N C E N T ( s a d l y ) : Yo u d o n ' t know my father.

TEACHER: In this box, I have a 10-foot snake.

SAMMY: You can't fool me, Teacher ... snakes don't have

TEACHER: If I had seven oranges in one hand and eight oranges in the other, what would I have?

TeacherJokes CLASS COMEDIAN: Big hands!

Anything for An A An instructor was sitting in his office one afternoon when an attractive, sexy-looking lady knocked on his door.

Yes?, he replied, how may I help you? The lady said "I need to talk to you about my grade in your class."

"Come in and have a seat," said the instructor.

Is there anything I can do to get an "A" in your class?

"What do you mean by 'anything'," he replied.

She said "Anything!"

Anything??

She said, in her best sultr y voice "I mean ANYTHING." The instr uctor got up from b e h i n d h i s d e s k, s a t d o w n beside her and whispered in her ear, "Would you study?"

Answering Test A high school teacher was giving a true/false test. He was strolling up and down the aisles surveying the students at work. He came upon one student who was flipping a coin, then writing.

Teacher: What are you doing?

Student: Getting the answers to the test.

The teacher shook his head and walked on. A little while l a t e r, when ever yone was finished with the test, the teacher noticed the student was again flipping the coin.

Teacher: Now what are you doing?

Student: I'm checking the answers.

1 June 2004

ZAMAN INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL NEWSPAPER

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ENTERTAINMENT

Weather Word Search

Word List

Air pressure Altocumulus Altostratus Atmosphere

Barometers Cirrocumulus Cirrostratus Cirrus

Climate Clouds Condensation Contrails

Crystals Cumulus Cyclones Doldrums Doppler Radar Droplets Electricity Equinox Evaporation Exosphere Fog Forecasting Fragments Freezing Greenhouse effect Hail Humidity Hurricanes Instruments Jet streams Lightning Mesosphere Meteorologist Nimbostratus Particles Precipitation Radar Rainfall Satellites Seasons Sleet Snow Solstice Stratocumulus Stratosphere Stratus Thermometer Thunderstorms Tornadoes Trade winds Troposphere Turbulence

1 June 2004

ZAMAN INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL NEWSPAPER

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SPORT

History of Skateboarding The skateboard was invented long before it was named. In fact, it was invented hundreds, probably thousands of times, by boys attaching roller skates or skate wheels to some sort of wooden platform, often just a 5-by-10.

created the polyurethane wheel for the roller skate and it was quickly adopted for skateboards as well, offering much better traction than the old baked clay wheels.

Manufacturers also widened

equipped with ramps, pipes, and obstacle courses. In areas without parks, skateboarders often performed in empty swimming pools.

The second boom also died quickly, primarily because

That was going on for 50 years or so, until 1958, when Bill Richards, the owner of a surf shop in North Hollywood, California, saw some boys riding surfboards to which they'd attached wheels.

He ordered some wheels from a roller skate c o m p a n y, a t t a c h e d them to boards, and began selling "sidewalk surfboards."

Later that year, Jan and Dean recorded a hit song, "Sidewalk Surfing," which gave the new sport nationwide exposure. It got a new name in 1959, when the Roller Derby Skateboard was introduced.

ABC's "Wide World of Sports" showed tape from the first national skateboard championship in 1965, and skateboarding was also featured on the cover of Life magazine that year. By then, more than 50 million skateboards had been manufactured.

But the boom didn't last long.

Those early skateboards had wheels of baked clay, so traction was poor, and there were many well-publicized serious accidents, including several deaths. The American Medical Association declared skateboarding "a new medical menace," and hundred of communities banned it entirely.

Two improvements brought skateboarding back. Richard Stevenson in 1971 designed a skateboard with a kicktail, an upward curve at the back, that made it easier to control. In 1973, Richard Nasworthy

the board from 1 or 17 cm to 23 cm and more, increasing stability.

More than 40 million skateboards were sold in a two-year period. In response, skateboard parks were built across the country, most of them

insurance companies raised their liability rates, forcing most skateboard parks out of business. About the same time, many skateboarders helped create a new extreme sport, bicycle stunt riding, by transferring their skateboard skills to BMX bikes.

But there was yet another boom, brought on by two totally u n r e l a t e d developments. In 1978, Allan "Ollie" G e l f a n d discovered that he could go airborne by stamping down on the tail of his skateboard. This seemingly simple maneuver, called the "Ollie" i n h i s h o n o r, e n a b l e d skateboarders to use curbs, rails, benches, and other urban

obstacles like the ramps in skateboard parks.

In 1981, the National Skateboarding Association (NSA) was established, with help from the Boy Scouts of America. That gave the sport at least the veneer of respectability, spurring many communities to set up public skateboard parks in order to keep skateboarders off the streets. Other communities eased antis k a t e b o a r d i n g o r d inances or simply turned a blind eye to skateboarding in public areas, so long as the boarders weren't interfering with pedestrian or auto traffic.

Financed largely by skateboard manufacturers, NSA organized and sanctioned competitive events, many of which o f f e r e d c a s h p r i z e s.

Professional skateboarders emerged, bringing the sport to a higher level. Several of them started their own companies to manufacture skateboards, a c c e s s o r i e s, a n d e v e n apparel.

The leader of the pack was Tony Hawk, who became a professional at 14 and earned enough money to buy a house while he was still in high school.

Skateboarding hit yet another downturn in the early 1990s, primarily because of the economy, but also because other, newer sports were beginning to cut into its popularity. Again, though, there was a revival. This one was led by the International Association of Skateboard Companies, which has worked with local and state governments to develop sensible legislation governing skateboard safety and assisted communities and entrepreneurs in building new indoor and outdoor parks for the sport.