It may sound strange but i started roller skating when i was relatively old. a friend of mine gave me a pair of roller skates for my (eighteen) birthday. he said that he (teach) me some basic skating skills the next saturday but disappeared for weeks. at first, i wanted to give the skates to someone else but i (not/can) think of anybody who met both requirements – to be keen on roller skating and to have the same size feet as mine. so, i put the skates on the shelf in the pantry and (forget) about them. “what are these? ” my mum asked. she saw the skates when she (tidy) up the pantry, “why do you never go skating? ” “i (go) skating if i could skate. but unfortunately i can’t,” i said. “and it’s better to learn to skate in childhood, isn’t it? ” “right,” mum nodded, “but you have no choice. you’ll never be any (young) than you are now.” that sounded like a good reason to start something new. i put the skates in my rucksack and headed to the park. there (be) lots of skaters in the park. most of (they) moved gracefully and effortlessly. some looked really clumsy.