English B2 FCE

Parkour (from the French parcours, meaning ‘course’) is an activity which (0) TAKES PLACE in towns. The aim is to get over, under or through (1) ............ obstacles like hedges, or man-made objects like buildings, in the fastest, most direct manner possible. The sport demands great agility and (2) ............ athletics, dance and acrobatics. Participants are expected to improvise their movements rather than rehearse them. However, in order not to cause themselves injury as they (3) ............ to run up walls or jump from rooftop to rooftop, they have to learn good jumping and landing techniques. In the UK, the sport really (4) ............ after it was featured on TV but it actually (5) ............ in the suburbs of Paris in 1985. In its (6) ............ days there were no tricks for their own sake but (7) ............, when the sport became really popular, some participants started doing interesting things for show, like mid-air flips. Of course, anyone interested in taking up the sport has to be young and athletic but (8) ............ all they need is a good pair of shoes.