Tattoos, (0) which some people call 'body art', have become more and more popular in recent years. In (1) …… of the pain caused by having a needle make hundreds of holes in their skin, millions of people (2)…..vary widely in age and background are nowadays having their bodies decorated with ink in all kinds of ways.

Many of today's young people, (3) …parents were the first generation to experiment with tattoos, see it as a way of expressing their individuality, and in (4) …to do this, they are constantly looking for new styles and designs. (5) …. to this increasing demand, tattoo studios have appeared in many towns and villages.

(6) …people tend to think of it as a modern practice, tattooing has in fact been around for a long time. There is evidence of tattoos being worn in Siberia over 4,000 years ago, as (7)… as in Ancient Egypt at that time, and it is thought to have existed in Japan 10,000 years ago. Even (8)… , it was not until the late 18th century, (9)… Captain James Cook sailed to Polynesia, that Europeans took an interest.

It was on the island of Tahiti, (10) …tattooing had an important role in society, that Cook and his crew first saw tattooed men and women, and (11)…of that, the English word comes from the Tahit