新西兰英语 623 Award for Disabled Dancer

 　　Last night, Melissa Fox won a Big ‘A’ Artistic¹ Achievement Award for her achievement as a dancer. Melissa has cerebral² palsy and uses a wheelchair. She dances in the Jolt³ Dance Company which last night had a performance in Christchurch with 70 dancers – children and adults. This is a mixed ability dance company with disabled and non-disabled people dancing together.

　　One of the judges said that Melissa had “ability, determination and courage”. She has been dancing for several years now and her dancing skill has developed.

　　Other cities also have mixed ability dance companies. Auckland’s Touch Compass Dance Company is performing 27th and 30th of this month.

　　One of the people responsible for encouraging people with disabilities to dance is Wellington’s Bronwyn Hayward. She said, “If you can breathe, you can dance.”

　　The final Big “A” Artistic Achievement Awards ceremony will be held in Wellington on July 18th.

　　Vocabulary

　　award – prize e.g. a cup, a certificate⁴ or a medal

　　achievement – success because of hard work or ability

　　cerebral palsy – a physical disability; can’t move the body easily

　　disabled – people with physical and intellectual⁵ disabilities

　　determination – she does not give up easily; she keeps trying very hard

　　developed – improved

　　Questions

　　Mixed-ability dance companies have benefits for the dancers – disabled and non-disabled, and for the audiences. What do you think are the benefits?

1 artistic   

adj.艺术(家)的，美术(家)的；善于艺术创作的

参考例句：

• The picture on this screen is a good artistic work.这屏风上的画是件很好的艺术品。
• These artistic handicrafts are very popular with foreign friends.外国朋友很喜欢这些美术工艺品。

2 cerebral   

adj.脑的，大脑的；有智力的，理智型的

参考例句：

• Your left cerebral hemisphere controls the right-hand side of your body.你的左半脑控制身体的右半身。
• He is a precise,methodical,cerebral man who carefully chooses his words.他是一个一丝不苟、有条理和理智的人，措辞谨慎。

3 jolt   

v.（使）摇动，（使）震动，（使）颠簸

参考例句：

• We were worried that one tiny jolt could worsen her injuries.我们担心稍微颠簸一下就可能会使她的伤势恶化。
• They were working frantically in the fear that an aftershock would jolt the house again.他们拼命地干着，担心余震可能会使房子再次受到震动。

4 certificate   

n.证书，证明书；vt.发给证明书，认可，鉴定

参考例句：

• She proudly displayed her degree certificate to her parents.她自豪地向父母展示了学位证书。
• No one had seen her marriage certificate.没人看到过她的结婚证书。

5 intellectual   

n.知识分子；adj.智力的，理智的，有理解力的

参考例句：

• Thinking is an intellectual process.思维是一个智力活动过程。
• Chess is a highly intellectual game.象棋是需用高度智力的运动项目。