Ballerina born without arms

山東 李全忠

主題語境：勵志人物 篇幅：317詞 建議用時：6分鐘

1Most of us can't understand putting all of our body weight on our toes like ballerinas (芭蕾舞女演員) do when they're“en pointe”,much less balancing that way without the use of our arms!

2Vitória Bueno makes it look easy,and she does it with no arms at all.The 18-year-old dancer from Brazil was born without arms,but that hasn't stopped her from pursuing a career on stage.She has also become a major influencer on social media,where she shows off her skillful use of feet in place of hands.

3When Vitória was 16 years old,she was a performer with the Academia ?ndrea Falsarella.She now boasts more than 400,000 followers on the Internet,and in 2021 she earned the Golden Buzzer during her audition for season 15 ofGermany's Got Talent.While she came in second in her first“Got Talent”competition,that performance made her eligible to compete in a new show—America's Got Talent:All-Stars.

4Vitória's appearance aired in January 2023,and she continues to blow our minds with her grace and talents both on stage and off.

5During her performance,Vitória showed her usual lighter-than-air dance capabilities,punctuated（不時打斷）by moments of extreme flexibility.As usual,she had a beautiful smile on her face the entire time,giving out rays of pure joy as she flitted (掠過)across the stage.

6When she'd finished,judges Simon Cowell,Heidi Klum,and Howie Mandel had nothing but praise for her.“I believe the sign of a star is someone who perseveres,and then when they're on stage,light up the stage,”Simon told her.“And you have both of those things.You have this glow about you.”

7The judges will have their work cut out for them when it comes time to choose between this talented young dancer and the other competitors.We are so inspired by the way Vitória celebrates her differences rather than fighting them!

Reading Check

Inference 1.What do we know about Vitória from the first two paragraphs?

A.She lost her arms at 16.

B.She was a hit on social media.

C.She began to dance at 18.

D.She was bad at balancing.

Detail 2.What benefit does Vitória's first“Got Talent”competition bring to her?

A.A better team to work on.

B.A skilled teacher to learn from.

C.A well-known school to study in.

D.A good chance to compete in a new show.

Detail 3.What does Simon Cowell think of Vitória's performances?

A.They are doubtful.

B.They need improving.

C.They are wonderful.

D.They are full of imagination.

Inference 4.Which of the following can best describe Vitória?

A.Professional and positive.

B.Honest and responsible.

C.Ambitious and sensitive.

D.Innocent and single-minded.

Language Study

Ⅰ.Text-centered chunks

at all（用于否定句、疑問句）全然；根本；究竟

stop(sb)from doing 阻止（某人）做……

show off 炫耀；賣弄；表現自己；顯擺

compete in 參加……比賽（競賽）

as usual 像往常一樣；照例

rather than 而不是；而不

Ⅱ.Discover the useful structure in the text

She has also become a major influencer on social media,where she shows off her skillful use of feet in place of hands.她還成為社交媒體上的網紅，在那里她展現了她熟練使用腳來代替手的能力。

【點石成金】本句是一個主從復合句，句中的where引導非限制性定語從句。