1 . Directions: Fill in each blank with a proper word chosen from the box. Each word can be used only once. Note that there is one word more than you need.

A. accessible        B. beats       C. bridges       D. device       E. fundamentally       F. habitually G. kneels            H. partial        I. powerful       J. showcases        K. stage

Feeling the Dance

Lights move in time to the rhythmic beat issuing from a floor speaker as hip-hop performer Shaheem Sanchez gets ready. Sanchez, who is deaf,     1     beside the speaker and places his hand on top of it, allowing the sound waves to course through his body. His head nods as he counts the     2     , catching the rhythm. Then rising, his body moves in so perfect time to the music that dancer and music unite in a single artistic expression. In this moment, art     3     the gap between two worlds: the deaf and the hearing.

Sanchez is one of a growing number of professional dancers with full or     4     hearing loss, working to redefine what it means to experience music and, in a larger sense, communicate with others.

Antoine Hunter is another artist who is inspiring a new generation of dancers to take the     5     . As the director of the Urban Jazz Company in San Francisco, Hunter experienced the way that dance could help people better understand each other, which     6     altered his life.

But there were few opportunities for a black deaf dancer when Hunter was first finding his feet. He had to create a world in which he could perform. Now he’s sharing it with others, both in his studio and through the Bay Area International Deaf Dance Festival. The event     7     the talents of deaf and hard of hearing people from around the world.

To get more people moving, Hunter ensures that his dance company is fully     8     to students of all abilities. There are interpreters for deaf and blind students, and a(n)     9     that turns sound waves into vibrations (震动). These vibrations travel across the floor so dancers can feel the music in their feet.

All around the world, deaf dancers are turning in     10     performances. Digital media is not only making these performances more visible, but also providing deaf dancers more opportunities to show off their talents. Artists like Sanchez upload performances to online platforms, where they get thousands of views. This allows deaf artists to express themselves to a larger audience.