A
Since the age of three, Chelsie Hill had dreamed of becoming a dancer. That ambition nearly ended one night in 2010. Hill, then a 17-year-old high school senior in Pacific Grove, California, was in a car accident that put her in the hospital for 51 days and left her paralyzed from the waist down. For most people, that would have ruined any hope of a dancing career. For Hill, it was the beginning. Far from being a barrier, her wheelchair made her even stronger. “I wanted to prove to my community — and to myself — that I was still ‘normal’,” she told Teen Vogue.
“Half of my body was taken away from me, and I have to move it with my hands,” Hill said, “It definitely took a lot of learning and patience.” After leaving school, Hill wanted to expand her dance network to include women like her. She met people online who had suffered various spinal cord injuries but shared her determination, and she invited them to dance with her. Hoping to reach more people in a larger city, Hill moved to Los Angeles in 2014 and formed a team of dancers with disabilities she called the Rollettes. “I want to break down the stereotype of wheelchair users and show that dance is dance, whether you’re walking or you’re rolling,” she said.
Hill has attained what many of us never will: her childhood dream. She’s a dancer. But the Rollettes have helped her find something else just as fulfilling. Every year she held a dance camp for wheelchair users of all ages and abilities. In 2019, 173 participants from ten countries attended.
Many people have received help. Steph Aiello told Teen Vogue that working with Hill challenged her to be more independent. Edna Serrano says that being part of the Rollettes team has given her the courage to get behind the wheel of a car, “I didn’t know I could do so many things that these girls have taught me.”
1. What can be learned from the text?
A. It took Hill nearly a month to recover in the hospital.
B. People from more than 20 countries joined the Rollettes.
C. Hill helped the dancers find their self-confidence.
D. Hill would expand her dance camp.
2. Which the following words can best describe Hill?
A. Ambitious and curious. B. Honest and hardworking.
C. Humorous and brave. D. Strong-willed and warm-hearted.
3. What can be the best title for the text?
A. A way to realize one’s dream. B. An inspiring story of dancers.
C. Chelsie Hill: a brave dancer. D. A dance camp for the disabled.