Jumpstart English Language Worksheet Page 2
ADVERTISEMENT
1
2
310
Side B
Y
Ready, Set, READ!
Read the passage. Then answer the questions.
Have you ever seen tap dancing? The dancers use sounds
their shoes make when the metal “taps” on the heels and
toes hit the floor. Tap dancing got its start when West
African circular dancing got mixed with English
clogging and Irish jigs. Over time, tap has become
a uniquely American dance form.
The happy marriage of jig and “juba” came
about under sad circumstances—on slave ships crossing the Atlantic.
Often, the slaves were called on deck to dance. Conditions below were
horrible. So the slaves who were forced to dance for their captors were
the lucky ones. They got some much-needed fresh air and exercise. On
deck, they danced to the sounds of fiddles and bagpipes. As they did,
they drew upon the rhythms of their own tribal dances. They combined
those steps with the wooden-shoe dancing the sailors enjoyed.
Tap dance continued in America on the plantations. Slaves danced
on upturned buckets and on barrel tops. Their style developed and
spread. By the late 1800s, tap had become a popular stage dance.
Performers today continue to keep this exciting dance form alive.
1. What does the writer mean by a happy marriage of the dances?
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
2. What do you think juba is? _____________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
BrainTeaser
3
DENLB
____ ____ ____ ____
Unscramble each word.
Write it correctly in the spaces.
FETTH
____ ____
____ ____
Unscramble the boxed letters to
name an African animal.
RHAYI
____
____ ____ ____
________________________________
ZEAMA
____ ____ ____
____
DOBOR
____
____ ____ ____
28
ADVERTISEMENT
0 votes
Related Articles
Related forms
Related Categories
Parent category: Education