Who Was Helen Keller 海伦·凯勒 Chapter 10 All Grown Up

Helen was asked to give a public speech. Helen gave her first speech in Montclair, New Jersey¹. Annie was with her. Still, Helen was scared. What if no one understood her? Helen spoke² about her life. Her voice was not clear, but no one seemed to care. The audience loved her. Helen was asked to give more speeches.

So Helen and Annie went on a lecture tour. They toured different cities in the United States in 1913. She spoke about her life and her feelings and how she accomplished³ what she did. Annie introduced Helen and then spoke again at the end. Warm and heartfelt applause⁴ greeted Helen wherever she went.

Helen was so successful on stage that some people invited her to make a movie about her life and her feelings. Helen and Annie went to Hollywood and made the silent film Deliverance. Annie and Helen dreamed of the money they’d make from the film. They hoped to become rich and famous like movie stars. But the movie was not a success.

Disappointed, Helen and Annie returned to Wrentham. And now they had a new problem. Annie’s eyesight was failing. And Annie and John had separated. Annie was hurt over the failure of her marriage. And she feared she would go blind. The two rested. Helen answered the many letters that she received. Helen was famous, but they were broke. Helen had to think of a way to earn money. Then an offer came.

New York vaudeville⁵ agents met with Helen and Annie. Vaudeville was a stage show made up of a series of different acts. The agents discussed whether the two women might do a twenty-minute act about Helen and her teacher. Annie and Helen’s friends did not like the idea. Helen’s mother hated the idea. People would come just to see a blind and deaf woman. But Helen didn’t care. She thought that it would be fun. And, as always, once Helen decided⁶ to do something, there was no changing her mind.

The first performance was on February 24, 1920, at the Palace Theater in New York City. Teacher opened the act. In her Irish brogue, she told how she had first taught Helen. Music then filled the theater. Helen parted the curtains and walked on stage. Then they told of the “miracle⁷,” the day when Annie spelled the word water and Helen realized what it meant.

At the end of their act, the audience exploded with applause. Helen had charmed⁸ them completely. Soon Helen and Annie were among the highest paid performers. They earned up to $2,500 per week. Annie began to worry that people came to see if Helen would fall off the stage or make some other mistake. Maybe some did. But most did not. They came because they admired Helen. And Helen loved vaudeville. She liked “talking” to the other performers. She loved the smells backstage. Helen said that she felt like part of a family.

In 1924, Helen started a new job, one that was to last the rest of her life. The American Foundation⁹ for the Blind asked Helen to work for them. She would meet people, talk about the blind, and raise funds¹⁰. Helen accepted. She felt that here was a way to help the blind everywhere. And so Helen became the ambassador¹¹ for the blind. She met kings, queens, and presidents. Annie went with her.

In 1925, Helen took a year off to write another book. Helen had been asked to write about the most recent years of her life. She wrote about her last years at Radcliffe, the Foundation for the Blind, and the people in her life.

In 1929, Midstream was published. It, too, became a best-seller.

Nineteen twenty-nine was also the year that the stock¹² market crashed. The Great Depression began. Millions of people in the United States lost their jobs and their money.

Annie became ill. Her sight grew worse and worse. Later, she lost her sight. Helen’s heart broke for Teacher. She made sure that Teacher was well taken care of. A secretary named Polly Thomson began to fill in for Annie.

Then, in 1936, Annie Sullivan died. For nearly fifty years, Teacher had been the center of Helen’s life. Could Helen live without her? Many people thought Helen would collapse¹³ or fade away. But she didn’t. In her heart, Helen knew that she had to go on. She could not retreat¹⁴ from the world. Teacher never would have wanted that.

So Helen kept on working with just Polly’s help. Helen continued to speak for the Foundation. She met with President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who had had polio. He had braces¹⁵ on his legs and used a wheelchair. The two proved that people could overcome severe handicaps¹⁶ and achieve great things. Helen worked to pass laws to help the blind. The blind would receive money for school and job training. Funds were given to make talking books available in public libraries. These laws helped the blind live independently.

Helen toured Japan in the late 1930s. The Japanese people knew of Helen Keller, but many did not believe the stories about her. In Japan, the blind were treated very poorly. They received little schooling¹⁷ or help from the government. Helen’s tour changed that. Knowing that Helen loved dogs, the Japanese people gave her a beautiful Akita dog. This gift showed how much they respected her. Helen then returned home.

After World War II ended in 1945, Helen traveled all over the world once more. She met with blind soldiers. Helen inspired them. She gave them hope.

Helen continued to speak out for the handicapped¹⁸ for the rest of her life. She met with every president, from Grover Cleveland to John F. Kennedy.

In 1955, Helen published another book Teacher: Anne Sullivan Macy. It was about the life of the person who had, in many ways, given Helen her life.

On Broadway a play called The Miracle Worker opened in 1959. It, too, told the story of young Helen and Teacher. Later, the play was made into a popular movie.

Helen died on June 1, 1968. She was nearly eighty-eight. She had inspired millions. Her story continues to inspire us today.
 

1 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

2 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

3 accomplished   

adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的

参考例句：

• Thanks to your help,we accomplished the task ahead of schedule.亏得你们帮忙,我们才提前完成了任务。
• Removal of excess heat is accomplished by means of a radiator.通过散热器完成多余热量的排出。

4 applause   

n.鼓掌，喝彩，赞许

参考例句：

• His appearance on the platform was greeted with a burst of applause.他一登上台就博得了一阵热烈的掌声。
• His speech won round after round of enthusiastic applause.他的演讲博得了一阵又一阵的热烈掌声。

5 vaudeville   

n.歌舞杂耍表演

参考例句：

• The standard length of a vaudeville act was 12 minutes.一个杂耍节目的标准长度是12分钟。
• The mayor talk like a vaudeville comedian in his public address.在公共演讲中，这位市长讲起话来像个歌舞杂耍演员。

6 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

7 miracle   

n.奇迹，令人惊奇的人或事

参考例句：

• The doctors said that his recovery was a miracle. 医生们说他的复原是件奇事。
• It is simply a miracle that rice should grow in such a place.稻子竟能在这样的地方生长，这实在是个奇迹。

8 charmed   

adj.着迷的；喜悦的v.使着迷(charm的过去式和过去分词)；使高兴；哄诱；使中魔法

参考例句：

• The wicked old woman charmed the princess with magic words. 那个老巫婆用咒语控制了公主。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The singer charmed her listeners with her sweet voice. 这名歌手用她那甜美的歌声使听众陶醉。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 foundation   

n.[pl.]地基；基础；基金会；建立，创办

参考例句：

• The foundation of the university took place 600 years ago.这所大学是600年前创办的。
• The Foundation gives money to help artists.那家基金会捐款帮助艺术家。

10 funds   

n.pl.资金

参考例句：

• He absconded with the company funds. 他卷走公司的资金潜逃了。
• They held a harambee meeting to raise funds for a new classroom. 他们为筹款建新教室而办了个募捐会。

11 ambassador   

n.大使，特使，（派驻国际组织的）代表

参考例句：

• He took up office as an ambassador for ten years continuously.他连任十年大使。
• The new ambassador is more mature than his predecessor.新大使比他的前任更成熟一些。

12 stock   

n.存货，储备；树干；血统；股份；家畜；adj.存货的；平凡的，惯用的；股票的；畜牧的；vt.进货，采购；储存；供给；vi.出新芽；进货

参考例句：

• The shop takes stock every week on Friday mornings.这家商店每星期五早晨盘点存货。
• Experts have forecast an upturn in the stock market.专家已预测股票市场价格有上升趋势。

13 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

14 retreat   

n.休息寓所，撤退，隐居；v.撤退，向后倾

参考例句：

• You cannot retreat from your responsibility in this affair.你不能回避在这一事件中的责任。
• They knew when to attack and when to retreat.他们知道什么时候进攻和什么时候撤退。

15 braces   

n.吊带，背带；托架( brace的名词复数 )；箍子；括弧；（儿童）牙箍v.支住( brace的第三人称单数 )；撑牢；使自己站稳；振作起来

参考例句：

• The table is shaky because the braces are loose. 这张桌子摇摇晃晃，因为支架全松了。
• You don't need braces if you're wearing a belt! 要系腰带，就用不着吊带了。

16 handicaps   

妨碍，使不利( handicap的第三人称单数 )； 使（某人）行动和生活不正常

参考例句：

• His lack of English handicaps him. 他的英语不好对他是一件不利的事。
• In the first winter of the war these accumulated and glaring deficiencies were serious handicaps. 战争的第一个冬季，此种累积且显著的弱点，成了严重的障碍。

17 schooling   

n.教育；正规学校教育

参考例句：

• A child's access to schooling varies greatly from area to area.孩子获得学校教育的机会因地区不同而大相径庭。
• Backward children need a special kind of schooling.天赋差的孩子需要特殊的教育。

18 handicapped   

a.残疾的，有智力缺陷的

参考例句：

• a visually handicapped child 弱视儿童
• mentally and physically handicapped 身心俱残