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VOA慢速英语2011--Helen Keller, 1880-1968: She Became the

时间:2011-08-08 01:40来源:互联网 提供网友:nan   字体: [ ]
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People in America - Helen Keller, 1880-1968: She Became the Most Famous Disabled Person in the World

RAY FREEMAN: I'm Ray Freeman.
SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: And I'm Shirley Griffith with People in America - a program in Special English by the Voice of America. Every week we tell about someone who was important in the history of the United States.
This week we finish the story of a writer and educator, Helen Keller. She helped millions of people who, like her, were blind and deaf.
RAY FREEMAN: We reported last week that Helen Keller suffered from a strange sickness when she was only nineteen months old. It made her completely blind and deaf. For the next five years she had no way of successfully communicating with other people.
Then, a teacher -- Anne Sullivan -- arrived from Boston to help her. Miss Sullivan herself had once been blind. She tried to teach Helen to live like other people. She taught her how to use her hands as a way of speaking.
Miss Sullivan took Helen out into the woods to explore nature. They also went to the circus, the theater, and even to factories. Miss Sullivan explained everything in the language she and Helen used -- a language of touch -- of fingers and hands. Helen also learned1 how to ride a horse, to swim, to row a boat and, even to climb trees.
Ann was a loyal2 and dedicated3 teacher to Helen
Helen Keller once wrote about these early days.
SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: "One beautiful spring morning I was alone in my room, reading. Suddenly, a wonderful smell in the air made me get up and put out my hands. The spirit of spring seemed to be passing in my room. ‘What is it?’ I asked. The next minute I knew it was coming from the mimosa tree outside.
I walked outside to the edge of the garden, toward4 the tree. There it was, shaking in the warm sunshine. Its long branches, so heavy with flowers, almost touched the ground. I walked through the flowers to the tree itself and then just stood silent. Then I put my foot on the tree and pulled myself up into it. I climbed higher and higher until I reached a little seat. Long ago someone had put it there. I sat for a long time. . . Nothing in all the world was like this.”
(MUSIC)
RAY FREEMAN: Later, Helen learned that nature could be cruel as well as beautiful. Strangely enough she discovered this in a different kind of tree.
SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: "One day my teacher and I were returning from a long walk. It was a fine morning. But it started to get warm and heavy. We stopped to rest two or three times. Our last stop was under a cherry tree a short way from the house.
The shade was nice and the tree was easy to climb. Miss Sullivan climbed with me. It was so cool up in the tree we decided5 to have lunch there. I promised to sit still until she went to the house for some food. Suddenly a change came over the tree. I knew the sky was black because all the heat, which meant light to me, had died out of the air. A strange odor6 came up to me from the earth. I knew it -- it was the odor which always comes before a thunderstorm.
I felt alone, cut off from friends, high above the firm earth. I was frightened, and wanted my teacher. I wanted to get down from that tree quickly. But I was no help to myself. There was a moment of terrible silence.
Then a sudden and violent wind began to shake the tree and its leaves kept coming down all around me. I almost fell. I wanted to jump, but was afraid to do so. I tried to make myself small in the tree, as the branches rubbed against me. Just as I thought that both the tree and I were going to fall, a hand touched me. . . It was my teacher. I held her with all my strength then shook with joy to feel the solid earth under my feet. "
(MUSIC)
RAY FREEMAN: Miss Sullivan stayed with Helen for many years. She taught Helen how to read, how to write and how to speak. She helped her to get ready for school and college. More than anything, Helen wanted to do what others did, and do it just as well.
In time, Helen did go to college and completed her studies with high honors7. But it was a hard struggle. Few of the books she needed were written in the Braille language that the blind could read by touching8 pages. Miss Sullivan and others had to teach her what was in these books by forming words in her hands.
The study of geometry9 and physics was especially difficult. Helen could only learn about squares, triangles, and other geometrical forms by making them with wires. She kept feeling the different shapes of these wires until she could see them in her mind.
During her second year at college, Miss Keller wrote the story of her life and what college meant to her. This is what she wrote.
SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: "My first day at Radcliffe College was of great interest. Some powerful force inside me made me test my mind. I wanted to learn if it was as good as that of others.
I learned many things at college. One thing, I slowly learned was that knowledge does not just mean power, as some people say. Knowledge leads to happiness, because to have it is to know what is true and real.
To know what great men of the past have thought, said and done is to feel the heartbeat of humanity10 down through the ages."
RAY FREEMAN: All of Helen Keller's knowledge reached her mind through her sense of touch and smell, and of course her feelings.
To know a flower was to touch it, feel it, and smell it. This sense of touch became greatly developed as she got older.
She once said that hands speak almost as loudly as words.
She said the touch of some hands frightened her. The people seem so empty of joy that when she touched their cold fingers it is as if she were shaking hands with a storm.
She found the hands of others full of sunshine and warmth.
Strangely enough, Helen Keller learned to love things she could not hear, music for example. She did this through her sense of touch.
When waves of air beat against her, she felt them. Sometimes she put her hand to a singer's throat. She often stood for hours with her hands on a piano while it was played. Once, she listened to an organ. Its powerful sounds made her move her body in rhythm11 with the music.
She also liked to go to museums. She thought she understood sculpture as well as others. Her fingers told her the true size, and the feel of the material.
What did Helen Keller think of herself? What did she think about the tragic12 loss of her sight and hearing? This is what she wrote as a young girl:
SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: "Sometimes a sense of loneliness covers me like a cold mist13 -- I sit alone and wait at life's shut door. Beyond, there is light and music and sweet friendship, but I may not enter. Silence sits heavy upon my soul.
Then comes hope with a sweet smile and says softly14, 'There is joy in forgetting one's self.’ And so I try to make the light in others' eyes my sun. . . The music in others' ears my symphony15. . . The smile on others' lips my happiness."
(MUSIC)
RAY FREEMAN: Helen Keller was tall and strong. When she spoke16, her face looked very alive. It helped give meaning to her words. She often felt the faces of close friends when she was talking to them to discover their feelings. She and Miss Sullivan both were known for their sense of humor17. They enjoyed jokes and laughing at funny things that happened to themselves or others.
Helen Keller had to work hard to support herself after she finished college. She spoke to many groups around the country. She wrote several books. And she made one movie based on her life. Her main goal was to increase public interest in the difficulties of people with physical problems.
The work Helen Keller and Anne Sullivan did has been written and talked about for many years. Their success showed how people can conquer18 great difficulties.
Anne Sullivan died in nineteen thirty-six, blind herself. Before Miss Sullivan died, Helen wrote and said many kind things about her.
SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: "It was the genius of my teacher, her sympathy, her love which made my first years of education so beautiful.
My teacher is so near to me that I do not think of myself as apart from her. All the best of me belongs to her. Everything I am today was awakened19 by her loving touch."
RAY FREEMAN: Helen Keller died on June first, nineteen sixty-eight. She was eighty-seven years old. Her message of courage and hope remains20.
(MUSIC)
SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: You have just heard the last part of the story of Helen Keller. Our Special English program was written by Katherine Clarke and produced by Lawan Davis. I'm Shirley Griffith.
RAY FREEMAN: And I'm Ray Freeman. Listen again next week to another People in America program on the Voice of America.


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 learned m1oxn     
adj.有学问的,博学的;learn的过去式和过去分词
参考例句:
  • He went into a rage when he learned about it.他听到这事后勃然大怒。
  • In this little village,he passed for a learned man.在这个小村子里,他被视为有学问的人。
2 loyal VAtxw     
adj.忠诚的,忠心的
参考例句:
  • He is a loyal friend.他是一位忠诚的朋友。
  • I judge him to be loyal.我认为他很忠诚。
3 dedicated duHzy2     
adj.一心一意的;献身的;热诚的
参考例句:
  • He dedicated his life to the cause of education.他献身于教育事业。
  • His whole energies are dedicated to improve the design.他的全部精力都放在改进这项设计上了。
4 toward on6we     
prep.对于,关于,接近,将近,向,朝
参考例句:
  • Suddenly I saw a tall figure approaching toward the policeman.突然间我看到一个高大的身影朝警察靠近。
  • Upon seeing her,I smiled and ran toward her. 看到她我笑了,并跑了过去。
5 decided lvqzZd     
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。
6 odor yRYzT     
n.气味,香气,臭气
参考例句:
  • The whole herb has a characteristic taste and odor.整株药草有种独特的味道和气味。
  • He is in bad odor with his friends.他在朋友中声誉不佳。
7 honors 2c250cb8374a2f7f18ab42ccf1291801     
n.礼仪;荣典;礼节; 大学荣誉学位;大学优等成绩;尊敬( honor的名词复数 );敬意;荣誉;光荣
参考例句:
  • He aims at honors. 他力求名誉。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • We did the last honors to his remains. 我们向他的遗体告别。 来自《简明英汉词典》
8 touching sg6zQ9     
adj.动人的,使人感伤的
参考例句:
  • It was a touching sight.这是一幅动人的景象。
  • His letter was touching.他的信很感人。
9 geometry ag7x4     
n.几何,几何学
参考例句:
  • The boy puzzled his way through geometry.那男孩煞费苦心地钻研几何学。
  • The students are learning solid geometry.这些学生正在学习立体几何学。
10 humanity Nc4xR     
n.人类,[总称]人(性),人道[pl.]人文学科
参考例句:
  • Such an act is a disgrace to humanity.这种行为是人类的耻辱。
  • We should treat animals with humanity.我们应该以仁慈之心对待动物。
11 rhythm hCHzx     
n.韵律;节奏
参考例句:
  • He has an ear for the rhythm of Irish speech.他对爱尔兰语的节奏很敏感。
  • His poem has a pleasing rhythm.他的诗有和谐的韵律。
12 tragic inaw2     
adj.悲剧的,悲剧性的,悲惨的
参考例句:
  • The effect of the pollution on the beaches is absolutely tragic.污染海滩后果可悲。
  • Charles was a man doomed to tragic issues.查理是个注定不得善终的人。
13 mist nDUxY     
n.雾,迷蒙,朦胧不清;vt.使...模糊,蒙上雾;vi.使...模糊,下雾
参考例句:
  • She saw his face through a mist of tears.她泪眼朦胧地望着他的脸。
  • There is a film of mist over the land.大地上笼罩着一层薄雾。
14 softly HiIzR4     
adv.柔和地,静静地,温柔地
参考例句:
  • He speaks too softly for her to hear.他讲话声音太轻,她听不见。
  • She breathed her advice softly.她低声劝告。
15 symphony 4H3zL     
n.交响乐(曲),(色彩等的)和谐
参考例句:
  • The Ninth Symphony of Beethoven is a famous one.贝多芬的第九交响乐非常有名。
  • They play over the whole symphony.他们把整个交响乐重新演奏了一遍。
16 spoke XryyC     
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。
17 humor 4crxX     
n.(humour)幽默,诙谐
参考例句:
  • He is distinguished for his sense of humor.他以其幽默感著称。
  • American humor is founded largely on hyperbole.美式幽默主要以夸张为基础。
18 conquer hpcz2     
vt.克服,征服,战胜,占领;vi.得胜
参考例句:
  • There is always one thing to conquer another.一物降一 物。
  • Will can conquer habit.意志能战胜习惯。
19 awakened de71059d0b3cd8a1de21151c9166f9f0     
v.(使)醒( awaken的过去式和过去分词 );(使)觉醒;弄醒;(使)意识到
参考例句:
  • She awakened to the sound of birds singing. 她醒来听到鸟的叫声。
  • The public has been awakened to the full horror of the situation. 公众完全意识到了这一状况的可怕程度。 来自《简明英汉词典》
20 remains 1kMzTy     
n.剩余物,残留物;遗体,遗迹
参考例句:
  • He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
  • The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。
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