名人教英文：helen keller — ill-fated 命运坎坷的海伦凯勒
when helen keller fell ill with a terrible fever as a toddler (幼童), she was left blind and deaf. most people had little hope that helen would have a productive life. but helen reached out for education and a full life. in doing so, she forever changed the way disabled people are seen. helen was a trailblazer (先驱). she showed america and the world that physical disabilities (残障) matter less than a courageous heart and spirit.
helen adams keller was born on 27 june 1880. she was born in tuscumbia, alabama, a small country town. her father, arthur henley keller, was a veteran (退伍士兵) of the civil war. he later became a cotton plantation owner and editor of the local newspaper, the alabamian.
arthur keller was a widower (鳏夫) with two sons when he married kate adams. kate helped her husband run the plantation. to supplement (帮补) the family finances, she made her own butter, lard, bacon, and ham. helen was the couple's first child. she was a bright, active baby, who spoke at six months of age. at a year old, she could walk.
when her mother was bathing her one day, helen was fascinated by an object that was far away from her. she slid off her mother's lap and went running to get it. she learned to walk and run at an early age. little helen startled visitors by calling out words like "wah-wah" for water while still a baby.
in february 1882, when helen was nineteen months old, she became sick and feverish. the fever worsened. her parents feared she would die. it was probably either meningitis (脑膜炎) or scarlet fever (猩红热). helen was desperately ill for several days. but the fever went away and she recovered. however, there were frightening indications that she had lost her hearing and her sight. when the dinner bell rang, helen did not respond. when her mother passed her hand in front of helen's face, the child did not seem to notice. it was obvious that she was blind and deaf as a result of the illness.
helen clung to (抓紧) her mother's skirts for the first few weeks after the illness. she spent most of her time in her mother's lap. the only way helen could make herself understood to her family was to shake her head for "no" and nod for "yes". she learned to act out her desires. if she wanted some buttered bread, she pretended she was cutting bread off the loaf and buttering it.
helen was a clever little girl. she soon learned to take the laundry (洗好的衣服) from the basket and put it away neatly. she recognised her own garments (衣服) from the rest. sometimes, helen touched her mother's lips and realised she was talking. but helen could not hear.
the little girl knew she was different because she did not talk. helen tried moving her lips but since she could not hear, she did not make recognisable sounds.
helen had periods of frustration (挫败) about her disability. she kicked and screamed in wild tantrums (脾气) until she was so tired she fell to the floor and slept. relatives and friends were horrified at the girl's tantrums. many believed she belonged in a hospital.
helen did find one playmate who understood her very well. martha washington was the daughter of the family's black cook. blonde helen and dark-haired martha played together constantly (时常地).
joining the girls in their daily games was an old dog named belle. helen and martha kneaded dough (搓面团), made ice-cream, cut out paper dolls, and climbed trees. they fed the hens and turkeys and hunted for eggs, which they brought in for breakfast. martha could communicate with helen better than anyone else.