Who Was Helen Keller 海伦·凯勒 Chapter 2 Dark Years

There were no days or nights in Helen’s world. She could not see the sun rising each morning or the moon with its silver glow at night. She could not hear birds sing or crickets chirp¹. She lived in silent darkness. Imagine if you could not hear, see, or speak. How would you let people understand you? How would you “talk”?

Helen was smart. She followed her mother around everywhere. She clung to her skirts. Helen noticed different smells. She felt vibrations² as people and things moved around her. Over time, Helen found ways to communicate. She made up signals to tell people what she wanted.

There were not many schools for deaf or blind children when Helen was little. There were none where she lived in Alabama. At schools for the deaf, children learned to make signs with their hands. The signs stood for words.



By the time she turned five, Helen had made up over fifty signs of her own. She pulled at her mother or her father. That meant “come with me.” She shoved them away when she wanted them to go. For “bread,” Helen acted out cutting a slice and buttering it. To say “small,” Helen pinched a small bit of the skin of her hand. Helen spread her fingers wide and brought them together to mean “large.” Helen also had signs for everyone in her family. For Captain, or Father, Helen mimed³ glasses and for her mother, she pulled her hair into a knot at the back of her head.

The family tried to understand Helen, but it was not easy. She had a terrible temper. When Helen did not get her way, she threw a tantrum.

Helen knew that people talked with their lips. She tried moving her lips, but no sounds came out. She did not understand why. It made Helen so mad. She kicked and screamed with frustration⁴. Her tantrums stopped only after she became too tired to scream anymore.

Helen’s parents did not know how to handle her. Relatives told them that Helen should no longer live at home. She should be “put away.” That meant putting Helen in a hospital or home for the blind and deaf. In the nineteenth century, people with handicaps were often sent away like this. Once they were sent away, their family often did not see them again. But Mrs. Keller did not want to do that to her daughter. She knew her daughter was smart. But how could anyone teach her?
 

1 chirp   

v.(尤指鸟)唧唧喳喳的叫

参考例句：

• The birds chirp merrily at the top of tree.鸟儿在枝头欢快地啾啾鸣唱。
• The sparrows chirp outside the window every morning.麻雀每天清晨在窗外嘁嘁喳喳地叫。

2 vibrations   

n.摆动( vibration的名词复数 )；震动；感受；（偏离平衡位置的）一次性往复振动

参考例句：

• We could feel the vibrations from the trucks passing outside. 我们可以感到外面卡车经过时的颤动。
• I am drawn to that girl; I get good vibrations from her. 我被那女孩吸引住了，她使我产生良好的感觉。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 mimed   

v.指手画脚地表演，用哑剧的形式表演( mime的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The man mimed the slaying of an enemy. 此人比手划脚地表演砍死一个敌人的情况。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• The acting students mimed eating an apple. 这些学生正在用哑剧形式表演吃苹果。 来自互联网

4 frustration   

n.挫折，失败，失效，落空

参考例句：

• He had to fight back tears of frustration.他不得不强忍住失意的泪水。
• He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration.他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。