英语听力—环球英语 1296 The Amazing Life of Helen Keller

 　　Voice 1

 

　　Welcome to Spotlight¹. I’m Liz Waid.

 

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　　And I’m Colin Lowther. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand - no matter where in the world they live.

 

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　　“Once I knew only darkness and stillness. My life was without past or future. But a little word from the fingers of another person fell into my empty hand. And then my heart suddenly opened to the wonder of living.”

 

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　　Helen Adams Keller wrote these hopeful² words. Her childhood was dark and silent³. Yet she became an encouraging writer and teacher for many people. Today’s Spotlight is on the writer and educator Helen Keller.

 

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　　Helen Keller was born in 1880 in the United⁴ States. She was a healthy baby. But Helen became very sick when she was one and half years old. No one knew what kind of sickness she had. Now, experts think she may have had scarlet⁵ fever or meningitis. Her sickness was very serious. Her family believed that Helen was going to die.

 

　　Voice 1

 

　　Helen did not die. She seemed to recover from her sickness. Her family was very happy. But all was not well. Helen’s mother saw that Helen’s behaviour had changed. Helen did not react⁶ to noise. She did not react to movement either. When Helen’s mother placed her hand in front of Helen’s eyes, Helen did not move. She could not see. She could not hear. The sickness had left Helen blind and deaf.

 

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　　Life for Helen and her family was difficult. Helen became a troublesome child. She smashed⁷ things in the house. She was angry. She was intelligent but she had no way to communicate. By the time she was six years old, Helen’s family needed a new way to help her. They travelled to an institute for the blind. Doctors there said that Helen would never see or hear again. But the director⁸ of the institute told them not to lose hope. He said that Helen could learn. She only needed a teacher.

 

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　　This teacher was Anne Sullivan. Anne was a 20 year old student at the institute for the blind. Anne had lost most of her eyesight⁹ at the age of five. At the institute for the blind she had operations on her eyes. Then she could see better. Anne went to live with the Keller family as Helen’s teacher. Later, Helen wrote:

 

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　　“Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much. Walking with a friend in the dark is better than walking alone in the light.”

 

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　　Anne changed Helen’s life. She showed Helen love and support. Helen began to trust Anne. Soon Helen’s behavior improved. Anne also began to teach Helen words. Anne used her finger to write the letters of words on Helen’s hand. Helen repeated the finger movements. But she did not understand the meaning of the letters and words.

 

　　Voice 1

 

　　Then, a small event changed Helen forever. One day, Helen and Anne were walking outside. They passed a water well. Anne took Helen’s hands. On one hand she wrote the letters w - a - t - e - r. On the other hand, she poured cool water. Suddenly, Helen understood the meaning of the word water. She now understood the symbols of language.

 

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　　After this, Helen wanted to know more and more. Anne continued to teach her words and their meanings. Soon Anne taught Helen to read and write. Helen did this through her sense of touch. People were very surprised that Helen could read, write and communicate! This was not common for blind people in the 1800s. But Helen did not ever give up. She wrote:

 

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　　“When we do the best we can, we never know what miracle¹⁰ is made in our life, or in the life of another.”

 

　　Voice 1

 

　　In 1900 Helen went to Radcliff College, in England. Helen became the first deaf and blind person to earn a Bachelor¹¹ of Arts degree. At college Helen also began to write about her life. Helen wrote many books. Some of the books were about her life. Other books were about her Christian¹² faith. Much of her writing was political¹³.

 

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　　Helen Keller saw that many blind people lived in poor conditions. Blind people did not get a good education. But Helen showed that it is possible for blind people to live happy, productive¹⁴ lives. She wrote,

 

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　　“The public must learn that the blind man has a mind that can be educated¹⁵. He has a hand that can be trained. He has dreams that are right for him to work towards.”

 

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　　Helen was also very interested in justice for blind people in other countries. She travelled to 40 countries around the world. She gave speeches and brought hope to many people. The communities that Helen Keller visited increased their efforts for blind people.

 

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　　Helen did not only work for justice for blind people. She did not like injustice¹⁶ of any kind. She worked for social rights, woman’s rights and for peace. She believed that God created all people equal. She thought that all people had equal rights to a good life. She said:

 

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　　“The world is full of suffering. But it is full also of overcoming suffering. I am only one; but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something.”

 

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　　Helen Keller kept writing and giving speeches until she was an old woman. She won many awards and knew many famous people. But after she turned eighty [80] Helen had some health problems. She moved back to her home and lived simply.

 

　　Voice 2

 

　　Helen Keller died peacefully at the age of 88. Her life brought hope and courage to millions of people. And she continues to encourage people all around the world with wise words such as these:

 

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　　“True happiness is not found through helping¹⁷ yourself but through faithfulness¹⁸ to a good purpose... The best and most beautiful things in life cannot be seen or touched. They are felt in the heart.”

 

　　Voice 1

 

　　The writers of this program were Marina Santee and Rena Dam. The producer of this program was Rena Dam. The voices you heard were from the United States and the United Kingdom. All quotes¹⁹ were adapted for this program and voiced by Spotlight. You can listen to this program again, and read it, on the internet at www.radioenglish.net. This program is called, ‘The Amazing Life of Helen Keller’.

 

　　Voice 2

 

　　You can also leave your comments on our website. Or you can email us at [email protected]. You can also find us on Facebook - just search for spotlightradio. We hope you can join us again for the next Spotlight program. Goodbye.

1 spotlight   

n.公众注意的中心，聚光灯，探照灯，视听，注意，醒目

参考例句：

• This week the spotlight is on the world of fashion.本周引人瞩目的是时装界。
• The spotlight followed her round the stage.聚光灯的光圈随着她在舞台上转。

2 hopeful   

adj.有希望的，怀抱希望的，保持乐观的；n.有希望之人，有前途之人

参考例句：

• This is a hopeful news.这是个鼓舞人心的消息。
• We are hopeful about the future.我们对未来抱乐观态度。

3 silent   

adj.安静的，不吵闹的，沉默的，无言的；n.(复数)默剧

参考例句：

• Immediately on his beginning to speak,everyone was silent.他一讲话，大家顿时安静下来。
• The boys looked at the conjuror in silent wonder. 孩子们目瞪口呆地看着那魔术师。

4 united   

adj.和谐的；团结的；联合的，统一的

参考例句：

• The whole nation is closely united.全国人民紧密团结。
• The two men were united by community of interests.共同的利益使两个人结合在一起。

5 scarlet   

n.深红色，绯红色，红衣；adj.绯红色的

参考例句：

• The scarlet leaves of the maples contrast well with the dark green of the pines.深红的枫叶和暗绿的松树形成了明显的对比。
• The glowing clouds are growing slowly pale,scarlet,bright red,and then light red.天空的霞光渐渐地淡下去了，深红的颜色变成了绯红，绯红又变为浅红。

6 react   

vi.起反应，起作用；反抗，起反作用

参考例句：

• She didn't look up or react in any way.她既不抬头，也没有任何反应。
• How did he react to your suggestion?他如何对待你的建议？

7 smashed   

adj.喝醉酒的v.打碎，捣烂( smash的过去式和过去分词 )；捣毁；重击；撞毁（车辆）

参考例句：

• Several windows had been smashed. 几扇窗户劈里啪啦打碎了。
• In time-honoured tradition, a bottle of champagne was smashed on the ship. 依照由来已久的传统，对着船摔了一瓶香槟。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 director   

n.主管，导演；主任；理事；董事；处长

参考例句：

• The director has taken the visitors off to his office.经理把客人带到他办公室去了。
• The new director is easy to get along with.新来的主任很好处。

9 eyesight   

n.视力；视觉；眼力

参考例句：

• Her eyesight grew so bad that she could hardly see.她的视力变得很糟，几乎什么也看不见了。
• Everyone should pay attention to preserving his own eyesight.每人都应注意保护视力。

10 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。

11 bachelor   

n.单身汉，未婚者；学士学位

参考例句：

• She was a bachelor woman.她是一个独立生活的未婚女子。
• I graduated from Qinghua University and got a Bachelor Degree.我毕业于清华大学，获得学士学位.

12 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

13 political   

adj.政治上的，政党的，政略性的，政治的

参考例句：

• He was forced to leave his homeland for political reasons.因为政治原因他被迫离开自己的祖国。
• In ideas those two political parties are worlds apart.那两个政党在思想上有巨大分歧。

14 productive   

adj.能生产的，有生产价值的，多产的

参考例句：

• We had a productive meeting that solved some problems.我们开了一个富有成效的会议，解决了一些问题。
• Science and technology are part of the productive forces.科学技术是生产力。

15 educated   

adj.受过教育的，有教养的

参考例句：

• She was well educated in literature at a university.她在大学里受到良好的文学方面的教育。
• Children should be educated in a correct way.教育孩子要得法。

16 injustice   

n.非正义，不公正，不公平，侵犯（别人的）权利

参考例句：

• They complained of injustice in the way they had been treated.他们抱怨受到不公平的对待。
• All his life he has been struggling against injustice.他一生都在与不公正现象作斗争。

17 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

18 faithfulness   

n.忠诚，正确，诚实；忠忱；忠心

参考例句：

• Matrimonial vows are to show the faithfulness of the new couple. 婚誓体现了新婚夫妇对婚姻的忠诚。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Thus, they argue: "'Unintelligibility' resulting from faithfulness is worse than faithlessness that makes translation 'intelligible'." 故此主张“与其忠实而使人看不懂，毋宁不很忠实而看得懂。” 来自汉英文学 - 散文英译

19 quotes   

v.引用，援引( quote的第三人称单数 )；报价；引述；为（股票、黄金或外汇）报价

参考例句：

• He quotes a few verses from Tennyson in his paper. 他在论文中引用了英国诗人丁尼生的几行诗句。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He quotes (from) the Bible to support his beliefs. 他引用圣经来支持自己的信念。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》