In 1882 a baby girl caught a fever that was so fierce she nearly died. She survived but the fever left its mark — she could no longer see or hear. Because she could not hear she also found it very difficult to speak.
1882年，一名女婴因高发烧差点丧命。她虽幸免于难，但发烧给她留下了后遗症—— 她再也看不见、听不见。因为听不见，她想讲话也变得很困难。
So how did this child, blinded and deafened at 19 months old, grow up to become a world-famous author and public speaker?
那么这样一个在19个月时就既盲又聋的孩子，是如何成长为享誉世界的作家和演说家的呢？
The fever cut her off from the outside world, depriving her of sight and sound. It was as if she had been thrown into a dark prison cell from which there could be no release.
高烧将她与外界隔开，使她失去了视力和声音。她仿佛置身在黑暗的牢笼中无法摆脱。
Luckily Helen was not someone who gave up easily. Soon she began to explore the world by using her other senses. She followed her mother wherever she went, hanging onto her skirts, She touched and smelled everything she came across. She copied their actions and was soon able to do certain jobs herself, like milking the cows or kneading dough, She even learnt to recognize people by feeling their faces or their clothes. She could also tell where she was in the garden by the smell of the different plants and the feel of the ground under her feet.
万幸的是海伦并不是个轻易认输的人。不久她就开始利用其它的感官来探查这个世界了。她跟着母亲，拉着母亲的衣角，形影不离。她去触摸，去嗅各种她碰到的物品。她模仿别人的动作且很快就能自己做一些事情，例如挤牛奶或揉面。她甚至学会*摸别人的脸或衣服来识别对方。她还能*闻不同的植物和触摸地面来辨别自己在花园的位置。
By the age of seven she had invented over 60 different signs by which she could talk to her family, If she wanted bread for example, she would pretend to cut a loaf and butter the slices. If she wanted ice cream she wrapped her arms around herself and pretended to shiver.
七岁的时候她发明了60多种不同的手势，*此得以和家里人交流。比如她若想要面包，就会做出切面包和涂黄油的动作。想要冰淇淋时她会用手裹住自己装出发抖的样子。
Helen was unusual in that she was extremely intelligent and also remarkably sensitive. By her own efforts she had managed to make some sense of an alien and confusing world. But even so she had limitations.
海伦在这方面非比一般，她绝顶的聪明又相当敏感。通过努力她对这个陌生且迷惑的世界有了一些知识。但她仍有一些有足。
At the age of five Helen began to realize she was different from other people. She noticed that her family did not use signs like she did but talked with their mouths. Sometimes she stood between two people and touched their lips. She could not understand what they said and she could not make any meaningful sounds herself. She wanted to talk but no matter how she tried she could not make herself understood. This make her so angry that she used to hurl herself around the room, kicking and screaming in frustration. 海伦五岁时开始意识到她与别人不同。她发现家里的其他人不用象她那样做手势而是用嘴交谈。有时她站在两人中间触摸他们的嘴唇。她不知道他们在说什么，而她自己不能发出带有含义的声音。她想讲话，可无论费多大的劲儿也无法使别人明白自己。这使她异常懊恼以至于常常在屋子里乱跑乱撞，灰心地又踢又喊。
责任编辑：虫虫
