Chapter13 The Story of My Life-双语名著无障碍阅读丛书——《假如给我三天光明Three Days to See》

The Story ofMy Cife CHAPTER 13 -audible sounds had always been strong within me. I used to make noises keeping one hand on my throat while the other hand felt the movements of my lips. I was pleased with anything that made a noise and liked to feel the cat purr^{} and the dog bark. I also liked to keep my hand on a singer's throat, or on a piano when it was being played. Before I lost my sight and hearing, I was fast learning to talk, but after my illness it was found that I had ceased to speak because I could not hear. I used to sit in my mother's lap all day long and keep my hands on her face because it amused me to feel the motions of her lips: and I moved my lips, too, although I had forgotten what talking was. My friends say that I laughed and cried naturally, and for awhile I made many sounds and word-elements, not because they were a means of communication. but because the need of exercising my vocal organs was imperative②. There was, however. one word the meaning of which I still remembered, water. I pronounced it "wa-wa." Even this became less and less intelligible{③ until the time when Miss Sullivan began to teach me. I stopped using it only after I had learned to spell the word on my fingers. I had known for a long time that the people about me used a method of .124· 我的生活 第十三章 1890年春天,我开始学习说话。很早以前我就有 一种很强烈的发声讲话的冲动。我常常会发出一些杂音 将一只手放在喉咙上,另一只手放在嘴唇上来感受其运 动变化。我对任何声音都很感兴趣,我喜欢通过触摸感 ① purr [pax:]v猫喘音 知猫叫和狗吠。有人唱歌时,我喜欢用手去摸他们的喉 咙;有人弹钢琴时,我也喜欢用手去摸键盘。在我失去 视觉和听觉前,我学习说话的速度是很快的,可自从生 了那场病,我就听不见任何声音了,因此也就停止了讲 话。我过去常常坐在母亲膝上,把手放在她的脸上,因 为这样就可以感受她嘴唇的移动,我觉得那样很好玩。 我也会动自已的嘴唇,虽然我不记得当时都说了些什 么。我的朋友们说我笑和哭的声音都很自然,有时嘴里 ② 还会发出声音和模糊的词语。当然,这些声音并不是在 imperative [im'perativ] a 迫切的 跟别人交流,而是在练习自已的发音器官,那是一种本 能的需求。至今我仍然记得自已学习“水”(water)这 ③ intelligible [in'telid3abl] a.可以理解的 个单词的样子,我经常发成“wa-wa”的声音。甚至这 样的声音也渐渐变得令人难以理解了,直到沙利文小姐 开始教导我,我学会了用手指拼写这个字后,便不再发 这个音了。 我很早就知道,人们都在用与我不同的方式进行交 ·125· The Story ofMy Cife communication different from mine: and even before I knew that a deaf child could be taught to speak, I was conscious of dissatisfaction with the means of communication I already possessed. One who is entirely dependent upon the manual alphabet has always a sense of restraint^{①}, of narrowness. This feeling began to agitate{②} me with a vexing, forward-reaching sense of a lack that should be filled. My thoughts would often rise and beat up like birds against the wind: and I persisted in using my lips and voice. Friends tried to discourage this tendency, fearing lest{③} it would lead to disappointment. But I persisted and an accident soon occurred which resulted in the breaking down of this great barrier -I heard the story of Ragnhild Kaata In 189o Mrs. Lamson, who had been one of Laura Bridgman's teachers, and who had just returned from a visit to Norway and Sweden, came to see me, and told me of Ragnhild Kaata, a deaf and blind girl in Norway who had actually been taught to speak. Mrs. Lamson had scarcely finished telling me about this girl's success before I was on fire with eagerness. I resolved that I, too, would learn to speak. I would not rest satisfied until my teacher took me, for advice and assistance. to Miss Sarah Fuller, principal of the Horace Mann School. This lovely, sweet-natured lady offered to teach me herself, and we began the twenty- sixth of March, 1890. Miss Fuller's method was this: she passed my hand lightly over her face and let me feel the position of her tongue and lips when she made a sound. I was eager to imitate every motion and in an hour had learned six elements of speech: M. P. A. S. T. I. Miss Fuller gave me eleven lessons in all. I shall never forget the surprise and delight I felt when I uttered my first connected sentence, "It is warm." True, they were broken and stammering syllables: but they were human speech. My soul, conscious of new strength, came out of bondage{, and was reaching through those broken symbols of speech to all knowledge and all faith No deaf child who has earnestly tried to speak the words which he has never heard to come out of the prison of silence, where no tone of love, no song .126· 我的生活 流。在我意识到一个耳聋的孩子可以学习说话之前,我 就开始对自己拥有的交流手段感到不满了。一个完全依 赖手写字母而与别人交流的人,总会有种受束缚和限制 ① restraint [ri'streint] n. 抑 的感觉。这种感觉让我无比懊恼,我极力想摆脱这种交 物 ② agitate [ed3iteit]v: 使焦 流的缺陷。我的思绪日益高涨,像逆风飞行的小鸟那样 虑 使劲扑打翅膀,并坚持用力鼓动嘴唇,设法用嘴发声。 朋友尽力阻止我这样做,他们怕我学不会发声后会更加 ③ lest lestlconi. 唯恐 失望。但我毫不气,后来发生的一件事终于让拦在我 面前的巨大障碍瓦解掉了--我听到了朗希尔德·卡拉 的故事。 1890年劳拉·布里奇曼的授课教师之一 -拉姆 森夫人从挪威和瑞典访问归来后便来看望我,她对我讲 了朗希尔德·卡拉的故事。那是一个又聋又盲的挪威女 孩,她已经学会了说话。还没等拉姆森夫人把故事讲 完,我的希望之火就被点燃了。我下定决心,也要学会 说话。于是,我非常不安分地渴望着,直到在众多的建 议和帮助之下,我的老师把我送到了萨拉·富勒小姐那 里,她是霍勒斯·曼学校的校长。这位可爱慈祥的女士 于1890年3月26日开始亲自为我授课。 富勒女土授课的方式是这样的:她把我的手轻轻地 放在她的脸上,在她发声的时候让我感受她的舌头和嘴 唇的位置。我如饥似渴地模仿着她的每一个动作,一个 小时后我就学会了六个字母的发音:M,P,A,S,T,I。 富勒女士一共给我上了十一节课。我永远也忘不了自己 开口说第一句话时的那份惊讶和喜悦:“天很暖和”(I waswarm)。虽然那句话说得很整脚、很结巴,但是它 ④ bondage I'bondid3] n. 束 确实是人类的语言。在我的灵魂深处,我感受到一股新 生的力量,挣脱了束缚后的力量。它穿过那些繁脚的音 节,到达了知识和信念的源头。 聋哑孩子一般不愿意认真尝试着去讲那些他从来 没有听到过的词语--那些来自“无声的监狱”的词语 ·127· The Story ofMy Cife of bird, no strain of music ever pierces the stillness - can forget the thrill of surprise, the joy of discovery which came over him when he uttered his firs word. Only such a one can appreciate the eagerness with which I talked to my toys, to stones, trees, birds and dumb animals, or the delight I felt when at my call Mildred ran to me or my dogs obeyed my commands. It is an unspeakable boon^{} to me to be able to speak in winged words②} that need no interpretation As I talked, happy thoughts fluttered up out of my words that might perhaps have struggled in vain to escape my fingers. But it must not be supposed that I could really talk in this short time. I had learned only the elements of speech. Miss Fuller and Miss Sullivan could understand me, but most people would not have understood one word in a hundred. Nor is it true that, after I had learned these elements, I did the res of the work myself. But for Miss Sullivan's genius, untiring perseverance and devotion, I could not have progressed as far as I have toward natural speech. In the first place, I labored night and day before I could be understood even by my most intimate{} friends: in the second place, I needed Miss Sullivan's assistance constantly in my efforts to articulate④ each sound clearly and to combine all sounds in a thousand ways. Even now she calls my attention every day to mispronounced words. All teachers of the deaf know what this means, and only they can at all appreciate the peculiar difficulties with which I had to contend. I had to use the sense of touch in catching the vibrations^{} of the throat. the movements of the mouth and the expression of the face: and often this sense was at fault. In such cases I was forced to repeat the words or sentences, sometimes for hours, until1 felt the proper ring in my own voice. My work was practice, practice, practice .128. 我的生活 在这个“监狱”里人们听不到怜爱的细语,听不到鸟儿 的歌唱,也听不到能打破寂静的音乐一但是,他一日 开口说出平生第一个单词,他就绝不会忘记那一刻的兴 奋和惊奇,以及发现后的狂喜。只有这样的聋哑孩子才 能欣赏到渴望的魅力,而我就是带着这样的渴望不停地 ① boon [bu:n]n. 恩惠 与我的玩具、石头、树木、飞鸟和不会说话的动物们交 ② winged words 中肯的话 谈的。当听到我的召唤的米尔德里德跑到我面前,或者 狗儿听从了我的命令后,我内心就会欣喜不已。对我来 说,能够用中肯的话表达自己的思想而无须别人为我翻 译就是一种难以言说的恩惠。在我说话时,快乐的思想 扑闪而来。然而,如果是用手指表达的话,这些思想很 可能就会变成徒劳的挣扎。 但是,不要认为我在短期内就学会了说话,我只 是掌握了一些基本的语言要素而已。虽然富勒女士和沙 利文小姐能明白我的语言,但大部分人最多只能听懂我 ③ intimate I'intimotl a. 亲 密的 百分之一的话语。学会这些基本要素后,我也不可能靠 ④ ) articulate [a:'tikjulot] v. 发出(语音) 自己去摸索其余的技巧;但是,多亏了沙利文小姐的聪 明才智和孜孜不倦的奉献精神,不然我是无法取得在学 习自然讲话过程中的巨大进步的。首先,在我最亲密的 朋友们听懂我说的话之前,我必须要夜以继日地加强练 习;其次,在我努力说清每一个单词的时候,我需要沙 vibration [vai'breifon]n 利文小姐的不断帮助,然后才能用上千种方式把所有的 颤动 音节组合在一起。即使是现在,她仍会在日常交流中纠 正我的一些读音。 聋哑学校的老师都知道我的举动意味着什么,也只 有他们才能理解和赞许我这种克服特有困难的勇气。在 阅读课上,我只有依靠触觉去感受老师喉咙的振动、口 腔的活动和面部表情的变化。然而,这种触觉方式总是 出错。这样,我只能不停地强迫自己一遍又一遍地重复 单词或者句子,有时甚至会持续几个小时,直到发出正 确的声音为止。我的任务就是练习、练习、再练习。气 ·129· The Story ofMy Cife Discouragement and weariness cast me down frequently: but the next moment the thought that I should soon be at home and show my loved ones what I had accomplished spurred me on, and I eagerly looked forward to their pleasure in my achievement. “My little sister will understand me now," was a thought stronger than all obstacles. I used to repeat ecstatically, "I am not dumb now." I could not be despondent{ while I anticipated the delight of talking to my mother and reading her responses from her lips, It astonished me to find how much easier it is to talk than to spell with the fingers, and I discarded② the manual alphabet as a medium of communication on my part: but Miss Sullivan and a few friends still use it ir speaking to me, for it is more convenient and more rapid than lip-reading Just here, perhaps, I had better explain our use of the manual alphabet which seems to puzzle people who do not know us. One who reads or talks to me spells with his hand, using the single-hand manual alphabet generally employed by the deaf. I place my hand on the hand of the speaker so lightly as not to impede its movements, The position of the hand is as easy to feel as i is to see. I do not feel each letter any more than you see each letter separately when you read. Constant practice makes the fingers very flexible, and some of my friends spell rapidly -- about as fast as an expert writes on a typewriter. The mere spelling is, of course, no more a conscious act than it is in writing When I had made speech my own, I could not wait to go home. At last the happiest of happy moments arrived. I had made my homeward journey, talking constantly to Miss Sullivan, not for the sake of talking, but determined to improve to the last minute. Almost before I knew it. the train stopped at the Tuscumbia station, and there on the platform stood the whole family. My eyes fill with tears now as I think how my mother pressed me close to her, speechless .130· 我的生活 和厌倦情绪常常索绕于心,但是一想到马上就可以回 到家向亲人们展示我取得的进步,我就又信心大增。我 急切地渴望亲人们看到我的进步后的喜悦 “我的小妹妹将会听懂我的话。”这一强烈的念头 ① despondent [di'spondont 攻破了各种障碍,我常常心醉神迷地重复着:“我现在 a.泄气的 不再是哑巴了。”每当想到我可以与母亲愉快地交谈。 我可以通过触摸她的嘴唇读懂她的话,我就不会再感到 沮丧了。我惊奇地发现用语言交流比用手指交流要容易 ② discard [dis'ka:d]v 丢 得多,于是我放弃了用手语字母交流的方式。但沙利文 弃,抛弃 小姐和几个朋友仍然用手语与我讲话,因为那比用唇读 的方式方便快捷些。 说到这里,我还是好好解释一下我们是如何使用手 语字母的比较好;这对那些不了解我们的人来说,常常 会感到困惑不解。如果有人想为我读书或者跟我讲话 那么他就得使用聋哑人惯常使用的手语字母手册了。我 轻轻地把自已的手放在说话者的手上,我的动作特别 轻,因为只有这样才不至于妨碍对方的任何动作。手对 位置变化的感知之敏感,跟用眼睛看的一样清楚。所以 当你为我“读”的时候,我并不会感到辨别字母的速度 比你看的速度慢。长期的练习也让我的手指变得异常灵 活。在我的朋友当中,有些人拼写速度特别快-就像 打字员里的行家那样快。当然,这种拼写方式只是一种 有意识的行动而已。 当我能够自已开口讲话的时候,我便迫不及待地 想回家。最后,那最快乐的一刻终于到来了,我踏上 了返乡的旅程。一路上,我不停地和沙利文小姐讲话, 这并不是单纯地为了讲话而讲话,而是为了不断提高 我的说话水平。我甚至不知道什么时候火车已经停靠 在了塔斯坎比亚车站,全家人都站在月台上迎接我归 来。现在,每当我想到母亲是如何把我紧紧地楼在怀里. 一时高兴得浑身颤抖,说不出话来,我的眼晴里就喻 ·131· The Story ofMy Cife and trembling with delight, taking in every syllable that I spoke, while little Mildred seized my free hand and kissed it and danced. and my father expressed his pride and affection in a big silence. It was as if Isaiah's prophecy had been fulfilled in me. "The mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands!" .132. 我的生活 满了泪水。她仔细聆听我发出的每一个音节,小米尔 德里德抓住我的手又吻又跳,父亲则用沉默来表达对 我的自豪和疼爱。这一切就像《以赛亚书》中应验的 预言:“大大小小的山脉必在你们面前发声歌唱,田野 的树木也都鼓掌。” ·133·