In 1882 a baby girl caught a fever which was so fierc① that she nearly died. She survived② 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.
So how did this child， blinded and deafened at 19 months old， grow up to become a world-famous author and public speaker？
The fever cut her off from the outside world， depriving③ 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.
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 kneading④ 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.
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.
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.
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 makes her so angry that she used to hurl⑤ herself around the room， kicking and screaming in frustration.
As she got older her frustration grew and her rages became worse and worse. She became wild and unruly. If she didn’t get what she wanted she would throw tantrums until her family gave in. Her favorite tricks included grabbing other people’s food from their plates and hurling fragile objects to the floor. Once she even managed to lock her mother into the pantry. Eventually it became clear that something had to be done. So， just before her seventh birthday， the family hired a private tutor—Anne Sullivan.
Anne was careful to teach Helen especially those subjects in which she was interested. As a result Helen became gentler and she soon learnt to read and write in Braille. She also learnt to read people’s lips by pressing her finger tips against them and feeling the movement and vibrations. This method is called Tadoma and it is a skill that very， very few people manage to acquire. She also learnt to speak， a major achievement for someone who could not hear at all.
Helen proved to be a remarkable scholar， graduating with honors from Radcliff College in 1904. She had phenomenal⑥ powers of concentration and memory， as well as a dogged determination to succeed. While still at college she wrote The Story of My Life. This was an immediate success and earned her enough money to buy her own house.
She toured the country， giving lecture after lecture. Many books were written about her and several plays and films were made about her life. Eventually she became so famous that she was invited abroad and received many honors from foreign universities and monarchs⑦. In 1932 she became a vice-president of the Royal National Institute for the Blind in the United Kingdom.
After her death in 1968 an organization was set up in her name. Today the agency， Helen Keller International， is one of the biggest organizations working with blind people overseas⑧.
① fierceadj. 热烈的，凶猛的，极糟的
② survivev. 活下来，幸存
③ deprivev. 剥夺，从……夺走，使丧失
④ kneadv. 揉(面团、粘土等)，捏
⑤ hurlv. 猛力投掷
⑥ phenomenaladj. 异常的，杰出的，惊人的
⑦ monarchn. 最高职务，君王
⑧ overseasadj. 海外的，国外的
海伦·凯勒
1882年，一名女婴因发严重的高烧而差点失去生命。最终她存活了下来，但是发烧却给她留下了后遗症——她再也无法看见或者听见。因为听不见，所以她发现自己就连讲话都非常困难。
那么这样一个在19个月的时候就变得既盲又聋的孩子，是如何成长为世界闻名的作家和演说家的呢？
高烧使她与外界失去了联系，剥夺了她的视力和声音。她似乎被抛入了一个黑暗的地狱，在那里再也不能得到解脱。
但幸运的是，海伦并不是个容易放弃之人。不久她就开始利用其它的感官来探索这个世界了。不管母亲去哪里，她都要拉着母亲的衣角跟着，她去触摸，去嗅她所碰到的每一件物品。她模仿别人的动作，并且很快就能自己做一些事情，例如挤牛奶或者揉面之类的事情，她甚至学会通过感觉别人的脸孔或衣服来识别对方。她还能够通过闻不同的植物和触摸地面来辨别自己在花园中的位置。
到7岁的时候，她已经发明了60多种不同的手势，通过这些她可以和家里人交流，例如，如果她想要面包的话，就会做出切面包和向上面涂抹黄油的动作。如果她想要冰淇淋的话，就会用胳膊裹住自己，装出发抖的样子。
海伦在这方面真的非比寻常，她极其聪明而且又非常敏感。通过自己的努力，她对这个陌生而又令人迷惑的世界已经有了一些认识。但是，尽管这样，她仍然有很多限制。
5岁的时候，海伦开始意识到自己与众不同。她注意到家里的人并不像她那样做手势，而是用嘴来交谈。有时候，她站在两人中间触摸他们的嘴唇。她不理解他们在说什么，而她自己也无法发出任何有意义的声音。她想讲话，但是，无论怎么努力，她都无法让别人懂得自己。这令她感到非常生气，于是经常自己一个人在屋子里乱跑乱撞，沮丧地又踢又喊。
随着她年龄的增长，她的怒气也变得越来越大。她变得桀骜不驯。如果她无法得到自己想要的东西，就会大发脾气直到家人让步。她常用的伎俩包括抓别人盘里的食物和将易碎的物品重重的摔在地上。有一次，她甚至将母亲锁在厨房里。最终，很明显的，必须要对她采取一些措施了。因此，就在她7岁生日前夕，家里给她雇了一名家庭教师——安尼·沙利文。
安尼很用心地教授海伦，尤其是她感兴趣的东西。结果，海伦变得温和得多了，而且不久就学会了用布莱叶盲文朗读和写作。同时，她还通过用手指接触说话人的嘴唇感受运动和震动的方式，学会了读懂别人的唇语。这种方法被称作泰德马，是一种很少有人能够学会的技能。她也学会了讲话，这对完全失聪的人来讲是一个巨大的成就。
海伦证明了自己是个了不起的学者，1904年她以优异的成绩从拉德克利夫学院毕业。她有惊人的注意力和记忆力以及不达目的誓不罢休的毅力。上大学时她就写了《我生活的故事》。这立即取得了巨大的成功，为她赚了足够的钱，从而购买了属于自己的一套住房。
她周游全国，不断地举行讲座。许多书在讲述着她的事迹，许多戏剧和电影也在上演着关于她的故事。最终她变得声名显赫，经常应邀出国并受到外国大学和国王授予的荣誉。1932年，她成为英国皇家国立盲人学院的副校长。
1968年她去世后，一个以她的名字命名的组织建立起来。今天，“国际海伦·凯勒”这所机构，仍然是是海外向盲人提供帮助的最大组织之一。