我的生活海伦凯勒摘抄 海伦·凯勒自传《我的生活》第10期

海伦·凯勒自传《我的生活》第10期  

Chapter V
I recall many incidents of the summer of 1887 that followed my soul's sudden awakening. I did nothing but explore with my hands and learn the name of every object that I touched; and the more I handled things and learned their names and uses
the more joyous and confident grew my sense of kinship with the rest of the world.
When the time of daisies and buttercups came Miss Sullivan took me by the hand across the fields
where men were preparing the earth for the seed
to the banks of the Tennessee River
and there
sitting on the warm grass
I had my first lessons in the beneficence of nature. I learned how the sun and the rain make to grow out of the ground every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food
how birds build their nests and live and thrive from land to land
how the squirrel
the deer
the lion and every other creature finds food and shelter. As my knowledge of things grew I felt more and more the delight of the world I was in. Long before I learned to do a sum in arithmetic or describe the shape of the earth
Miss Sullivan had taught me to find beauty in the fragrant woods
in every blade of grass
and in the curves and dimples of my baby sister's hand. She linked my earliest thoughts with nature
and made me feel that "birds and flowers and I were happy peers."
当雏菊和毛茛争芳吐艳的时候，苏立文小姐牵着我的手穿过田野。沿着田纳西河的两岸，农人们正在做着播种的准备。坐在温暖的草地上，我首次感受到了大自然对人类的馈赠。我了解到了阳光和雨水如何滋润土地上的每一棵树木，令它们长势繁茂，开花结果。我还知道了鸟儿们如何搭建巢穴，如何迁徙生存；松鼠、鹿、狮子和各种动物如何觅食逃生。随着知识的增长，我对我所生存的这个世界越来越感兴趣。很早以前我就学会了做算术题，或者描述大地的轮廓。苏立文小姐教我学会了发现之美——在芬芳林木的拥抱中，在每一片草叶上，在我小妹妹蜷曲柔弱、像长了酒窝的小手上，我的确找到了美。她将我人生最初的思想同大自然连接在一起，她让我感受到了“鸟儿、花朵和我都是快乐的同伴”。
But about this time I had an experience which taught me that nature is not always kind. One day my teacher and I were returning from a long ramble. The morning had been fine
but it was growing warm and sultry when at last we turned our faces homeward. Two or three times we stopped to rest under a tree by the wayside. Our last halt was under a wild cherry tree a short distance from the house. The shade was grateful
and the tree was so easy to climb that with my teacher's assistance I was able to scramble to a seat in the branches. It was so cool up in the tree that Miss Sullivan proposed that we have our luncheon there. I promised to keep still while she went to the house to fetch it.
Suddenly a change passed over the tree. All the sun's warmth left the air. I knew the sky was black
because all the heat
which meant light to me
had died out of the atmosphere. A strange odour came up from the earth. I knew it
it was the odour that always precedes a thunderstorm
and a nameless fear clutched at my heart. I felt absolutely alone
cut off from my friends and the firm earth. The immense
the unknown
enfolded me. I remained still and expectant; a chilling terror crept over me. I longed for my teacher's return; but above all things I wanted to get down from that tree.