I had known for a long time that the people about me used a method of 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, of narrowness. This feeling began to agitate 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 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.
我很早就知道，人們使用一種與眾不同的方式同我交流。我知道一個聾啞孩子是可以學會說話的，因此，我對自己已經擁有的交流手段感到了不滿。一個完全依賴手寫字母來交流的人總會感覺到處處受限。這種挫折感既令我無比懊惱，又使我進一步意識到，我應該盡快彌補自己的交流缺陷。我的思緒日益高漲，猶如逆風而行的飛鳥；而且，我堅持用自己的嘴唇發音。朋友們則竭力阻止我的熱情，他們唯恐我因講話不成而更加失望。我毫不動搖，隨后發生的一件事終于令巨大的障礙轟然倒地——我聽說了拉根希爾德·卡塔的故事。
In 1890 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.
1890年，剛從挪威和瑞典訪問歸來的拉姆森夫人來看我，她也是勞拉·布里吉曼的授課教師之一。她對我講了拉根希爾德·卡塔的故事。拉根希爾德·卡塔是一個又聾又盲的挪威女孩，事實上，她已經成功地學會了開口說話。不等拉姆森夫人把女孩的故事講完，我的希望之火就已經燃燒起來了。我下定決心，也要學會開口講話。于是，在他人的建議和協助下，我的老師把我送到了薩拉·富勒小姐那里，她是霍勒斯·曼恩學校的校長。這位和藹可親的女士決定親自為我授課，1890年3月26日是我們的開課日期。
來源:可可英語 http://www.ccdyzl.cn/Article/201705/511989.shtml
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