ADDITIONAL READING
6
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Read the text and find out the main idea of each paragraph.
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Helen Keller is the woman of international fame and
admiration. Inspite of her deafness and blindness she
continued her education to a high level. Helen’s great
will turned whatever seemed impossible into great
achievement. She devoted herself to explaining the
situation of handicapped people throughout the world.
“Don’t think of today’s failures, but of the success that
may come tomorrow! You have set a difficult task, but you will succeed if you
preserve and you will find a joy in overcoming obstacles. Remember, no effort that
we make to reach something beautiful is ever lost!”
(Helen Keller)
1. Helen Keller was born in Tuscumbia, Alabama, on June 27th 1880. The beginning
of her life was very much like the beginning of every other child. When she was 2,
she had congestion in her stomach and brain. She could not see, she became baffled
by her environment. Her inability to express herself continued till the age of seven.
2. Helen’s life changed with the coming of Anne Sullivan, a teacher from the Perkins
Institute for the Deaf and Blind. Anne helped Helen to overcome the barriers of
darkness and silence. Helen learned to see with her fingers. Her teacher’s finger
tricks became words for everything around her. Soon learning became a joy for her.
In a few months she was ready to begin “braille”, the printed language for the blind.
Helen’s vocabulary improved and she was able to go to Boston as a regular student
in the Perkins Institute.
3. There she worked at Arithmetic, Zoology, Geography, History, French, German,
and Latin. Soon she realized she could do anything with words on paper. Through it
she could share her life with others. In it she could visit people of other lands and
even other times: the heroes of ancient Greece, the characters from Shakespeare, and
the tribes from faraway jungles. “How easy it is to fly on paper wings!” she thought.
4. Besides speech lessons Helen worked extremely hard as she wanted to go to
college. The results were exciting and she passed everything. Four years moved
swiftly and she passed final examinations. At the age of 24 she graduated with
honours successfully.
5. After that Helen devoted her life to people who were in need. Beginning with “The
Story of my Life, she wrote eight books as well as lots of essays and articles on
blindness. Realising that she could not hope to solve the situation of the blind and the
deaf herself, Helen turned her thoughts to the many capable and dedicated people
who wished to help. From 1913 till the age of 80 she set out on tours around the
world lecturing on the problems of the blind and deaf. Everywhere she was given a
warm welcome. How happy she felt when new homes, schools, and workshops for
the blind were set up.