Unit 5Supplementary Reading.docx

1、Unit 5Supplementary ReadingSupplementary Reading The Story of Helen KellerIn 1882 a baby girl caught a fever that was so fierce she nearly died. She survived 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

2、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, depriving 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 w

3、as 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 milkin

4、g the cows or kneading 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 w

5、hich 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 he

6、r 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 sto

7、od 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 make her so angry that she used to hurl herself around the room, kick

8、ing 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 didnt get what she wanted she would throw tantrums until her family gave in. Her favorite tricks included grabbing other peoples food from their plates and

9、 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 i

10、n 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 peoples 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 peo

11、ple 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 Radcliffe College in 1904. She had phenomenal powers of concentration and memory, as well as a dogged determination to succe

12、ed. While she was 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

13、she became so famous that she was invited abroad and received many honors from foreign universities and monarchs. 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 to combat blindnes

14、s in the developing world. Today that agency, Helen Keller International, is one of the biggest organizations working with blind people overseas. Daydream a LittleEugene RaudseppDaydreaming has always had a bad reputation, but now scientific research has revealed that daydreaming may actually improv

15、e your mental health and creativity. It can even help you achieve your desired goals.Daydreaming again, Barb? Youll never amount to anything if you spend your time that way! Cant you find something useful to do? Many youngsters have heard words like those from their parents. And until recently this

16、hostile attitude towards daydreaming was the most common one. Daydreaming was viewed as a waste of time. Or it was considered an unhealthy escape from real life and its duties. But now some people are taking a fresh look at daydreaming. Some think it may be a very healthy thing to do. Attitudes towa

17、rds daydreaming are changing in much the same way that attitudes towards night dreaming have changed. Once it was thought that nighttime dreams interfered with our needed rest. But then researchers tried interrupting the dreams of sleepers. They learned that sleepers who arent allowed to dream lost

18、the benefits of rest. They become tense and anxious. They become irritable. They have trouble concentrating. Their mental health is temporarily damaged. To feel well again, they must be allowed to dream. Now researchers are finding that daydreaming may also be important to mental health. Daydreaming

19、, they tell us, is a good means of relaxation. But its benefits go beyond this. A number of psychologists have conducted experiments and have reached some surprising conclusions. Dr. Joan T. Freyberg has concluded that daydreaming contributes to intellectual growth. It also improves concentration, a

20、ttention span, and the ability to get along with others, she says. In an experiment with school children, this same researcher found that daydreaming led the children to pay more attention to detail. They had more happy feelings. They worked together better. Another researcher reported that daydream

21、ing seemed to produce improved self-control and creative abilities. But thats only part of the story. The most remarkable thing about daydreaming may be its usefulness in shaping our future lives as we want them to be. Industrialist Henry J. Kaiser believed that much of his success was due to the po

22、sitive use of daydreaming. He maintained that you can imagine your future. Florence Nightingale dreamed of becoming a nurse. The young Thomas Edison pictured himself as an inventor. For these notable achievers, it appears that their daydreams came true. Dr. Harry Emerson Fosdick believed that the wa

23、y we picture ourselves is often the way we turn out. He offered this advice: Hold a picture of yourself in your minds eye, and you will be drawn toward it. Picture yourself vividly as defeated, and that will make victory impossible. Picture yourself as winning, and that will contribute immeasurably

24、to success. Do not picture yourself as anything, and you will drift The experiences of some athletes seem to confirm this belief. For instance, John Uelses, a former pole-vaulting champion, used daydreaming techniques before each meet. He would imagine himself winning. He would vividly picture himse

25、lf clearing the bar at a certain height. He would go over all the details in his mind. He would picture the stadium and the crowds. Hed even imagine the smell of the grass and the earth. He said that this exercise of the imagination left memory traces in his mind that would later help his actual per

26、formance. Why would a mental vision of success help produce real success? Dr. Maxwel Maltz, a surgeon and author, say this: Your nervous system cannot tell the difference between an imagined experience and real experience. In either case it reacts automatically to information that you give it It rea

27、cts appropriately to what you think or imagine to be true. He believes that purposeful daydreaming builds new memories in the brain. These positive memories improve a persons self-image. And self-image has an important effect on a persons action and accomplishments. Can you use purposeful daydreamin

28、g to shape your own future? Why not try? Here is how those who believe in creative daydreaming recommend going about it. Choose a time when you can be alone and undisturbed. Close your eyes, to permit your imagination to soar more freely. Many people find that they get best results by pretending tha

29、t they are sitting before a large screen. They project the desired image of themselves onto that screen. Now picture yourself as vividly as possible the way you want to be. Remember to picture your desired goals as if you had already attained them. Go over all the details of this picture. See them c

30、learly and sharply. Impress them strongly on your memory. The resulting memory traces will supposedly start affecting your everyday life. They will help lead you to the attainment to your goals. Of course daydreaming is no substitute for hard work. If its athletic achievement you want, you also have

31、 to get lots of practice in your sport. You have to work hard to develop skills. If its school success youre after, you cant neglect studying Daydreaming alone cant turn you into your hearts desire. But in combination with the more usual methods of self-development, it might make a critical differen

32、ce. It could be the difference between becoming merely good at something and becoming a champion. If what researchers are saying is true, a life lived without fantasies and daydreams isnt as rich and rewarding as life can be. So they suggest setting aside a few minutes each day for daydreaming. By so doing, you may improve your physical and mental well-being. By taking a ten-or fifteen-minute vacation into the realm of imagination each day, you may add much to the excitement and enjoyment of your life. And who knows: You might see your own