Helen Keller is famous because she
changed the lives of many people. She had a dream. She wanted people with disabilities to live normal lives and she worked for that goal all her life. But Helen's achievements were amazing because she was deaf and blind. When she was born in 1880, people like her didn't have opportunities or help. When Helen Keller was born in a small farm town in Tuscumbia, Alabama, she was a happy, healthy girl. But only nineteen months later, in the winter of 1882, she got ill with a fever. Helen survived the illness- but it left her deaf and blind. She couldn't hear music or birds singing or her parents' voices. And she couldn't see faces, animals, trees or the sun.
Helen became a difficult child. She used to grow angry and frustrated with her parents. It was impossible for them to communicate. She was very unhappy. So her parents asked a teacher called Anne Sullivan to help. Anne quickly taught Helen how to spell words with her hands. But there was a problem - Helen couldn't understand what the words meant. Then one day, Anne took Helen into the garden and held one of her hands under a water pump.
Then she spelled the word 'water' into Helen's other hand. At last, Helen understood the connection. Her mind opened up to a new world and that day she
learned 30 new words.
Helen was very clever. She learned German, French, Latin and Greek! She met 12 American presidents and she wrote 11 books. Her first book, called The Story of My Life, was a bestseller and it was translated into 50 languages. Helen helped raise money for organisations such as the American Federation for the Blind. She campaigned for the rights of the blind in 39. countries in five continents. People always wanted to hear about her experiences. Helen died in her sleep aged 87 in 1968. Helen's life was an inspiration to other people and two Oscar-winning films were made about her life. She was a true. superstar!
Read the article again. Are the sentences true or false ?
1. She was 19 when she became deaf and blind.
2. Anne Sullivan offered to help Helen's parents.
3 . Anne helped Helen understand the meaning of new words.
4 . Helen's first book wasn't a big success.
5 . Helen travelled all over the world to help the blind.
6 . Two films about Helen won Oscars.
changed the lives of many people. She had a dream. She wanted people with disabilities to live normal lives and she worked for that goal all her life. But Helen's achievements were amazing because she was deaf and blind. When she was born in 1880, people like her didn't have opportunities or help. When Helen Keller was born in a small farm town in Tuscumbia, Alabama, she was a happy, healthy girl. But only nineteen months later, in the winter of 1882, she got ill with a fever. Helen survived the illness- but it left her deaf and blind. She couldn't hear music or birds singing or her parents' voices. And she couldn't see faces, animals, trees or the sun.
Helen became a difficult child. She used to grow angry and frustrated with her parents. It was impossible for them to communicate. She was very unhappy. So her parents asked a teacher called Anne Sullivan to help. Anne quickly taught Helen how to spell words with her hands. But there was a problem - Helen couldn't understand what the words meant. Then one day, Anne took Helen into the garden and held one of her hands under a water pump.
Then she spelled the word 'water' into Helen's other hand. At last, Helen understood the connection. Her mind opened up to a new world and that day she
learned 30 new words.
Helen was very clever. She learned German, French, Latin and Greek! She met 12 American presidents and she wrote 11 books. Her first book, called The Story of My Life, was a bestseller and it was translated into 50 languages. Helen helped raise money for organisations such as the American Federation for the Blind. She campaigned for the rights of the blind in 39. countries in five continents. People always wanted to hear about her experiences. Helen died in her sleep aged 87 in 1968. Helen's life was an inspiration to other people and two Oscar-winning films were made about her life. She was a true. superstar!
Read the article again. Are the sentences true or false ?
1. She was 19 when she became deaf and blind.
2. Anne Sullivan offered to help Helen's parents.
3 . Anne helped Helen understand the meaning of new words.
4 . Helen's first book wasn't a big success.
5 . Helen travelled all over the world to help the blind.
6 . Two films about Helen won Oscars.
Answers & Comments
Verified answer
1.False. Helen became deaf and blind at 19 months old, not 19 years old.
2.False. Helen's parents asked Anne Sullivan to help their daughter.
3.True. Anne Sullivan taught Helen how to understand the meaning of words through touch.
4.False. Helen's first book, "The Story of My Life," was a bestseller and translated into 50 languages.
5.True. Helen campaigned for the rights of the blind in 39 countries across five continents.
6.True. Two films about Helen Keller's life won Oscars.