openMind

Level 3

video script

Unit 7 Think again!

Video script
Nobody demonstrates the importance of hard work in achieving success
more than American author, activist, and lecturer, Helen Keller. Born in
Alabama in 1880, Helen was deaf and blind from a young age and had no
way of communicating. With the help of her tutor, she was able to lead an
extraordinary life. Her story has been told in books, movies, TV series, and
even in a play on Broadway.
At 19 months old, Helen was diagnosed with brain feverwhat we now
think must have been scarlet fever or meningitis. She survived the illness,
but lost her sight and hearing. In her early years, Helen got very angry and
frustrated because she couldnt communicate: she smashed plates on the
floor, and even bit members of her family.
In 1887, when Helen was six years old, her parents heard about the Perkins
Institute for the Blind. The school sent Anne Sullivan to be Helens tutor.
Anne started to teach Helen the names of objects using finger spelling.
She spelled out the names in Helens hand using a different symbol for
each letter, but at first Helen did not understand what Anne was trying to
teach her, and she continued to get angry and frustrated.
However, one day, Anne took Helen to a water pump. Anne put one of
Helens hands under the water and spelled w-a-t-e-r onto her other
hand. For the first time, Helen made the connection between objects and
the letters Anne spelled into her hand. Helen learned 30 words that day,
and progressed very quickly after that.
With Annes help, Helen continued her education. At the age of 20,
she entered the prestigious Radcliffe College and graduated four years
later, becoming the first deaf-blind person to receive a Bachelor of Arts
degreea degree she passed with Honors.
Helen never stopped challenging herself: she learned to write, and she
struggled for 25 years to learn to speak so that she could communicate
with people better. She became a world-famous author and lecturer, and
worked to make life better for blind and deaf-blind people.
She also supported womens rights, in particular womens right to vote,
and she helped to raise money for organizations such as the Helen
Keller International Organization, the American Liberties Union, and the
American Foundation for the Blind. In 1964, Helen received the highest
award in the U.S.A., the Presidential Medal of Freedom. There is even a
statue of her in the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C.
Due to her courage and hard work, Helen Keller overcame her disabilities
to achieve extraordinary things.

Macmillan Publishers Limited 2014