One day, while I was playing with my new doll, Miss Sullivan put my big rag doll into my lap also, spelled "d-o-l-l" and tried to make me understand that "d-o-l-l" applied to both. Earlier in the day we had had a tussle over the words "m-u-g" and "w-a-t-e-r." Miss Sullivan had tried to impress it upon me that "m-u-g" is mug and that "w-a-t-e-r" is water, but I persisted in confounding the two. In despair she had dropped the subject for the time, only to renew it at the first opportunity. I became impatient at her repeated attempts and, seizing the new doll, I dashed it upon the floor. I was keenly delighted when I felt the fragments of the broken doll at my feet. Neither sorrow nor regret followed my passionate outburst. I had not loved the doll. In the still, dark world in which I lived there was no strong sentiment or tenderness. I felt my teacher sweep the fragments to one side of the hearth, and I had a sense of satisfaction that the cause of my discomfort was removed. She brought me my hat, and I knew I was going out into the warm sunshine. This thought, if a wordless sensation may be called a thought, made me hop and skip with pleasure.
有一天，我正在和我的新布娃娃玩的时候，苏立文小姐就把我的那个大破娃娃放在了我的膝盖上，她教我拼写“doll”，而且试图使我明白，这两个娃娃都叫“doll”。还有一次，我们在单词“mug”和“water”之间争得不可开交。苏立文小姐极力向我强调“水杯是水杯，水是水”，可是我固执地把两样东西混为一谈。无奈之下，她不再同我争辩，而是从头开始教我。我对她翻来覆去的重复不胜厌烦，于是我一把抓过新娃娃，把它猛地摔在地上。我感觉到了娃娃在我脚下四分五裂，只觉得心里十分痛快。既不悲伤，也不愧疚，我的情绪就那样爆发了，我不再爱那个娃娃。显然，在我生活的寂静、黑暗的世界里，是没有强烈的柔情和关爱的。我感觉到我的老师把娃娃的残肢扫到了壁炉旁边。我的懊恼也随之被移走了，我感到心满意足。后来，老师拿来了我的帽子，我知道我要去外面晒太阳了。这样的念头——如果这种无声的感觉能够被称作一个念头的话，那么它会令我感到欢欣鼓舞。
We walked down the path to the well-house, attracted by the fragrance of the honeysuckle with which it was covered. Some one was drawing water and my teacher placed my hand under the spout. As the cool stream gushed over one hand she spelled into the other the word water, first slowly, then rapidly. I stood still, my whole attention fixed upon the motions of her fingers. Suddenly I felt a misty consciousness as of something forgotten--a thrill of returning thought; and somehow the mystery of language was revealed to me. I knew then that "w-a-t-e-r" meant the wonderful cool something that was flowing over my hand. That living word awakened my soul, gave it light, hope, joy, set it free! There were barriers still, it is true, but barriers that could in time be swept away.*
我们走在通往大房子的路上，金银花的芬芳令人心旷神怡。有人开始压水，我的老师则把我的手放在了水管边上。当一股清冽的水流喷涌到我的一只手上时，她就在我的另一只手上拼写“water”这个词，起初是慢慢地，后来变得飞快。蓦然间，我感觉到一种被遗忘了的朦胧意识——或者说，一种沉睡意识的回归和觉醒；神秘的语言世界展现在我面前。于是我知道了“water”的意思是奇妙而凉爽的东西从我的手上流过。这个具有生命力的词语唤醒了我的灵魂，它带给了我光明、希望、欢乐，将我置于一个无限自由的空间！虽然感官的藩篱依然存在，但是藩篱必将会被及时地清理干净。
I left the well-house eager to learn. Everything had a name, and each name gave birth to a new thought. As we returned to the house every object which I touched seemed to quiver with life. That was because I saw everything with the strange, new sight that had come to me. On entering the door I remembered the doll I had broken. I felt my way to the hearth and picked up the pieces. I tried vainly to put them together. Then my eyes filled with tears; for I realized what I had done, and for the first time I felt repentance and sorrow.
我离开了大房子，极其渴望了解更广阔的世界。对我而言，每一样东西都有一个名字，每一个名字都是一种新思想的诞生。当我们回到家里，我碰到的每一件物体似乎都对我的生命产生了触动。这是因为我以一种陌生而新奇的眼光来看待这些东西。进门的时候，我想起了那个被我摔坏的洋娃娃。我摸索着走到壁炉前，蹲在地上捡起了娃娃的碎片。我徒劳地想把它们拼凑在一起，我的眼里噙满了泪水，因为我意识到了自己的所作所为，有生以来第一次，我感到既懊悔又伤心。
I learned a great many new words that day. I do not remember what they all were; but I do know that mother, father, sister, teacher were among them--words that were to make the world blossom for me, "like Aaron's rod, with flowers." It would have been difficult to find a happier child than I was as I lay in my crib at the close of that eventful day and lived over the joys it had brought me, and for the first time longed for a new day to come.
那天，我学习了大量的新词汇。虽然已经记不全了，但是有几个词我永远都不会忘记——“母亲，父亲，姐妹，老师”——这些词语把我带进了一个缤纷的世界，“就像亚伦的魔杖，一挥之下，遍生花丛”。不妨说，你很难找到一个像我这般快乐的小孩。在具有意义的那一天结束之时，我躺在自己的儿童床里。它把我带进了喜悦的生活之中，我第一次迫不及待地期盼着新的一天的来临。
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