Page 1 - Microsoft Word - LN

Class IV Practice Paper 1 DATE:
TEXT A : NON-FICTION

The Life of Helen Keller

Many people have heard of Helen Keller. She is famous because she was unable to see or
hear, but learned to speak and read and went onto attend college and earn a degree.
Her life is a very interesting story, one that she developed into an autobiography, which was
then adapted into both a stage
play and a movie. How did Helen Keller overcome her disabilities to become a famous
woman? Read onto find out.
Helen Keller was not born blind and deaf. When she was a small baby, she had a very high
fever for several days. As a result of her sudden illness, baby Helen lost her eyesight and her
hearing. Because she was so young when she went deaf and blind, Helen Keller never had
any recollection of being able to see or hear. Since she could not hear, she could not learn to
talk. Since she could not see, it was difficult for her to move around. For the first six years of
her life, her world was very still and dark.

Imagine what Helen’s childhood must have been like. She could not hear her mother’s
voice. She could not see the beauty of her parent’s farm. She could not recognize who
was giving her a hug, or a bath or even where her bedroom was each night. More sad, she
could not communicate with her
parents in any way. She could not express her feelings or tell them the things she wanted. It
must have been a very sad childhood.

When Helen was six years old, her parents hired her a teacher named Anne Sullivan. Anne
was a young woman who was almost blind. However, she could hear and she could
read Braille, so she was a perfect teacher for young Helen. At first, Anne had a very hard
time teaching Helen anything. She described her first impression of Helen as a “wild thing,
not a child.” Helen did not like Anne at first either. She bit and hit Anne when Anne tried to
teach her. However, the two of them eventually came to have a great deal of love and
respect.