Most of us take life for granted.
We know that one day we must die, but usually we picture that day as far in the future.
The days stretch out in an endless vista,
so we go about our petty tasks, hardly aware of our listless attitude toward life.
The same lethargy characterizes the use of all our faculties and senses.
Only the deaf appreciate hearing, only the blind realize the manifold blessings that lie in sight.
I have often thought it would be a blessing if each human being were stricken blind and deaf
for a few days at some time during his early adult life.
Darkness would make him more appreciative of sight;
silence would teach him the joys of sound.
When walking the woods, I, who cannot see,
find hundreds of things to interest me through mere touch.
I feel the delicate symmetry of a leaf.
I pass my hands lovingly about the smooth skin of a silver birch,
or the rough, shaggy bark of a pine.
In the spring I touch the branches of trees hopefully in search of a bud
the first sign of awakening Nature after her winters sleep.
I feel the delightful, velvety texture of a flower,
and discover its remarkable convolutions;
and something of the miracle of Nature is revealed to me.
Occasionally, if I am very fortunate,
I place my hand gently on a small tree and feel the happy quiver of a bird in full song.
I am delighted to have the cool waters of a brook rush thought my open finger.
To me a lush carpet of pine needles or spongy grass is
more welcome than the most luxurious Persian rug.
To me the pageant of seasons is a thrilling and unending drama,
the action of which streams through my finger tips.
If I can get so much pleasure from mere touch,
how much more beauty must be revealed by sight.
Suppose you set your mind to work on the problem of how you would use your own eyes
if you had only three more days to see.
If with the oncoming darkness of the third night you knew that the sun would never rise for you again,
how would you spend those three precious intervening days?
What would you most want to let your gaze rest upon?
I, naturally, should want most to see the things
which have become dear to me through my years of darkness.
You, too, would want to let your eyes rest on the things that have become dear to you
so that you could take the memory of them with you into the night that loomed before you.
2017届高考英语一轮复习全套课件:第3部分 写作指导 提分策略7 龙头凤尾(北师大版)
2017届高考英语一轮复习全套课件:第2部分 语法突破 专题13 并列连词和状语从句并列连词(北师大版)
2016年高考英语二轮复习专题讲练测:(测)专题05 阅读理解Ⅲ:推理判断题(解析版)
2016年高考英语二轮复习专题讲练测:(测)专题09 短文改错(原卷版)
2016年高考英语二轮复习专题讲练测:(测)专题08 阅读填空(原卷版)
2017届高考英语一轮复习全套课件:第3部分 写作指导 提分策略8 段落写作(北师大版)
2017届高考英语一轮复习全套课件:第3部分 写作指导 提分策略2 过渡词语(北师大版)
2016年高考英语二轮复习专题讲练测:(测)专题03 阅读理解Ⅰ:主旨大意题(解析版)
2016年高考英语二轮复习专题讲练测:(练)专题06 阅读理解Ⅳ:词义猜测题(原卷版)
2017届高考英语一轮复习全套课件:第2部分 语法突破 专题1 冠词(北师大版)
2016年高考英语二轮复习专题讲练测:(测)专题06 阅读理解Ⅳ:词义猜测题(解析版)
2017届高考英语一轮复习全套课件:第1部分 选修7 教材知识梳理 Unit 19 Language(北师大版)
2017届高考英语一轮复习全套课件:第1部分 选修8 教材知识梳理 Unit 23 Conflict(北师大版)
2016年高考英语二轮复习专题讲练测:(练)专题07 阅读理解Ⅳ:篇章结构题(解析版)
2017届高考英语一轮复习全套课件:第2部分 语法突破 专题8 动词的时态和语态(北师大版)
2017届高考英语一轮复习全套课件:第2部分 语法突破 专题7 动词和动词短语(北师大版)
2017届高考英语一轮复习全套课件:第1部分 选修7 教材知识梳理 Unit 20 New Frontiers(北师大版)
2017届高考英语一轮复习全套课件:第2部分 语法突破 专题6 非谓语动词(北师大版)
2017届高考英语一轮复习全套课件:第3部分 写作指导 专题突破2 图画作文(北师大版)
2017届高考英语一轮复习全套课件:第1部分 选修7 教材知识梳理 Unit 21 Human Biology(北师大版)
2016年高考英语二轮复习专题讲练测:(测)专题04 阅读理解Ⅱ:细节理解题(解析版)
2017届高考英语一轮复习全套课件:第3部分 写作指导 专题突破4 开放作文(北师大版)
2016年高考英语二轮复习专题讲练测:(测)专题05 阅读理解Ⅲ:推理判断题(原卷版)
2016年高考英语二轮复习专题讲练测:(测)专题04 阅读理解Ⅱ:细节理解题(原卷版)
2017届高考英语一轮复习全套课件:第1部分 选修6 教材知识梳理 Unit 17 Laughter(北师大版)
2016年高考英语二轮复习专题讲练测:(测)专题09 短文改错(解析版)
2017届高考英语一轮复习全套课件:第1部分 选修6 教材知识梳理 Unit 16 Stories(北师大版)
2016年高考英语二轮复习专题讲练测:(测)专题08 阅读填空(解析版)
2017届高考英语一轮复习全套课件:第2部分 语法突破 专题4 代词(北师大版)
2016年高考英语二轮复习专题讲练测:(测)专题03 阅读理解Ⅰ:主旨大意题(原卷版)