Section I

- V

Three Days to See Cl

Here ii o tcxt written by Halen Kaller herself It exprtssts some of htr u11fulfilltd desires. Con you guess
what they might bei Reod 0 11 t11ld find out ...

I have often thought it would be a blessing if each <J \

human being were stricken blind I and deaf for
a few days at some tin"le during his early adult life.
Darkness would niake him 1nore appreciative of
sight; silence would teach hirn the joys of sound.
I, who cannot see, find hundreds of things
to interest 1ne through rnere touch. I foel
the delicate symmetry2 of a leaf. I pass 1ny hands
lovingly about the smooth skin of a silver birch,
or the rough, shaggy3 bark of a pine. In spring.
I touch the branches of cr~es hopefully in senrch of a 1\lm k.-n 0l111.l (hr,r) t-"--x'n'" t-hn,I I
\u11111(111 (1,r,'(>) th<' t , A,t O\.lhh, \ , rr
bud, the first sign of nwakening Nature after her
,\l uj ,h~p<' ht:-l\\'"'11 th<"{'"' h..11\~, ,-., J.
winter's sleep. k.11 I 1,h,1,,-:_,:1 1l~1r \ '""-''<""

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 y fortunate; I place my hand gentl
Occasionally, I am ver uiver~ of a bird in fu yo~
a small cree and feel the haPP~ q . II son
cries out with longing to see all the~ g.
At times, my heart leasure from mere couch, how rnu Lthi\
If l can get so muc hvealed
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by sight. And I have .imagined ....
C11 lh,,,.
1,._
beauty must be.kre see if I were given . the use of rny ey"•~t
I should most lI e to es, Sl,.. ,,,~
just three days.
I should divide the period into chre~ parts. On the first day, l
should want to see the people whose kindness and companionship have made my lifu
living. I do not know what it is to see into the heart of a friend through that 'window oft~
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soul: the eye. I can only 'see' through my fingertips the outline of a face. I can detect laugh
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th th
• sorrow and many other obvious emotions. I know my frie nds from e feel of eir facot 11\

• The next day I should arise with che dawn and see the
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: thrilling miracle by which night is rransformed into day.
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I should behold with awe the magnificent panorama of
light with which the sun awakens the sleeping earth. This
day I should devote to a hasty glimpse of the world past
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and present. I should want to see the pageant of man's
progress and so I should go to che museums.
There my eyes would see the condensed history of the
earth-animals and the races of men pictured in their
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native environment; gigantic carcasses of dinosaurs and
mastodons9 that roamed the earth before man appeared
with his tiny stature and powerful brain, to conquer the animal kingdom.
The following morning, I should again greet the dawn, anxious to discover new delights, new
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revelations 10 of beauty. Today, this third day, I shall spend in the workaday world, amid the
haunts 12 of men going about the business of life. The city becomes my destination.

First, I stand at a busy corner, merely

looking at people, trying by sight of chem 4quiver: (here) vibration I 5transformed: completely
to understand something of their daily changed I 6magni/icent panorama: wonderful view
I or sight I 'pageant: series of interesting and differ?nt
I lives. I see smiles, and l am happy. I see events I 8carcosses: dead bodies I 9mastodo11.1: Ii~
• serious determination, and I am proud. I elephant-like animals, now extinct I ,eve.latJOns: nt1'
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surprising e~periences I l lworlcoday: a normal QIGll\l

see suffering, and I am compassionate.
day I 11 haurits: places where people spend a lot of Of!
lt ,t11d11lght, perm1111ent nljht would tlO•• In on me •a•lr1 N1ttmlly In thote tlir11 1lum diY'
1n
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11011Id 1,ot have •••". all .I w1111u1
. d 11 • . "'nly
,t •ne, ,, wl1111 darkn•••
' hid- ag.111 d,a,111d11d. urmr1
. 'e
11_ Id I reallie how much I had luft Uflllltn
1hO'-' ' O
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wh" an 1>ll11d ciin giveonu hint t"" 1-Ium wI10 can •ee1UJli your ilY" ,, 1f wmorrow you w 111...tu 11"
1,,r1,ke11 bllnd,
' And I.he same llluthod c1111 bn AllJJlled to your oLher 511nm, 11,w t1111 rmalc ()( vr,lct,
i,e 0118 of abird•th' mighty at.rain, uf 1111 oreh111tr1, a, If you would be1ttlcke11 deif w,nottoW,
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~oucheach object at If mmorrow your tacLll11tl torus would foll, 9mell LIie perfumeof How1rJ, tnte
with relish'~ each momil, IU Ir ton,orrow you c.:ould never ,mcll 11nd t11tt8 •~in, M11k8 rite mott of
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everY,cr11e1 glory In all thv fam1 of pleaaure llnd lmuty, 11
,.," ,11 the world revealsto you throu11h Lhc meral mean•• u,urlllt 1nm1er t•d with 11ie tl! rtll'( I
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ofcontact, which Na tun: provldn Uut of all the ,enm, tow II I g,, ar tnl"f'~ nr
ain sure that sight must be themo•t d11llghtful, HaUH l(IU,111
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1. 1he writer 1ay1 that It would be a blenlng If everyone were struck blind and
deaf once In their lifetime, Why doll th• 1ay thl17
2. 11,ough the writer 11blind, 1he dl1cover1 many thlngt of interest, How doe, ~he
Understand do thl•7 Make a li1t of the thing, 1he ref11n tO,
3. If Helen could get ,o much pleature from mere tight/touch, how much more
brauty mu1t be revealed by 1/ght/touch. (Strike out the wrong wordJ,)
4. The writer 1ay1 that 1he recognize, her friend, through
a. the ,ound of their laughter,
b. feeling their fam with her flngrr1,
c. their acu of klndneH toward, her,
d. their 1orrow1.
(Choose the correct option.)
5, The writer say1 that If 1he were given the chance to see the world for three
days she would fulfil 1ome of her keenm deslm. Complete this table with
the things she would like to do.

Day 1
Day2
Day 3
_ Why do you think the writer divides her 'three days to see' in the way she does?
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Which of the three days do you think 1he would enjoy the most?