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. 

我們大多數(shù)人認為生命是理所當然的。我們知道總有一天我們會死去，但通常我們會把那一天想象成遙遠的未來。日子在無盡的遠景中延伸，所以我們做瑣碎的工作，幾乎意識不到我們對生活的倦怠態(tài)度。同樣的冷漠也存在于我們對所有官能的運用中。只有聾子才珍惜聽力，只有瞎子才體會到能看見的種種幸福。我常常想，如果每個人在成年初期的某個時候都能失明或失聰幾天，那將是一件幸事。

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 winter’s 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. 

黑暗會使他更珍惜視力;寂靜將教會他聲音的樂趣。當我在森林里散步的時候，我，誰也看不見，發(fā)現(xiàn)數(shù)以百計的事情，我感興趣通過觸摸。我感到樹葉的對稱美。我用手愛撫著白樺樹光滑的樹皮或是松樹那粗糙的厚厚的樹皮。春天里，我摸著樹枝，滿懷希望地尋找著嫩芽——這是大自然在冬眠之后蘇醒的第一個跡象。我感覺到了花朵那令人愉快的天鵝絨般柔軟的質地，并發(fā)現(xiàn)它那奇妙的卷曲;大自然的奇跡向我顯現(xiàn)。偶爾，如果我很幸運的話，我會把我的手輕輕地放在一棵小樹上，感覺到一只鳥兒歡快地鳴叫著。

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. 

?我很高興有溪水的清涼激流想到我張開的手指。對我來說，茂盛的松針地毯或松軟的草地比最豪華的波斯地毯更受歡迎。對我來說，四季變換的景色猶如一出動人心魄、永無休止的戲劇，其情節(jié)從我指尖流過。如果僅僅從觸摸中我就能獲得如此多的快樂，那么視覺就會顯示出更多的美麗。假設你下定決心要解決一個問題:如果你只能再看三天，你將如何使用自己的眼睛。

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.

?如果在第三個夜晚即將來臨的黑暗中，你知道太陽將不再為你升起，你將如何度過這寶貴的三天呢?你最想讓你的目光停留在什么地方?當然，我最想看到的是那些在我多年的黑暗中對我變得珍貴的東西。你也會想讓你的眼睛停留在那些對你已變得珍貴的東西上，這樣你就能把它們的記憶帶到逼近在你面前的黑夜里。

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