I also gave considerable time to the improvement of my speech. I read aloud to Miss Sullivan and recited passages from my favourite poets, which I had committed to memory; she corrected my pronunciation and helped me to phrase and inflect. It was not, however, until October, 1893, after I had recovered from the fatigue2 and excitement of my visit to the World's Fair, that I began to have lessons in special subjects at fixed3 hours.
Miss Sullivan and I were at that time in Hulton, Pennsylvania, visiting the family of Mr. William Wade4. Mr. Irons, a neighbour of theirs, was a good Latin scholar; it was arranged that I should study under him. I remember him as a man of rare, sweet nature and of wide experience. He taught me Latin grammar principally; but he often helped me in arithmetic, which I found as troublesome as it was uninteresting. Mr. Irons also read with me Tennyson's "In Memoriam." I had read many books before, but never from a critical point of view. I learned for the first time to know an author, to recognize his style as I recognize the clasp of a friend's hand.
At first I was rather unwilling5 to study Latin grammar. It seemed absurd to waste time analyzing6, every word I came across--noun, genitive, singular, feminine--when its meaning was quite plain. I thought I might just as well describe my pet in order to know it--order, vertebrate; division, quadruped; class, mammalia; genus, felinus; species, cat; individual, Tabby. But as I got deeper into the subject, I became more interested, and the beauty of the language delighted me. I often amused myself by reading Latin passages, picking up words I understood and trying to make sense. I have never ceased to enjoy this pastime.
There is nothing more beautiful, I think, than the evanescent fleeting7 images and sentiments presented by a language one is just becoming familiar with--ideas that flit across the mental sky, shaped and tinted8 by capricious fancy. Miss Sullivan sat beside me at my lessons, spelling into my hand whatever Mr. Irons said, and looking up new words for me. I was just beginning to read Caesar's "Gallic War" when I went to my home in Alabama.
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1 desultory | |
adj.散漫的,无方法的 | |
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2 fatigue | |
n.疲劳,劳累 | |
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3 fixed | |
adj.固定的,不变的,准备好的;(计算机)固定的 | |
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4 wade | |
v.跋涉,涉水;n.跋涉 | |
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5 unwilling | |
adj.不情愿的 | |
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6 analyzing | |
v.分析;分析( analyze的现在分词 );分解;解释;对…进行心理分析n.分析 | |
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7 fleeting | |
adj.短暂的,飞逝的 | |
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8 tinted | |
adj. 带色彩的 动词tint的过去式和过去分词 | |
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