「If I Had Three Days to See」
1)
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.
2)
Now and then I have tested my seeing
friends to discover what they see.
Recently I was visited by a very good friend,
who had just returned from a long walk
in the woods, and I asked her what she
had observed.
“Nothing in particular,” she replied.
I might have been incredulous,
had I not been accustomed to such responses,
for long ago I became convinced that
the seeing see little.
3)
How was it possible, I asked myself,
to walk for an hour through the woods
and see nothing worthy of note?
I, who cannot see, find hundreds of things
to interest me through mere touch.
4)
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 spring I touch the branches of trees,
hopefully in search of a bud, the first sign of
awakening Nature after her winter’s sleep.
5)
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 through my open fingers.
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 season is a thrilling
and unending drama, the action of which
streams through my finger tips.
6)
At times, my heart cries out with longing to see
all these things.
If I can get so much pleasure from mere touch,
how much more beauty must be revealed by sight.
Yet, those who have eyes apparently see little.
The panorama of color and action which fills
the world is taken for granted.
It is human, perhaps,
to appreciate little that which we have
and to long for that which we have not,
but it is a great pity that, in the world of light,
the gift of sight is used only as mere convenience
rather than as a means of adding fullness to life.
7)
If I were the president of a university,
I should establish a compulsory course
in how to use your eyes.
The professor would try to show his pupils
how they could add joy to their lives
by really seeing what passes unnoticed before them.
He would try to awake their dormant and sluggish faculties.
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音読は、英語を使うための訓練です
日々おこなって下さい。何度も何度も
しっかりと声を出して、心を込めて：
この3月1か月かけて
毎日音読して、すっかり覚えてみませんか？
必ず英語の力が向上します
それほどの名文なんですよ。
出来ない方は、退門をお勧めしまして
他で習ってくださいね
