感谢大耳朵网友"uuu2002"提供的听力原文

　How to Use Your Eyes

　 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.

　　我常常想，如果每个人在刚成年时的某个时候能失明或失聪几天，这或许是件大好事。黑暗将使他更深刻地感受景象，而寂静将教会他领略声音的欢乐。

　　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.

　我不时考问我的有视力的朋友，以了解他们所见的情况。最近有一个极好的朋友来看我，她是在林中溜达了好一会才回来的，我问她观察到了些什么。“没有什么特别的东西。”她回答说。要不是我对类似的反应已习以为常的话，我是会感到难以置信的。我之所以不觉为奇，是因为我早已得出结论：有视力者所见甚少。

　　 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. 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. 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 in a small tree and feel the happy quiver of a bird in full song. ! am delighted to have 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 seasons is a thrilling and unending drama, the action of which streams through my finger tips.

　　我问自己，在林中溜达了一个小时而竟没有看到什么值得注意的东西，这怎么可能呢?我这个看不见东西的人，仅凭触摸就发现千百种使我感兴趣的东西。我感觉到叶片的精致的对称。我用手爱抚着光滑的白桦树皮，或是粗糙的松树皮。春天里，我满怀希望地触摸树枝，冀求找着一颗幼芽—大自然经过冬日沉睡重又苏醒的最早的征兆。我摸着花朵的可爱的天鹅绒般的质地，并发现它的花瓣一圈圈叠合得那么巧妙，于是我领略到了某种大自然的神奇。偶尔，如果我十分幸运的话，我把手轻轻搭在一棵小树上，能感到一只小鸟儿尽情歌唱的欢愉的颤动。我非常高兴让清凉的溪水流过我的张开的手指。对我来说，那厚密的松针层或茂盛松软的绿茵地比豪华的波斯地毯更惬意。对我来说，四季的奇瑰变幻犹如一出动人心弦的永不落幕的话剧，它的情节似水般徐徐从我指尖流过。

　　 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 fill 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 and the gift of sight is used only as mere convenience rather that as a means of adding fullness to life.

　　我的心时时在呼号，渴望见到所有这一切。如果我单靠触摸就能获得如许乐趣，那么通过视觉又将能领略到多少美景呀。可是，那些双目完好的人显然所见甚少。大干世界中的五光十色的千姿百态被认为是理所当然的。对已获得的不以为意，而对未获得的却引颈企盼，这一点或许是人类的特性，可是，非常遗憾，在光明的世界里，天赋的视力只被当成一种单纯的方便，而不是一种使生活臻于完美的手段。

　　 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.

　　如果我是大学校长，我就要开设一门必修课：“如何使用你们的眼睛”。教授应尽力向学生说明，如何做到真正看见那些从他们面前不知不觉溜掉的东西，从而为自己的生活增添快乐。他将尽力唤醒他们那些昏睡懒散的感官。