Would you believe that the first outstanding deaf teacher in America was a Frenchman? His name was Laurent Clerc. He became a friend of Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet and together they founded America's first school for the deaf.
Laurent Clerc was born in a small village near Lyons, France, on December 26, 1785. When he was one year old, he fell into a fire, losing both his hearing and his sense of smell.
At 12, Laurent entered the Royal Institution for the Deaf in Paris where he did well in his studies. After he graduated, the school asked him to stay on as an assistant teacher.
Meanwhile, in America, Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet was studying to be a minister. He was very concerned about the lack of educational opportunities for the deaf. Therefore, in 1815, Gallaudet sailed to London, England to seek ideas on how to teach deaf people. While he was there, he met a French educator of the deaf who invited him to go to Paris to spend three months learning at the Royal Institution for the Deaf, the school where Laurent Clerc was teaching. Gallaudet accepted the offer. The two worked and studied well together. When the time came for Gallaudet to return, he asked Clerc to come with him. Clerc accepted on one condition: that he would stay in America only a short time.
The two men set sail on June 18, 1816. The voyage across the Atlantic Ocean took 52 days; however, Clerc and Gallaudet put the time to good use. Clerc studied English, and Gallaudet studied sign language. They discussed the school for the deaf which they planned to open. On the long trip, they had many conversations about education and deafness. The year after they arrived, they founded a school for the deaf in Harford, Connecticut.
At the school, Clerc led a busy life. He taught signs to Principal Gallaudet; he taught the pupils; and he taught hearing men who came to the school to study deaf education.
In 1819, Clerc married Eliza Crocker Boardman, one of his pupils. They had six children. He retired from teaching in 1858. Although he had intended to return to France, he never did. He died on July 18, 1869 in the United States.
小题1:Why did Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet sail to London?
A．He needed to finish his studies to become a minister.
B．It was the easiest way to get to France.
C．He wanted to study their system of deaf education.
D．He wanted to marry Alice Cogswell.小题2:On their trip from Paris to America, Clerc and Gallaudet ___________.
A．played cards and socialized
B．studied and discussed their plans for a deaf school
C．founded a school for the deaf
D．Gallaudet studied English and Clerc studied Sign Language小题3:Which is the right order of the things Clerc did？
A．met Gallaudet, moved to America, got married, went to school in Paris.
B．met Gallaudet, went to school in Paris, moved to America, got married.
C．went to school in Paris, met Gallaudet, moved to America, got married.
D．got married, went to school in Paris, met Gallaudet, moved to America.小题4:The main idea of this passage could best be stated as_________.
A．Clerc managed his time well, and was able to teach a lot of information in a short period of time
B．Thomas Gallaudet was grateful to Clerc for all that he taught him
C．Clerc preferred teaching deaf students to hearing students
D．Clerc, an educated Frenchman, had a great impact on American Deaf Education