Blind from birth, I have never had the opportunity to see myself and have been completely dependent on the image I create in the eyes of others．
There are those who believe that 1 I can't see, I obviously also cannot hear．Very often people will talk with me at the top of their 2 ．Conversely(相反地)to this, people will also often 3 , thinking that since my eyes don't work, my ears don't either．For example, when I go to the airport and ask the ticket agent for 4 to the plane, he or she will always pick up the phone and call a ground hostess in a very low voice．“Hi, Jane, we've got a 76 here．”I have concluded that the word“ 5 ”is not used because they are unwilling to inform me of my condition of which I may not have been previously 6 ．
On the other hand, others know that of course I can hear, but believe that I can't talk．Once I became ill and was hospitalized．Immediately after I was 7 , I was wheeled down to the X-ray room．Just at the door sat an elderly woman(judging from her voice)asked the orderly(护工)who had been wheeling me：“What is your name?”“What's your name?”the orderly 8 to me．“Harold Krents”, I replied．“Harold Krents”, he repeated．“When was he born?”“When were you born?”This continued for about five minutes before I finally interrupted,“Look, this is absolutely 9 ．OK, I can't see, but it's going to become pretty 10 to both of you that I don't need an interpreter．”“He says he doesn't need an interpreter,”the orderly reported to the woman．
The 11 misconception(误解)of all is the view that because I can't see, I can't 12 ．I was turned down by over forty law firms, 13 my qualifications(资格证书)included a cum laude(优等成绩)degree from Harvard Law School．The 14 to find jobs, the continuous 15 of being told that it was impossible for a blind person to 16 law, the rejection letter, not based on my lack of 17 but rather on my disability, will always remain one of the most upsetting experiences of my life．
18 , the Department of Labor issued laws that demand equal 19 opportunities for the disabled．The business community's response has been 20 ．The attitude towards the disabled is beginning to change．