Mrs. Paine. Not to my knowledge. I knew that she looked at signs and had learned the sound value of the English letters. That she looked at the Thursday supplement to the newspaper for the ads on vegetables and things with pictures on a can or something that showed the English of what it was, to try to determine what this word was and pronounce it.
Mr. Jenner. So she did acquire some command of English with respect to reading newspapers?
Mrs. Paine. It was not my impression that she could read a newspaper. She could pick out the sound values. It was not until October that I read with her a portion from Time magazine regarding Madam Nhu, whenever that was news, she asked me to read this to her and translate it. I read it.
Mr. Jenner. Did you read it in English first?
Mrs. Paine. I read it in English, giving translation of some of the words.
Mr. Jenner. As you went along?
Mrs. Paine. As I went along.
Mr. Jenner. All right.
Mrs. Paine. But many of the words, English words, were words she understood, because they were either similar to the Russian or because she had learned them.
I was surprised at how much she understood when I pronounced it and read it to her.