A、He fell into a fire and lost his hearing. B、He went to America to learn sign language. C、He started to study at the Royal Inst

Would you believe that the first outstanding deaf teacher in America was a Frenchman? His name was Laurent Clerc, who became a friend of Thomas Hopkins and together they founded America’s first school for the deaf.
    When he was one year old, Clerc fell into a fire, losing both his hearing and his sense of smell.(20)At twelve years old, Clerc entered the Royal Institution for the Deaf in Paris where he excelled in his studies. After he graduated, the school asked him to stay on as an assistant teacher.
    Meanwhile, in America, Thomas Hopkins was studying to be a minister. He was very concerned about the lack of educational opportunities for the deaf.(21)Therefore, in 1815, Hopkins sailed to London, England to seek ideas on how to teach deaf people. 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 Clerc was teaching. Hopkins accepted the offer. When the time came for Hopkins 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 voyage across the Atlantic Ocean took 52 days; however, they put the time to good use.(22)Clerc studied English, and Hopkins 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 Hartford, Connecticut.
20. What did Clerc do at the age of twelve?
21. Why did Hopkins go to London in 1815?
22. What did Clerc and Hopkins do during the journey to America?