Who Was Helen Keller 海伦·凯勒 BRAILLE

MANY BLIND PEOPLE READ BY TOUCH INSTEAD OF SIGHT. THEY RUN THEIR FINGERS OVER PAGES THAT ARE PRINTED IN RAISED DOTS. DIFFERENT ARRANGEMENTS OF DOTS STAND FOR DIFFERENT LETTERS. LOUIS BRAILLE INVENTED THIS SPECIAL KIND OF WRITING.

LOUIS BRAILLE WAS BORN IN 1809 IN A SMALL TOWN IN FRANCE. HE BECAME BLIND AT THE AGE OF FOUR. MOST BLIND PEOPLE THEN COULDN’T READ OR WRITE. MANY HAD TO BEG TO MAKE A LIVING. BUT LOUIS WAS LUCKY. HE WENT TO A SCHOOL FOR BLIND BOYS. HE LEARNED¹ TO READ LETTERS THAT WERE MADE BY PRESSING COPPER² WIRE INTO A SHEET OF PAPER TO MAKE A RAISED SHAPE. LOUIS COULD READ, BUT HE STILL DID NOT KNOW HOW TO WRITE.

THEN, ONE DAY, A SOLDIER CAME TO THE SCHOOL. HE SHOWED THE STUDENTS A SYSTEM CALLED “NIGHT WRITING.” IT HELPED SOLDIERS IN BATTLE COMMUNICATE WITH EACH OTHER IN THE DARK WITHOUT HAVING TO TALK. IT WAS BASED ON A SERIES³ OF RAISED DOTS.

LOUIS WAS VERY EXCITED BY THIS NEW KIND OF WRITING. HE SAW HOW USEFUL IT COULD BE. HE EXPERIMENTED UNTIL HE FOUND A SYSTEM OF USING SIX DOTS. BLIND PEOPLE COULD READ IT. AND THEY COULD ALSO WRITE IT. THEY USED A STYLUS (A POINTED⁴ PEN-LIKE TOOL) TO MAKE THE DOTS.

TODAY, BRAILLE HAS BEEN ADAPTED FOR ALMOST EVERY LANGUAGE AND IS USED ALL OVER THE WORLD.

 

1 learned   

adj.有学问的，博学的；learn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He went into a rage when he learned about it.他听到这事后勃然大怒。
• In this little village,he passed for a learned man.在这个小村子里，他被视为有学问的人。

2 copper   

n.铜；铜币；铜器；adj.铜(制)的；(紫)铜色的

参考例句：

• The students are asked to prove the purity of copper.要求学生们检验铜的纯度。
• Copper is a good medium for the conduction of heat and electricity.铜是热和电的良导体。

3 series   

n.连续；系列

参考例句：

• The students have put forward a series of questions.学生们提出了一系列问题。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

4 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。