世界節(jié)假日博覽 第2期:國際盲人日

World Braille Day is on the 4th of January every year. That’s the date of birth of Louis Braille, the man who invented the system that helps blind people read and write. Braille was a Frenchman who lived between 1809 and 1852. He became blind at the age of three. He was a very talented boy. At school he learnt the cello and organ and toured France to play in churches. He was just 15 when he invented his reading and writing system. It was a stroke of genius. He used just six raised dots on paper so people could feel each letter of the alphabet with their fingertip. Braille changed the lives of blind people forever. He had no idea how important his invention was because he died aged 43. Two years after his death, France officially recognized his system.

每年的1月4日是世界盲文日。這天是路易斯·布萊葉的生日，他發(fā)明了幫助盲人讀寫的文字系統(tǒng)布萊葉點字法。布萊葉（1809——1852）三歲時失明。他很有天賦。上學期間，他學習了大提琴和管風琴，并在法國的教堂中巡回演出。他發(fā)明點字法時才15歲。這真是天才之舉。他只使用了紙張上6個凸點，這樣人們就可以用手指來感覺每一個字母。盲文永久性的改變了盲人的命運。他不知道他的發(fā)明為盲人帶來了什么，因為他去世時只有43歲。他去世兩年后，法國官方承認了他的發(fā)明點字法系統(tǒng)。

International (World) Braille Day is celebrated all over the world. It recognizes how Louis Braille has revolutionized the lives of people who are blind or visually impaired. Braille is a key to improving social and economic opportunities to millions. It has given the blind a means to be more independent and to educate themselves. Without it, many people would beilliterate. People used to use a special typewriter calleda Brailler to write. Nowadays, computers make it very easy for people to read and write using Braille. A worker with America’s blind, Des Kenny, said: “Braille is to the blind person what the printed word is to the sighted individual - access to information and contact with the outside world”. So, January 4th celebrates the magic of six small dots.

全世界都慶祝世界盲文日。這一節(jié)日使人們意識到布萊葉是如何改變了盲人和視覺障礙人群的生活。盲文是千百萬人提升社會機遇和經(jīng)濟機遇的關(guān)鍵。有了它，盲人變得更加獨立，并能自學成才。沒有盲文，許多盲人將會成為文盲。過去人們使用布萊葉盲文打字機寫字。如今，電腦使得盲人可以很方便地用盲文讀寫。美國工人登斯·肯尼說：“盲文之于盲人，就像文字之于正常人——盲人可以通過它獲取信息，與外部世界聯(lián)系。所以，1月4日慶祝的是六點魔法。

1. visually impaired 視覺障礙

And some people, such as the visually impaired, cannot see CAPTCHA images at all, so this technique exhibits poor accessibility, and can even be illegal in some circumstances.

有些人，比如視覺障礙人士，根本無法看不到 CAPTCHA 圖像，所以這個技巧的適用性比較差，在某些情況下甚至可能是不合法的。

2. to contact with 交流

In the current Asian outbreak, the vast majority of cases have been traced to contact with animals.

此次（禽流感）在亞洲爆發(fā)，絕大多數(shù)病例都可以追溯到與動物的接觸史。

3. all over the world 全球

The films manufactured by Hollywood are saturated in the cinemas all over the world.

好萊塢影片滲透了全球的電影市場。

4. raised dot 凸點

Louis Braille, French inventor of the raised-dot system of writing used by the blind, was born near Paris.

路易斯·布萊葉，法國發(fā)明家，生于巴黎附近，發(fā)明了供盲人使用的凸點書寫系統(tǒng)。