VOA标准英语2012--For the Blind, Kentucky is Epicenter of Learning

For the Blind, Kentucky is Epicenter of Learning

 

For 133 years, one company has produced nearly every educational tool used by legally blind students throughout the United States.

The American Printing House for the Blind in Louisville, Kentucky, is the world’s largest publisher of everything from books to maps to “talking books” specially¹ designed for the blind and visually impaired².

The favorite bible of the late Helen Keller, the renowned³ blind and deaf author and lecturer, was printed at the American Printing House.

The company’s in-house museum even holds the world’s first-known book for the blind. It employed actual letters - A, B, C, and so forth⁴ - raised above the surface of the page.

It was printed in France in 1786, just before Frenchman Louis Braille invented his system of raised dots that are readable with one’s fingers.

Visitors to the museum can try their hand at producing braille using a special typewriter. And they can see styluses and slates⁵ developed to help the blind write on paper. 

Public donations pay for the company’s production of braille versions of popular magazines, including Reader’s Digest, Newsweek and the Weekly Reader for young people.

The American Printing House even churns out braille versions of federal tax forms, periodic tables of the elements, and instructional manuals on such topics as how to crochet⁶ yarn⁷.

And the Library of Congress in Washington pays it to produce about 500 audio “talking books” each year.

Like any publisher, the American Printing House For The Blind proofreads⁸ its books before it mass-produces them.

That requires two people. A blind person scanning the braille with his or her fingers speaks the words and punctuation⁹ to a sighted person, who checks their accuracy against the original, written text. 

Braille books are still the showcase product. American Printing House president Tuck Tinsley says that for a blind as well as a sighted reader, there is nothing like having a book to hold and read at one’s own pace.

1 specially   

adv.特定地；特殊地；明确地

参考例句：

• They are specially packaged so that they stack easily.它们经过特别包装以便于堆放。
• The machine was designed specially for demolishing old buildings.这种机器是专为拆毁旧楼房而设计的。

2 impaired   

adj.受损的；出毛病的；有（身体或智力）缺陷的v.损害，削弱( impair的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Much reading has impaired his vision. 大量读书损害了他的视力。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• His hearing is somewhat impaired. 他的听觉已受到一定程度的损害。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

3 renowned   

adj.著名的，有名望的，声誉鹊起的

参考例句：

• He is one of the world's renowned writers.他是世界上知名的作家之一。
• She is renowned for her advocacy of human rights.她以提倡人权而闻名。

4 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

5 slates   

（旧时学生用以写字的）石板( slate的名词复数 )； 板岩； 石板瓦； 石板色

参考例句：

• The contract specifies red tiles, not slates, for the roof. 合同规定屋顶用红瓦，并非石板瓦。
• They roofed the house with slates. 他们用石板瓦做屋顶。

6 crochet   

n.钩针织物；v.用钩针编制

参考例句：

• That's a black crochet waistcoat.那是一件用钩针编织的黑色马甲。
• She offered to teach me to crochet rugs.她提出要教我钩织小地毯。

7 yarn   

n.纱，纱线，纺线；奇闻漫谈，旅行轶事

参考例句：

• I stopped to have a yarn with him.我停下来跟他聊天。
• The basic structural unit of yarn is the fiber.纤维是纱的基本结构单元。

8 proofreads   

校对，校勘( proofread的第三人称单数 )； 做校对工作

参考例句：

9 punctuation   

n.标点符号，标点法

参考例句：

• My son's punctuation is terrible.我儿子的标点符号很糟糕。
• A piece of writing without any punctuation is difficult to understand.一篇没有任何标点符号的文章是很难懂的。