(상식-041) (Holiday) Jan 4th - World Braille Day

[Write 2 Speak]

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.
* Braille = 점자/ talented = (타고난) 재능[재주]이 있는/ tour = 순회[순방]하다; 관광하다/ a stroke of genius = 천재적 솜씨/ raised = 돌출된/ fingertip = 손가락 끝/ officially = (책임자에 의해) 공식적으로[정식으로]/ recognize = 공인[승인]하다; (존재・진실성을) 인정[인식]하다  

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 be illiterate. People used to use a special typewriter called a 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.
* revolutionize = 대변혁[혁신]을 일으키다/ impaired = 손상된, 제 기능을 못하는/ a key to ~ = (이해・성취의) 비결[열쇠/실마리]/ means = 수단, 방법, 방도/ illiterate = 문맹의/ nowadays = 요즘에는/ printed word = 인쇄된[활자화된] 말, 인쇄물/ sighted = 시력이 정상인/ Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body = 독서가 정신에 미치는 효과는 운동이 신체에 미치는 효과와 같다.  (cf) Braille is to the blind person what the printed word is to the sighted individual 

--> Nowadays, computers make it very easy for people to read and write using Braille.
* nowadays = 요즘에는

* 가목적어 it
목적어가 부정사나 동명사, 또는 명사절과 같이 긴 경우에는 가목적어 it을 사용하여 문장을 구성하는 것이 원칙이다.
대명사 it이 어순상 뒤에 진목적어로 나오는 부정사, 동명사, 그리고 명사절을 대신한다.
이를 가목적어 it라 하며 문맥상 형식적인 목적어 역할을 한다.

* Examples *

1. 그녀는 모든 것을 시간에 맞추어 준비해 놓는다는 것이 어렵다는 것을 알았다.
She found it difficult to get everything ready in time.

2. 혼자 가는 것은 위험하다고 생각합니다. 
I think it dangerous going alone.

3. 그들은 내가 그녀를 따라가는 것이 당연하다고 여겼다.
They took it for granted that I would follow her.

4. George는 나를 사랑한다고 분명히 밝혔다.
George made it clear that he was in love with me. 

(Holiday) Jan 4th - World Braille Day.mp3