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Smartphone App Gives 'Sight' to the BlindA new computer program is being praised as a life-changer for blind people. The new program is known as the KNFB Reader app. It can help users listen to an audio read-back -- the sound -- of printed material.
Blind people say the KNFB Reader app will make life much easier. They say it will help with everything from reading restaurant menus to studying papers in the classroom.
The application software program costs $99. It is the product of a long relationship between the National Federation of the Blind and Ray Kurzweil. He is a computer scientist and an employee of Google, which specializes in Internet-related services.
Blind App for Smartphone
The Google website says the technical development of the app resulted from the work of K-NFB Reading Technology Incorporated and Sensotec NV, a company in Belgium.
Ray Kurzweil demonstrated the app at the National Federation of the Blind's yearly meeting in June.
The KNFB Reader makes use of new pattern recognition and image-processing technology, and new hardware for smartphones. People using the app can adjust, or change the position, of the camera and read printed materials out loud.
Users say the app has given some people greater independence. The Reuters news service says they made the comments on social media sites such as Twitter. One user, named Gordon Luke, reported that he was able to use the app to read his voting card for the recent referendum in Scotland.
Ray Kurzweil told Reuters that the app will be available for Android mobile devices in the coming months. He said he may also build a version of the app for Google Glass. Google Glass is a small computer screen that can be connected to eyeglasses. It is able to take photographs, record video and play sound.
Ray Kurzweil added that "Google Glass makes sense because you direct the camera with your head."
Mr. Kurzweil started working on what he called "reading machines" in the early 1970s. The idea came after speaking with a blind person who expressed frustration with the lack of technology to assist blind people.
Mr. Kurzweil's first reading machine was the size of a washing machine. It cost $50,000.
The technology has continued to improve over the past 20 years. The new smartphone app can recognize and take printed material in one language and change it to another language. But it was not available on a mobile device until now. In the past, it cost more than $1,000 to use the software app with a camera and a mobile phone.
The release of the KNFB Reader app comes at a time when the technology industry is facing criticism. Critics say the industry is too concerned about making software programs for sharing photos and video games.
In San Francisco, activists have blocked buses operated by companies such as Google and Apple. They also have protested near the homes of some technology company executives. They say these business leaders are increasing the cost of living and not doing enough to help fix the problems of San Francisco.
Bryan Bashin leads the non-profit group Lighthouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired in San Francisco. He is also blind. He says the KNFB app shows the positive impact that technology can have. He says there are times in his life when he wishes the KNFB app were available to him. He adds that the ability to gain information quickly with something that fits in your pocket at a fast speed will be, what he calls, "a game changer."
I'm Jonathan Evans.
Reporters from Reuters provided this story. Jonathan Evans wrote it for Learning English. George Grow edited it.
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Words in this Story
hardware - n. equipment used for a purpose; especially, computer equipment.
independence – n. freedom from outside control or support
frustrations – n. things that cause feelings of anger or annoyance
referendum – n. a public vote on an issue
Now it’s your turn to use these Words in this Story. In the comments section, write a sentence using one of these words and we will provide feedback on the use of vocabulary and grammar.
[ 本帖最后由 蕊琪珠宝 于 2014-9-26 10:47 编辑 ]
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From VOA Learning English, this is the Education Report.
The school year has begun in Cameroon. But thousands of students and teachers are fleeing their schools in towns that border Nigeria's Borno state. The state is the home of the Boko Haram terrorist group.
One thousand children were expected to start classes in government schools in the border town of Kolofata. But only a few arrived.
Seventeen-year-old Foncha Rene was one of those who did come to school. He says Boko Haram attacks in the area have frightened away other students. Recent armed conflict between the Nigerian Boko Haram rebels and Cameroon soldiers collapsed the school's walls.
Fewer than 18 percent of girls in Cameroon's Far North Region attend schools such as Marou Government Bi-Lingual High School
Pamela Singeth works at the government school in Kolofata. She spoke to VOA while taking refuge in a military camp.
"I cannot advise any child to go to school in the border zone because it is dangerous. Look at some classrooms that have been destroyed by Boko Haram. They even come here to pray, so I would not allow or advise any child to go to school in this area."
Like Kolofata, Mora is also a town on the border with Borno State. Seven hundred students were expected at school there. But only 100 students appeared. And those who arrived found more than 2,000 Nigerian refugees in their school building.
Babila Akao serves as an administrative official for the area. He says, "People are suffering; the situation is a bad situation." He says he is asking the Ministry of Education to postpone the start of the school year.
Kolofata and Mora are just two of the 25 schools on the border with Nigeria's Borno State. Monouna Fotso is Cameroon's secretary of state of the Ministry of Secondary Education. He says the government plans to move students from local schools for security reasons. He says at that time, the government will bring the staff and the students to the new sites. He says the goal of Boko Haram is "to traumatize the citizens."
Over time, Cameroon has worked to extend and improve its educational system. Fourteen years ago, the government began providing free education. The action was part of efforts to increase school attendance. Cameroon is also trying to educate all of the youngest school-age children.
Boko Haram is a threat to Cameroon's students and educational goals. The group has killed, kidnapped and stolen from villages along the 2,000 - kilometer border with Nigeria. The group has gained energy and strength in its fight to establish a government ruled by a religious leader and sharia, Islamic law, in northern Nigeria. Cameroonian and Nigerian military action has failed to stop the violence.
And that's the VOA Learning English Education Report. I'm Jeri Watson.
Correspondent Moki Edwin Kindzela reported this story from Kolofata. Jeri Watson wrote it for Learning English, and Caty Weaver was the editor.
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Words in this Story
border - n. a dividing line between nations
frighten – v. to cause great fear
beginning – n. a starting point; the first part of something; adj. involving or learning about the simple or basic parts of a subject
traumatize – v., to cause someone to become very upset in a way that often leads to serious emotional problems.
system – a method of organizing or doing something by following rules or a plan; a group of connected things or parts working together for a common purpose or goal.
[ 本帖最后由 蕊琪珠宝 于 2014-9-26 10:46 编辑 ]
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不错不错，请问你从哪里下载的这些，我一直都没找到过，求链接，谢谢
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必应词典里面就有VOA，可听，可看原文，很方便的。
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谢谢分享 我是该恶补一下听力了
每次老外讲 还是与很多听不懂
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谢谢，
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很好，谢谢，我也经常听，很有用。
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这个对于提高听力很有帮助哦
加拿大电商刚从事这行半年，对电子行业不了解，自己整理了些，算是学习，供大家分享，也请大家补充。我毕竟是个文科生，对这方面知识严重欠缺。 DVD:英文全名是Digital Video Disk, 即数字视频光 加拿大电商昨天我把提单复件发给了客户，今天收到了他回信，如下： Dear Nicholas, please send all shipping documents. We will check B/L copy and we will reply ASAP. Thank you Best Regards .........................................
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