节目资讯
刊物:生活知识家
日期:2009-01-08
难易度:High
关键字:monotonous, sophisticated, prohibitively, impaired
Hi, everyone. Welcome back to Studio Classroom Worldwide.
Before the break, we were talking about an amazing invention.
It’s screen-reading software for blind people,
so that blind people can log onto the Internet and the software actually reads
the page for them.
Pretty amazing.
Imagine opening up the vast world of the Internet to the world of the blind.
What a great invention.
We’re gonna continue right now.
But first let’s look at the word impaired as in:
The little boy’s speech is impaired, so he is very difficult to understand.
The next word is accessible as in:
The lake is accessible to the public, and we can even rent a boat there.
All right, friends.
Let’s finish this lesson.
We’re on page twenty.
Please follow along in your magazines on line fifteen.
WebAnywhere.
WebAnywhere is a browser that voices web pages for blind and visually impaired
people.
The software is free,
and since it is an online application, it is available on any computer.
The program was created by Jeffrey Bigham,
a doctoral candidate in computer science at the University of Washington.
Bigham says he was motivated to create WebAnywhere because ”Web access is
becoming increasingly vital to our lives.”.
So far, the software has been a hit.
Last year Microsoft awarded its first Accessible Technology Achievement Award to
Bigham for creating WebAnywhere.
Blind users who have tried this software have been able to accomplish the kinds
of tasks they might find useful went out and about.
These include checking e-mail, looking up bus schedules and searching for
restaurant information.
This kind of access means more freedom for visually impaired people than anyone
ever thought possible.
Now according to our article,
WebAnywhere is a browser that voices web pages.
Now that word browser means to browse or to look at something.
And you might be familiar with browsers like Internet Explorer or Firefox.
And this is a special Internet browser that talks to people who are blind and it
reads the Internet pages for them,
for both blind and visually impaired people.
Now Chip, what does it mean to be visually impaired?
Well, visually impaired or to impair something means to damage it or to weaken
it.
So someone who is visually impaired means that their vision has been damaged or
is in some way weaker than normal.
Uh, not necessarily blind or they cannot see anything, but they’re visually
impaired.
My mother actually, as you know, Chelsea, is visually impaired.
That’s right.
She would benefit very much from something like this.
That’s right.
That’s right.
Now here’s the very good news about this software.
This software is free.
If you remember from earlier, we talked about other screen readers that have
come out on the market,
and those have been very expensive and most people cannot afford them.
But this is free. So that means it’s available to anyone who is blind.
And since it is an online application, it is available on any computer.
You can use your computer at home,
or you can go out and use a computer in a coffee shop or a bookstore or anywhere
else that they are available.
That’s right.
That really is a strong benefit to WebAnywhere,
because usually these screen readers needed to be downloaded on your computer,
and they weren’t everywhere.
Here you can access... A blind person can read the Internet anywhere there is
Internet.
That’s right.
Now someone very smart created this program.
His name was Jeffrey Bigham.
Now Jeffrey Bigham was a doctoral candidate and computer science at the
University of Washington.
Now that word doctoral candidate refers to a person who is studying to receive
the highest degree that education gives.
A doctorate degree that does not mean that he is studying to become a doctor.
You can receive your doctorate degree in any area of study,
in education or law, any area of study.
So Bigham received his doctorate degree in computer science.
That’s right.
And they...
The article says that he was motivated to create WebAnywhere because ”Web access
is becoming increasingly vital to our lives.”.
That word:
vital.
Maybe you’ve heard that word before referring to vital organs.
Um, vital is an adjective that refers to something that we cannot live without.
So some of my vital organs are my brain and my heart.
Those are vital to my body’s life.
So here he’s saying that the Internet is increasingly vital, more and more vital
to our lives.
And we really are more and more dependent on the Internet.
We sure are.
I know I use the Internet every single day.
Now so far this software has been a hit, says our artcle, or it’s been very
popular.
In fact, it was so popular that last year Microsoft awarded an award to this
software.
It was called the Accessible Technology Achievement Award.
Chip, what does that word accessible mean?
Well, you might recognize the word ”access” uh, the verb, to access something in
the adjective ”accessible”.
So accessible means it’s able to be accessed.
Or something that’s easily accessible means that it’s easy to access.
That’s right.
People who are blind or visually impaired have easy access.
They can use a computer with the software anywhere they want and read and enjoy
the Internet.
Now let’s go to Liz and see what she has to say on Grammar on the Go.
Hello, friends.
How are you all doing today?
It’s time for Grammar on the Go.
And I’m Liz Archer.
So why do I have all these computers around me?
Well, the article we’ve been looking at is about special computer software.
And I’m hoping to check it out later.
But first, let’s go over today’s grammar tip.
And here’s the sentence.
Blind users who have tried the software have been able to accomplish the kinds
of tasks they might find useful when out and about.
Believe it or not, this sentence is actually shortened.
In other words, the sentence was originally longer.
Blind users who have tried the software have been able to accomplish the kinds
of tasks that they might find useful when they’re out and about.
This sentence is very wordy.
Since the first part of the sentence is already full of information and it’s
quite long,
the adjective clause at the end of this sentence should be short if possible.
So what are the tips for shortening an adjective clause?
Let’s go back to the adjective clause in today’s sentence.
... they might find useful went out and about.
It’s actually made up of two parts.
The first part is...
they might find useful.
It’s a shortened way to say...
that they might find useful.
So here’s tip number one:
You can drop the connector ”that”.
We’ll be onto the second part.
... when out and about.
It’s a shortened way to say when they’re out and about.
And here’s tip number two:
Since the same ”they” would’ve been mentioned twice,
the second ”they” can be dropped along with its be verb.
That’s it for today’s grammar tip.
This is Liz with Grammar on the Go signing off.
Bye-bye.
So WebAnywhere is a very useful software that now makes it possible for blind
Internet users to be able to use the Internet,
when they’re away from their home computer, when they’re out of their home and
walking about through town.
Now they can check their e-mail, look up a bus schedule or search for restaurant
information when they’re out in town.
That’s right.
This kind of access gives more freedom to those who are blind and visually
impaired.
This is a great thing for them.
Let’s enjoy a skit now.
Listen to the sounds of the monkeys, frogs..
What is that measured, monotonous voice I hear?
It’s my computer.
It sounds like a robot.
Are you watching a science-fiction movie?
No, I’m not watching anything.
I’m blind.
Blind?
But how can you use a computer?
I have sophisticated screen-reading software.
You mean your computer reads to you?
That’s right.
Wow, that must be prohibitively expensive.
Does it cost over a thousand dollars?
No.
This clever new software is free.
F-R-E-E, free?
Yes.
And it’s available on any computer.
That’s convenient.
Yes, it sure is.
It’s opening the Internet for millions of blind and visually impaired people all
over the world.
That’s amazing.
That’s Anywhere Web.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to check my e-mail and the bus schedule.
Then I’m going to look for a good restaurant.
Oh, do you want me to help you?
Uh, no, thanks.
All those things are accessible to me here on the Internet!
That’s great!
Wow, blind people have more freedom than I ever thought possible.
Uh, hey, let me know if you find a good restaurant.
OK.
(Chinese).
And that concludes our Language Tips today.
Keep up the good work.
And bye-bye.
Thank you again, Michelle.
Well friends, as always, we have some Talk About It questions.
Here’s one for you and your friends to practice your English.
Do you know anyone who could benefit from the WebAnywhere software?
How would he or she find it useful?
Next question is:
In what ways could computers become more accessible to visually and hearing
impaired users?
Well friends, we’re out of time.
We’ll have another lesson for you here at Studio Classroom Worldwide.
Until then,
bye-bye, everyone.
Have a greatday.