A 13-year-old American has made a cheap machine that can help blind people read. People who cannot see can read by using Braille – a system of small bumps that people touch to read the letters. Machines that make these small bumps into words, sentences and paragraphs are very expensive. They are called Braille embossers and usually cost at least $2,000. The American teenager, Shubham Banerjee, made a new Braille embosser from a Lego kit that lets people create robots. It costs just $350. Banerjee has called his new device the Braigo – a combination of the words Braille and Lego. It works by translating electronic text into Braille and then printing it using a computer or mobile device.

Banerjee designed his Braigo last year for a school science fair. Since then, he has caught the interest of Silicon Valley in the USA. The technology giant Intel invested in Banerjee's machine last November, but they did not say how much money they put in. Banerjee also got $35,000 from his father to help him start the project. His father works as a computer engineer at Intel. He spoke about why he gave so much money to his son, saying: "We as parents started to get involved more, thinking that he's on to something and this innovation process has to continue." Banerjee told the AP news agency that: "My end goal would probably be having most of the blind people...using my Braille printer."

1. TRUE / FALSE:Read the headline. Guess if a-h below are true (T) or false (F).

a.A 13-year-old British kid has made a machine to help the blind.T / F

b.Traditional machines that print Braille are very expensive.T / F

c.The machine the teenager made costs just $350.T / F

d.People can use the new machine and print Braille from a computer.T / F

e.The teenager made his machine for his school science fair.T / F

f.The tech giant Intel wanted to invest in the machine, but didn't.T / F

g.The teenager's father refused to give him any money to help him.T / F

h.The teen's parents wanted their son to stop working on the machine.T / F

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS

1.Where is the teenager from?

2.What is Braille?

3.How much do Braille embossers usually cost?

4.What is the name of Mr Banerjee's printer?

5.What does the new machine translate into Braille?

6.Why did Mr Banerjee design his device?

7.Which American company has invested in Mr Banerjee?

8.How much did Mr Banerjee's father give him?

9.What is Shubham Banerjee's father's job?

10.What is it that Mr Banerjee's parents wanted to continue?

答案

TRUE / FALSE

a F b T c T d T e T f F g F h F

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS

1.The USA

2.A system of bumps to help the blind read

3.At least $2,000

4.The Braigo

5.Electronic text

6.For a school science fair

7.Intel

8.$35,000

9.A computer engineer

10.The innovation process