Louis Braille was born in France in 1809. His father was a craftsman who had a workshop with many tools for his job. One tool in his workshop was an awl. It was a tool with a pointed tip that could punch holes in leather and wood. When Louis was three years old, an awl pierced his eye while he was playing in his father’s workshop. After this accident resulted in a serious infection, Louis became blind.
Though he could not see, Louis was successful at many things. He made good grades in school, played the organ and cello, and had many friends. The one thing he felt left out of was reading. He was a curious student who wanted to enjoy the knowledge found in books. There were a few books with raised letters at his school, but they were hard to read. Louis thought there should be a better system that would allow people to run their fingers quickly across a page. He wanted to be able to read as quickly as people with sight.
At 15 years old, Louis worked hard to make a code that blind people could feel on the page. For ideas, he studied codes used by the military. Finally, he created a writing system that used raised dots. Each letter can have up to six dots. The placement of the dots is unique for each letter.
It took some time for Braille’s system to catch on, but now it is the main language blind people use for reading. Even with the invention of audio books and recordings, many people still use Braille to read books today.
7
Based on the selection, which statement about Louis Braille is most likely true?
A.
He created codes for the military.
B.
He thought reading was important.
C.
He had a hard time learning music.
D.
He liked audio books and recordings.