Ray Charles was born on September 23rd, 1930 into a poor family in Georgia, U．S．A．His father was a railwayman who had to travel a lot, so Ray was brought up mainly by his mother, who, though not very well educated, was full of common sense．When he went blind after a serious sickness at the age of seven, it was his mother who helped him to face up to the situation．She told him he was blind, not stupid, and that he had lost his eyes but not his mind, she made him sweep floors and chop wood to show him he was by no means helpless．She used to tell him that some day she would not be there to help him, and that then he would have to look after himself．

　　Soon after he went blind, Ray began to take an interest in music．A neighbour showed him how to play simple tunes on the piano, and he had a love for the music he heard, played and sung in the local church．In the blind school the schoolteachers encouraged him to study a variety of instruments．Then, one more blow came．His mother died suddenly, and Ray, who loved her deeply, was so shocked that for two weeks he was unable to eat．It was another neighbour who finally managed to persuade him that his mother would have wanted him to go on, and reminded him of how she had believed in him．When his father died a year later, Ray knew he was strong enough to keep going on his own．

　　Between the ages of fifteen and seventeen, Ray worked with bands in Florida, but in 1948, while still only seventeen, he decided that there wasn't much future for him there and decided to go to Seattle, in the north-west of the U．S．A．

　　Ray arrived in Seattle and went to a small hotel to sleep．When he woke up, he was hungry．It was two o'clock in the morning, and everywhere was closed．Ray managed to find a small club and knocked on the door．A man on the door said they had no food, but“we've got a talent night on here,”he added．Ray saw his chance and told the man he could play the piano and sing．The man tried to discourage him, but he was finally guided to the piano and sang a song．As he came off the stand, a man stopped him and said,“I'm from the Elks Club．I think you've got a weekend job．”That was Tuesday．By Friday he was working regularly, and after that he never looked back．It was the beginning of his climb to stardom．

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阅读理解

阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出最佳选项。

　　George Zimmerman's first court appearance before a Florida judge came on Tuesday in connection with the shooting of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin．The case has caused a national debate in the United States about race, self-defense laws and gun control．

　　It was the first time the public had gotten to see and hear from George Zimmerman．The judge said he had found probable cause to move ahead with the case and told Zimmerman he would be formally charged on May 29th．

　　Zimmerman turned himself into authorities on Wednesday night, just before special prosecutor (检举人)Angela Corey announced the charge against him．

　　Corey told reporters she would fight for Trayvon Martin．

　　"It's the victims and justice that we work tirelessly for " Corey said．

　　Zimmerman says he shot Martin in self-defense after spotting the teenager in a gated community where Martin's father lives．He told police Martin attacked him during a conflict．The shooting caused a national cry led by Martin's parents who insisted their son was murdered．They also accused Zimmerman of targeting their son because he was black．

　　"We just wanted an arrest and we got it," Trayvon Martin's mother Fulton said．

　　Many in Sanford, Florida －the city where the shooting took place－welcomed the charge．

　　"All of us were wanting this to move on and get to this process where it is now into the justice system," one man said．

　　"It was long overdue (迟到的) and I am glad they decided to do something," another said．

　　Police did not initially charge Zimmerman with a crime because of a Florida law that says a person has a right to stand his or her ground and meet force with force．Prosecutor Corey say：

　　'' I'm prepared to argue the issue if Zimmerman uses the self-defense law in court''．

　　Mark O'Mara, Zimmerman's lawyer, would not make his plan public, but he said his client (委托人) was worried about the trial．

　　"If found guilty of the second-degree murder charge, Zimmerman could face up to life in prison．", O'Mara said．

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