The song, Let's Go Get Stoned, is an example of Ray Charles' own kind of music and is his own sound.
He mixed black church music, blues and rock-and-roll and produced a very different sound.
     Ray Charles could play blues, rock and jazz, and liked other kinds of music, too. He recorded an album
(专辑) of country-and-western music, which was an immediate success. The album was called Modern
Sounds in Country and Western Music. Many of the songs became famous. One of the most popular was
I Can't Stop Loving You.
     Charles made himself a popular artist and an expert of soul music with the release (发行) of his most
popular composition (乐曲作品) What I Say.
     During the 1960s Charles appeared in the 1962 film Swinging Along, and the 1966 British film Ballad in
Blue. In 1980 he appeared in The Blues Brothers movie and became even more successful. Charles also played
an important part in the recording for Africa's song of We Are the World in 1985.
     Ray Charles often said that sound and music were his life's blood. He said many times that he would not
trade his musical ability for the ability to see again. He did not give his time and money to help the blind, but
helped create and support the Robinson Foundation for Hearing Disorders, which helps people deal with the
loss of their hearing. He once said, "Being blind is my handicap (生理缺陷), but my ears are my opportunity.
Losing my hearing would have ended my life."

1. According to the passage, what can we learn about Ray Charles?

A. He lost both his sight and his hearing.
B. He lost his voice and could not sing.
C. He lost his sight.
D. He was disabled in both body and mind.

2. Charles appeared in films and _____.

A. played an important role at the very beginning
B. lost his interest in music in the 1960s
C. achieved great success in The Blues Brothers
D. failed to become successful in the end

3. What can we learn from the passage?

A. Ray Charles didn't want to see again.
B. Let's Go Get Stoned is Ray Charles' best song.
C. Ray Charles couldn't live without music and sound.
D. Charles supported the foundation for the blind.

4. What does the last paragraph tell us?

A. Ray Charles thought it was a big pity that he could not see.
B. Ray Charles paid attention to nothing except sound and music.
C. Ray Charles didn't help the blind because he hated being blind.
D. He considered his hearing as the most important thing in his life.

        Charles Chaplin, who died in 1977, is regarded as one of the greatest and funniest actors in the history of
the cinema. During his lifetime, he acted in 13 films, and he wrote, directed (导) and acted in 69 other films.
        Chaplin was born in London in 1889. When he was a poor boy, he was often seen waiting outside the
London theatres, hoping to get work in show business. He could sing and dance, and above all, he could make
people laugh. But he couldn't get work, so he wandered (徘徊) about the city streets. Sometimes he was sent
away to a home for children who had no parents.
        Charlie Chaplin first acted when he was five. He broke into show business because his mother, a music-
hall performer, lost her voice during the performance and had to leave the stage, and Charlie went on and sang
a well-known song. Halfway through the song a shower of money poured onto the stage. Charlie stopped
singing and told audiences he would pick the money first and then finish the song. The audiences laughed. This
was the first of millions of laughs in Charlie Chaplin's comedy (喜剧) life.
        Twenty years later the same Chaplin became the greatest and best loved comedian in the world. His dream
came true in the end. Chaplin became world-famous and almost a king in the world of the film.
        Even people who don't understand English can enjoy Chaplin's films because they are mostly silent. The
machine for adding sound to films had not yet been developed. The development of films with sound became a
problem for Chaplin, as he was uncertain about making films with dialogues. Instead, he continued to make films
without dialogue, but he added music, which he wrote himself. It isn't what he says that makes us laugh. His
comedy doesn't depend on (依靠) words. It depends on little actions which mean the same thing to people all
over the world.
        Chaplin's later films, however, were not well received. Chaplin lived most of his life in America and the
last years in Switzerland, where he was buried (被埋葬) at Christmas 1977, at the age of eighty-eight. There
was sadness all over the world at the news of his death.
         In his book, Chaplin tells us how to succeed in life. He says, "You have to believe in yourself. That's the
secret."

1. What does the underlined word "stage" mean in the passage?

A. It's a special time that something reaches while it grows or develops.
B. It's one of the parts in the process (过程) of something.
C. It's the raised area in a theatre which actors or singers stand on when they perform.
D. It's a place or an area of activity where something important happens.

2. Chaplin is regarded as a king of comedy mainly because __________.

3. The only secret of Charles Chaplin's great success is that ___________.

A. he can make all people, men and women, old and young laugh
B. he has full trust in himself
C. he is always active and hard-working all his life
D. though he is always in trouble, he never loses heart

4. Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?

A. He was too shy to meet the managers of the theatres.
B. People won't stop laughing until tears run down Chaplin's face.
C. He wouldn't like to work at the theatre.
D. People all over the world can enjoy Chaplin's films without translation because most of them are silent.