公共二级阅读题7.docVIP

Art 　　A 　　Ray Charles was a singer, songwriter, and musician1. His work will influence American music for a long time. 　　Ray Charles spent almost sixty years as a professional musician. Millions of people around the world enjoy his recordings. If Ray Charles had only played the piano, he would have been considered one of the best. If he had only sung, his voice would have made him famous. If he had only played jazz, the world would still have listened. But Ray Charles did all these things, and more. 　　He played and sang rock-and-rollandrhythm-and-bluessongs2. He sold millions of country and western records, too. His work brought together different kinds of music and different kinds of fans. His influence on America’s popular music cannot be measured. 　　Ray Charles Robinson was born in 1930 in Albany, Georgia. At age 6, he came down with an eye disease that eventually left him blind. But leaving the world of sight made him turn to the world of sound. He especially learned to love music of all kinds. 　　Charles taught himself to play the organ, alto saxophone, clarinet and trumpet3, but his special relationship was with the piano. If you listen to his piano work you can almost see him smiling. 　　Ray Charles was fifteen years old when his mother died, and within a year he’d left school to work. He began playing piano professionally in African American restaurants and bars in the state of Florida, and then moved to the opposite corner of America: Seattle, Washington. 　　By the end of the 1950s, Ray Charles had recorded many famous songs. Most of his music was black rhythm-and-blues or soul music. Yet white Americans were listening, too. 　　Notes: 　　1. musician n. 音乐家 　　2. rock-and-roll and rhythm-and-blues songs 摇滚和布鲁斯蓝调歌曲 　　3. the organ, alto saxophone, clarinet and trumpet管风琴、萨克斯、黑管和小号 　　Read the passage and choose the best answer for each question. 　　1. The first three paragraphs are mainly about _______. 　　A. the success of Ray Charles 　　B. stories about Ray Charles