unit4_B课文BEN_CARSON..docVIP

BEN CARSON: MAN OF MIRACLES Christopher Phillips Ben Carson looked out at Detroit s Southwestern High School class of 1988. It was graduation day. At 36, Carson was a leading brain surgeon, performing delicate and lifesaving operations. But 19 years before, he had graduated from this same inner-city school. He remembered it all—the depressing surroundings of one of Detroit s toughest, poorest neighborhoods. And he knew the sense of hopelessness and despair that many of these 260 students were feeling about the future. ???????For weeks he had worried over how to convince the graduates that they, too, could succeed against seemingly impossible odds, that they could move mountains. Now, standing to deliver the main address, he held up his hands. “See these? he asked the students. “I didnt always use them for surgery. When I was a little younger than you are, I often waved a knife with them to threaten people. And I even tried to kill somebody. ” ???????The students stared in disbelief. ???????Ben and his older brother, Curtis, grew up in a crowded apartment building near the school. Their mother, Sonya, who had married at age 13 and divorced when Ben was eight, worked at two and sometimes three low-paying jobs at a time. She wanted a better life for her two sons and showered them with encouragement. However, both boys started badly in school, especially Ben. ???????Sonya recognized that Ben was bright. He just didnt seem motivated. “From now on,” she announced one afternoon, “you can watch only two TV shows a week. You have to read at least two books every week and give me reports so I know you really read them. ” ???????At first Ben hated reading. Then, gradually, he discovered a new world of possibility. Before long he was reading more books than his determined mother required, and he couldnt wait to share them with her. ???????His mother studied the book reports closely. “Thats a fine job, Bennie,” she would tell her beaming son. What she didnt tell Ben or