Ben Carson

     Benjamin Solomon "Ben" Carson, Sr. (born September 18, 1951) is an American author and retired Johns Hopkins neurosurgeon. Carson was the first surgeon to successfully separate twins conjoined at the head. In 2008, he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President George W. Bush.
After delivering a widely publicized speech at the 2013 National Prayer Breakfast, he became a popular conservative figure in political media for his views on social and political issues.

Early life

      Carson was born in Detroit, Michigan, the son of Sonya and Robert Solomon Carson, a Seventh-day Adventist minister. Both his parents came from rural Georgia. His parents divorced when he was eight, and he and his ten-year-old brother Curtis were raised by their mother.

In his book Gifted Hands, Carson relates that in his youth, he had a violent temper. Once, while in the ninth grade, he nearly stabbed a friend during a fight over a radio station. After this incident, he began reading the Book of Proverbs, applying verses on anger and thereafter "never had another problem with temper".

Carson attended Southwestern High School in Southwest Detroit where he excelled in JROTC, a program sponsored by the United States Armed Forces. He quickly rose in rank and was offered an appointment to West Point.

      Carson graduated from Yale University, where he majored in psychology. He received his M.D. from the University of Michigan Medical School. He completed his residency in neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore.

Medical career

     In 1987, Carson successfully separated conjoined twins, the Binder twins, who had been joined at the back of the head (craniopagus twins). The 70-member surgical team, led by Carson, worked for 22 hours. Both twins survived.
     Carson figured in the revival of the hemispherectomy, a drastic surgical procedure in which part or all of one hemisphere of the brain is removed to control severe pediatric epilepsy. He refined the procedure in the 1980s, encouraged by John M. Freeman, and performed it many times.
In March 2013, Carson announced he would retire as a surgeon, stating "I'd much rather quit when I'm at the top of my game". His retirement became official on July 1, 2013.

Personal life

     Carson and his wife, Lacena "Candy" Rustin, met in 1971 as students at Yale University. They married in 1975 and have three sons: Murray, Benjamin Jr., and Rhoeyce. They live in West Friendship, Maryland, and are members of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

                               T   E   X   T        C   O   M   P   R   E   H   E   N   S   I   O   N

01 Choose the correct sentence according to the text.

a)Ben Carson is a Seventh-day Adventist minister

b)Curtis had a violent temper

c)Ben Carson is sixty two years old

d)Ben Carson and his wife live in Maryland

e)Ben Carson nearly stabbed his brother Curtis

02 Sonya is ______________of Curtis.

a)cousin     b)sister     c)mom      d)grandma      e)daughter

03-Ben Carson was born in _______________.

a)Michigan     b)Maryland      c)Washington       d)Georgia       e)Connecticut

04-__________________helped Ben Carson overcome his temper.

a)The Navy     b)The US Armed Forces      c)his daddy     d)medicine

e)The Book of Proverbs

05 Ben Carson was the first surgeon to separate twins conjoined at the head in ______________________________.

a)two thousand eight      b)nineteen fifty one      c)nineteen seventy one

d)nineteen eighty       e)nineteen eighty seven