Genes Are Really Just Segments of DNA in Patterns of As

Genes are really just segments of DNA in patterns of As, Ts, Gs, and Cs. How does an RNA polymerase "know" where to start transcribing at the beginning of a particular gene?

A) The polymerase finds the end of the previous gene and copies past that point.
B) The polymerase starts transcribing anywhere because the beginning point counts only during translation.
C) It looks for a specific promoter region that marks the beginning of a gene.
D) RNA polymerase does not know, so it has to rely on the ribosome to help it start at the correct place.