高一英语必修一第五单元课文

Unit 5ELIAS’ STORY

My name is Elias. I am a poor black worker in South Africa. The time when I first met Nelson Mandela was a very difficult period of my life. I was twelve years old. It wa s in 1952 and Mandela was the black lawyer to whom I went for advice. He offered gui dance to poor black people on their legal problems. He was generous with his time, for which I was grateful.

I needed his help because I had very little education. I began school at six. The sc hool where I studied for only two years was three kilometers away. I had to leave beca use my family could not continue to pay the school fees and the bus fare. I could not r ead or write well. After trying hard, I got a job in a gold mine. However, this was a tim e when one had got to have a passbook to live in Johannesburg. Sadly I did not have it because I was not born there, and I worried about whether I would become out of w ork.

The day when Nelson Mandela helped me was one of my happiest. He told my ho w to get the correct papers so I could stay in Johannesburg. I became more hopeful ab out my future. I never forgot how kind Mandela was. When he organized the ANC Yout h League, I joined it as soon as I could. He said:

“The last thirty years have seen the greatest number of laws stopping our rights an d progress, until today we have reached a stage where we have almost no rights at al l.”

It was the truth. Black people could not vote or choose their leaders. They could no t get the jobs they wanted. The parts of town in which they had to live were decided b y white people. The places outside the towns where they were sent to live were the po

orest parts of South Africa. No one could grow food there. In fact as Nelson Mandela s

aid:

“…we were put into a position in which we had either to accept we were less impo rtant or fight the government. We chose to attack the laws. We first broke the law in a

way which was peaceful; when this was not allowed…only then did we decide to answe

r violence with violence.

As a matter of fact, I do not like violence…but in 1963 I helped him blow up some government buildings. It was very dangerous because if I was caught I could be put in

prison. But I was happy to help because I knew it would help us achieve our dream o

f makin

g black and white people equal.

THE REST OF ELIAS' STORY

You cannot imagine how the name of Robben Island made us afraid. It was a priso n from which no one escaped. There I spent the hardest time of my life. But when I go

t there Nelsom Mandela was also there and he helped me. Mr Mandela began a school

for those of us who had little learning. He taught us during the lunch breaks and the e

venings when we should have been asleep. We read books under our blankets and use

d anything w

e could find to make candles to see the words. I became a good student.

I wanted to study for my degree but I was not allowed to do that. Later, Mr Mandela al

lowed the prison guards to join us. He said they should not be stopped from studying f

or their degrees. They were not cleverer than me , but they did pass their exams. So I

knwe I could get a degree too. That made me feel good about myself.

When I finished the four years in prison, I went to find a job. Since I was better educa ted, I got a job working in an office. However, the police found out and told my boss that I had bee