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Nelson Mandela
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Meenu Sethi
Meenu Sethi

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Nelson Mandela Nelson Mandela

Tenth May dawned bright and clear. For the past few days I had been pleasantly besieged bydignitaries and world leaders who were coming to pay their respects before the inauguration.The inauguration would be the largest gathering ever of international leaders on South African soil.The ceremonies took place in the lovely sandstone amphitheatre formed by the Union Buildings in Pretoria. For decades this had been the seat of white supremacy, and now it was the site of a rainbow gathering of different colours and nations for the installation of South Africa’s firstdemocratic, non-racial government. a. Who were coming and for what before the inauguration? b. What happened on the inauguration? c. Find the word that means the same as ‘commencement’ from the passage.
a. Dignitaries and world leaders were coming to pay their respects before the inauguration. b. At the inauguration a non racial democratic government came to power. for the first time a black was elected to be the president of the nation. c. The word is inauguration.
On that lovely autumn day I was accompanied by my daughter Zenani. On the podium, Mr de Klerk was first sworn in as second deputy president. Then Thabo Mbeki was sworn in as first deputy president. When it was my turn, I pledged to obey and uphold the Constitution and to devote myself to the wellbeing of the Republic and its people. a. Who accompanied Nelson Mandela to the podium and for what? b. Who took the oath before Mandela and for what? c. Find the same meaning word for ‘maintain.’
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A few moments later we all lifted our eyes in awe as a spectacular array of South African jets, helicopters and troop carriers roared in perfect formation over the Union Buildings. It was not only a display of pinpoint precision and military force, but a demonstration of the military’s loyalty to democracy, to a new government that had been freely and fairly elected. Only moments before, the highest generals of the South African defence force and police, their chests bedecked with ribbons and medals from days gone by, saluted me and pledged their loyalty. I was not unmindful of the fact that not so many years before they would not have saluted but arrested me. Finally a chevron of Impala jets left a smoke trail of the black, red, green, blue and gold of the new South African flag. a. What did the array of jets symbolised? b. What did the Impala jet do? c. Pick out the word from the extract which means ‘adorned’.
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On the day of the inauguration, I was overwhelmed with a sense of history. In the first decade of the twentieth century, a few years after the bitter Anglo-Boer war and before my own birth, the white-skinned peoples of South Africa patched up their differences and erected a system of racial domination against the dark-skinned peoples of their own land. The structure they created formed the basis of one of the harshest, most inhumane, societies the world has ever known. Now, in the last decade of the twentieth century, and my own eighth decade as a man, that system had been overturned forever and replaced by one that recognised the rights and freedoms of all peoples, regardless of the colour of their skin. a. What happened after the Anglo-Boer war? b. How has the structure been described? c. Give another word for ‘oppression’.
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It is from these comrades in the struggle that I learned the meaning of courage. Time and again, I have seen men and women risk and give their lives for an idea. I have seen men stand up to attacks and torture without breaking, showing a strength and resilience that defies the imagination. I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear. a. Who does ‘comrades’ refer to? b. How does Mandela describe courage? c. Explain ‘resilience that defies the imagination’.
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Where did the ceremonies take place? Can you name any public buildings in India that are made of sandstone?
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Can you say how 10 May is an ‘autumn day’ in South Africa?
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At the beginning of his speech, Mandela mentions ‘an extra ordinary human disaster.’ What is the ‘glorious….. human achievements’ he speaks of at the end?
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What does Mandela thank the international leaders for?
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What ideals does he set out for the future of South Africa?
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What will be the outcome of this liberty according to Mandela?
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Why were they considered ‘outlaws’ and what had changed?
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What do the military generals do? how has their attitude changed and why?
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Why were two national anthems sung?
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How does Mandela describe the systems of government in his country. (i) in the first decade (ii) in the final decade of the twentieth century?
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What does courage mean to Mandela?
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Which does he think is natural, to love or to hate?
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At was the ‘spectacular array’? what did it demonstrate?
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What words according to Mandela all know by heart soon?
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How has the policy of apartheid affected the South African nation negatively?
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What has been the unintended effect of apartheid?
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What does Mandela consider to be the greatest wealth of a nation?
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What did Nelson Mandela learn from his comrades in the struggle for freedom?
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What twin obligation does Mandela mention?
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Does Mandela think the oppressor is free? Why/why not?
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What does Mandela mean when he says he is “simply the sum of all thoseAfrican patriots” who had gone before him?
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Why did such a large number of international leaders attend the inauguration? What did it signify the triumph of?
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What promise does Mandela make in the beginning of opening of his oath-taking speech?
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What did Mandela think for oppressor and oppressed?
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What do you understand by Apartheid’.
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Describe the effect of the policy of apartheid on the people of South Africa.
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What did Mandela realise about his brothers and sisters?
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How did Nelson Mandela feel on the day of the inauguration?
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Explain ‘Man’s goodness is a flame that can be hidden but never extinguished.’
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How did Mandela’s understanding of freedom change with age and experience?
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How did Mandela’s ‘hunger for freedom’ change his life?
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How did Mandela’s understanding of freedom change with age and experience?
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Would you agree that the "depths of oppression" create "heights of character"? How does Mandela illustrate this? Can you add your own examples to this argument?
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