His first fight was for the equal rights of black people in South Africa. Then, as the first black president he fought to unite the country and organize the government. Now Nelson Mandela has set his sights on a new enemy, AIDS.
On March 19 the 82-year-old, former president, hosted his second AIDS-awareness concert. He warned that 25 million people in Africa were already infected with the fatal disease.
Mandela was born in a small village in South Africa in 1918. He was adopted (收养) by the chief of his tribe (部族) and could have been a chief himself and lived a happy country life.
But he refused to be a chief when his people lived under racial discrimination ( 种族歧视). He decided to fight for equal rights for all the people in South Africa. Before 1990, under the country’s Racial Segregation Law (种族隔离法), colored and white people lived separately. Black people were treated unfairly even when taking a bus. Blacks had to stand at the back of the bus to make room for white people even when there were only a few of them on board.
For his opposition (反对) to the system Mandela was arrested (被捕) and spent 27 years in prison. He was freed in 1990 and become the president of the country after the first elections were held in which everyone could vote.
Mandela was not only a political fighter who attacked with speeches. He was also a trained boxer (拳击手) and fought in the ring when he was young.
“ Although I did not enjoy the violence of boxing, I was interested in how one moved one’s body to protect oneself, how one used a strategy both to attack and retreat (撤退),” he wrote in his autobiography.
As a skilful fighter, he chose music as his weapon against AIDS. He hopes to win another victory against AIDS.
Nelson Mandela succeeded in doing the following except _____.
A.winning the equal rights for the black people in South Africa |
B.uniting South Africa |
C.organizing a government in South Africa |
D.controlling the spread of AIDS |
If Nelson Mandela hadn’t fought against racial discrimination, he _____.
A.could easily have been the president of South Africa |
B.could still have lived a happy life |
C.could have been in a difficult situation |
D.would have been an excellent boxer |
It can be inferred that Nelson Mandela _____.
A.continues to help the black people with the political struggle |
B.is taking a position in a music group |
C.is taking on the world’s greatest fight against AIDS |
D.is preparing for the next election of president |
Which statement can best describe the life of Nelson Mandela?
A.Struggle is his life. | B.Sports make his fame. |
C.Fight for equal rights. | D.Great fighter against government. |