HSC English First Paper | Unit: 1, Lesson: 1 | People or Institutions Making History | Nelson Mandela, from Apartheid Fighter to President

1. Warm up activity:
Work in pairs.
□ Who are the people in the pictures? Why are they famous?
□ Make a list of some famous people that you have heard about and write about their contribution in their fields.

2. Read the text.
REUTERS
15 December 2013
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters)- Nelson Mandela guided South Africa from the shackles of apartheid to a multi-racial democracy, as an icon of peace and reconciliation who came to embody the struggle for justice around the world.

অনুবাদঃজোহানেসবার্গ (রয়টার্স)-নেলসন ম্যান্ডেলা দক্ষিণ আফ্রিকাকে বর্ণবাদের শৃঙ্খল থেকে বহু-জাতিগত গণতন্ত্রের দিকে পরিচালিত করেছিলেন, শান্তি ও পুনর্মিলনের একজন আইকন হিসেবে যিনি বিশ্বজুড়ে ন্যায়বিচারের সংগ্রামকে মূর্ত করতে এসেছিলেন।

Imprisoned for nearly three decades for his fight against white minority rule, Mandela never lost his resolve to fight for his people's emancipation. He was determined to bring down apartheid while avoiding a civil war. His prestige and charisma helped him win the support of the world.

অনুবাদঃশ্বেতাঙ্গ সংখ্যালঘু শাসনের বিরুদ্ধে লড়াইয়ের জন্য প্রায় তিন দশক ধরে বন্দী, ম্যান্ডেলা কখনই তার জনগণের মুক্তির জন্য লড়াই করার সংকল্প হারাননি। তিনি গৃহযুদ্ধ এড়াতে গিয়ে বর্ণবৈষম্য কমিয়ে আনতে বদ্ধপরিকর ছিলেন। তার প্রতিপত্তি এবং ক্যারিশমা তাকে বিশ্বের সমর্থন জয় করতে সাহায্য করেছিল।

"I hate race discrimination most intensely and in all its manifestations. I have fought it all during my life; I will fight it now, and will do so until the end of my days," Mandela said in his acceptance speech on becoming South Africa's first black president in 1994,... "The time for the healing of the wounds has come. The moment to bridge the chasms that divide us has come."

অনুবাদঃ"আমি জাতিগত বৈষম্যকে সবচেয়ে তীব্রভাবে ঘৃণা করি এবং এর সমস্ত প্রকাশে। আমি আমার জীবনের সমস্ত সময় এটির সাথে লড়াই করেছি; আমি এখন এটির সাথে লড়াই করব এবং আমার দিনের শেষ অবধি তা করব," ম্যান্ডেলা দক্ষিণ আফ্রিকার হয়ে ওঠার বিষয়ে তার গ্রহণযোগ্য বক্তৃতায় বলেছিলেন। 1994 সালে প্রথম কৃষ্ণাঙ্গ রাষ্ট্রপতি,... "ক্ষত নিরাময়ের সময় এসে গেছে। আমাদের বিভক্তকারী ফাটলগুলিকে সেতু করার মুহূর্ত এসেছে।"

"We have, at last, achieved our political emancipation."

অনুবাদঃ"অবশেষে, আমরা আমাদের রাজনৈতিক মুক্তি অর্জন করেছি।"

In 1993, Mandela was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, an honor he shared with F.W. de Klerk, the white African leader who had freed him from prison three years earlier and negotiated the end of apartheid.

অনুবাদঃ১৯৯৩ সালে, ম্যান্ডেলাকে নোবেল শান্তি পুরস্কারে ভূষিত করা হয়, একটি সম্মান তিনি এফ.ডব্লিউ ডি ক্লার্কের সাথে ভাগ করেছিলেন, যিনি তিন বছর আগে তাকে কারাগার থেকে মুক্ত করেছিলেন এবং বর্ণবাদের অবসানের জন্য আলোচনা করেছিলেন।

Mandela went on to play a prominent role on the world stage as an advocate of human dignity in the face of challenges ranging from political repression to AIDS.

অনুবাদঃরাজনৈতিক দমন-পীড়ন থেকে শুরু করে এইডস পর্যন্ত চ্যালেঞ্জের মুখে মানব মর্যাদার প্রবক্তা হিসেবে ম্যান্ডেলা বিশ্ব মঞ্চে একটি বিশিষ্ট ভূমিকা পালন করেন।

He formally left public life in June 2004 before his 86th birthday, telling his adoring countrymen: "Don't call me. Til call you." But he remained one of the world's most revered public figures, combining celebrity sparkle with an unwavering message of freedom, respect and human rights.

অনুবাদঃতিনি তার ৮৬ তম জন্মদিনের আগে জুন ২০০৪ সালে আনুষ্ঠানিকভাবে জনজীবন ত্যাগ করেছিলেন, তার প্রিয় দেশবাসীকে বলেছিলেন: "আমাকে ডাকবেন না। কিন্তু তিনি স্বাধীনতা, সম্মান এবং মানবাধিকারের অটুট বার্তার সাথে সেলিব্রিটি ঝলকানিকে একত্রিত করে বিশ্বের সবচেয়ে শ্রদ্ধেয় পাবলিক ব্যক্তিত্বদের একজন ছিলেন।

"He is at the epicenter of our time, ours in South Africa, and yours, wherever you are," Nadine Gordimer, the South African writer and Nobel Laureate for Literature, once remarked.

অনুবাদঃ"তিনি আমাদের সময়ের কেন্দ্রস্থলে, আমাদের দক্ষিণ আফ্রিকায় এবং আপনার, আপনি যেখানেই থাকুন না কেন," নাদিন গর্ডিমার, দক্ষিণ আফ্রিকার লেখক এবং সাহিত্যে নোবেল বিজয়ী, একবার মন্তব্য করেছিলেন।

The years Mandela spent behind bars made him the world's most celebrated political prisoner and a leader of mythic stature for millions of black South Africans and other oppressed people far beyond his country's borders.

অনুবাদঃকারাগারের পিছনে ম্যান্ডেলা যে বছরগুলি কাটিয়েছেন তা তাকে বিশ্বের সবচেয়ে বিখ্যাত রাজনৈতিক বন্দী এবং তার দেশের সীমানার বাইরে লক্ষ লক্ষ কালো দক্ষিণ আফ্রিকান এবং অন্যান্য নিপীড়িত মানুষের জন্য পৌরাণিক মর্যাদার নেতা করে তুলেছে।

Charged with capital offences in the 1963 Rivonia Trial, his statement from the dock was his political testimony.

অনুবাদঃ১৯৬৩ রিভোনিয়া ট্রায়ালে মূলধনের অপরাধে অভিযুক্ত, ডক থেকে তার বিবৃতি ছিল তার রাজনৈতিক সাক্ষ্য।

"During my lifetime I have dedicated myself to this struggle of the African people. I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination.

অনুবাদঃ"আমার জীবদ্দশায় আমি আফ্রিকান জনগণের এই সংগ্রামে নিজেকে উৎসর্গ করেছি। আমি শ্বেতাঙ্গ আধিপত্যের বিরুদ্ধে লড়াই করেছি, এবং আমি কালো আধিপত্যের বিরুদ্ধে লড়াই করেছি।

"I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities," he told the court.

অনুবাদঃতিনি আদালতকে বলেন, "আমি একটি গণতান্ত্রিক ও মুক্ত সমাজের আদর্শকে লালন করেছি যেখানে সকল ব্যক্তি মিলেমিশে এবং সমান সুযোগের সাথে একসাথে বসবাস করে।"

"It is an ideal I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die."

অনুবাদঃ"এটি একটি আদর্শ যার জন্য আমি বেঁচে থাকার এবং অর্জন করার আশা করি৷ কিন্তু যদি প্রয়োজন হয় তবে এটি একটি আদর্শ যার জন্য আমি মরতে প্রস্তুত৷"

Friends adored Mandela and fondly called him "Madiba," the clan name by which he was known.

অনুবাদঃবন্ধুরা ম্যান্ডেলাকে আদর করতেন এবং স্নেহের সাথে তাকে "মাদিবা" বলে ডাকতেন, যে বংশের নাম তিনি পরিচিত ছিলেন।

People lauded his humanity, kindness and dignity.

অনুবাদঃমানুষ তার মানবতা, দয়া ও মর্যাদার প্রশংসা করেছিল।

Reading Test

A. Choose the correct answer from the alternatives. 1☓5 = 5

(a) What does 'justice' refer to in line 3?

(i) impartiality

(ii) corruption

(iii) fair

(iv) satisfy

(b) Mandela shared the Nobel Peace Prize with —.

(i) Nadine Gordimer

(ii) Einstein

(iii) F.W. de Klerk

(iv) Rontgen

(c) What is the closest meaning of the word 'advocate'?

(i) proposition

(ii) pleader

(iii) helper

(iv) hater

(d) Mandela suffered imprisonment for -.

(i) nearly 15 years

(ii) nearly 20 years

(iii) nearly 25 years

(iv) nearly 30 years

(e) "We have at last achieved our political emancipation."- What does it imply?

(i) South Africa was freed

(ii) Racial discrimination was abolished

(iii) Mandela became the President of South Africa

(iv) Mandela drove away the white minorities from South Africa

Answer (A):

(a) (i) impartiality (b) (iii) F.W.de Klerk (c) (ii) pleader (d) (iv) nearly 30 years (e) (ii) Racial discrimination was abolished.

B. Answer the following questions. 2☓5 = 10

(a) What is apartheid? Do you support it? Why/ Why not?

(b) Which words by Mandela inspire you most?

(c) Why was Mandela awarded Nobel Peace Prize?

(d) What is democracy? How do the people of the democratic world remember Mandela?

(e) What is the significance and importance of 1993, 1994 & 2004?

Answer(B):

(a) Apartheid is a political situation in which people of different races are separated. I don't support apartheid because apartheid destroys the unity and harmony of a society and brings out civil war.

(b) Mandela's words that inspire me most are that "I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal I hope to live for and to achieve. But if need be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die."

(c) Mandela was awarded Nobel Peace Prize for keeping peace in South Africa as well as in the whole world by fighting against apartheid.

(d) Democracy is the belief in freedom and equality, between people, or a system of government based on this belief, in which power is either held by elected representatives or directly by the people themselves. The people of the democratic world remember Mandela with honour and respect.

(e) The significance and importance of 1993, 1994 & 2004 is that in 1993 Nelson Mandela was awarded The Nobel Peace Prize, in 1994 Mandela became the first black President of South Africa and in 2004 Mandela left public life.

2. Read the above text and make a flow chart showing the activities and achievements of Nelson Mandela. (One has been done for you.) 2☓5 = 10

1. Guiding the South Africans against racial discrimination → 2. → 3. → 4. → 5. → 6.

Or, Read the above passage and complete the table below with the given information. 1 × 10 = 10

What/ Who Event/ Name of Activity Achievement/ Where When/ Year/ Time

Nelson Mandela (i) .......... whole life

(ii) .......... (iii) .......... in 1994

Nobel Peace Prize (iv) .......... (v) ..........

(vi) .......... imprisoned (vii) ..........

(viii) .......... Nobel Laureate for literature

(ix) .......... leaving public life (x) ..........

Answer(2, Or):

2. A flow chart showing the activities and achievements of Nelson Mandela is given below:

1. Guiding the South Africans against racial discrimination → 2. Fighting for emancipation → 3. Determined to bring down apartheid → 4. Becoming the first black President of South Africa → 5. Winning the Nobel Peace Prize → 6. Becoming world's most revered public figure.

Or, (i) fighting against apartheid (ii) Nelson Mandela (iii) Africa's first black President (iv) receive (v) 1993 (vi) Nelson Mandela (vii) for three decades (viii) Nadine Gordimer (ix) Mandela (x) June 2004

3. Write a summary of the above text. 10

Answer(3):

3. Nelson Mandela was the most celebrated and undisputed Black African leader. He is famous for his life-long struggle against racial discrimination. He dreamt of gaining freedom for the black people of South Africa and to achieve political emancipation for them. He fought for the black South Africans to bring down apartheid through non-violent movement by avoiding a civil war. He lived behind bars for nearly three decades. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993. He became the first black president of South Africa in 1994. He formally left public life before his 86th birthday in 2004.

Read HSC English 1st Paper Board Question with answer:

Dhaka Board

3. Each of the following questions has a word with four alternative meanings. Choose the word which is closest in meaning in the context that has been used in the text.
i. What does apartheid refer to in the title?
a. apart
b. distance
c. discrimination
d. dialogue

ii.The word icon in the text means (line 3)
a. portrait
b. image
c. symbol
d. idol

iii. What does shackles refer to (line 3)?
a. restraints
b. sick
c. stigma
d. spur

iv. race discrimination (line 9) refers to —
a. differences on the basis of caste, creed and colour
b. competition among the members of a race
c. demoralization of people
d. domination of others

v. The word manifestation (line 9) means
a. presentation
b. right
c. change
d. sign

vi. The word healing (line 12) means
a. curing
b. heating
c. soothing
d. ailing

vii. The word chasm (line 13) refers to
a. cleft
b. top
c. hatred
d. border

viii. The word emancipation (line 13) is
a. participation
b. encouragement
c. expectation
d. liberation

4. Answer the following questions:
a. The text is a report prepared by a news agency. A newspaper here is interested to publish it in a shortened form. Write a summary of the report for the newspaper.

b. What do the following dates refer to?
1963 1993 1994 2004

c. Why did Nadine Gordimer remark that "He (Mandela) is at the epicenter of our time, ours in South Africa, and yours, wherever you are."?

d. What emancipation did Mandela hint at by saying "We have, at last, achieved our political emancipation."?

e. Mandela is quoted in the report as saying, "It is an ideal I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die." What ideal is he talking about? Do you support his ideal?

5. Read the text below and fill in the gaps with the right use of verbs:
Mandela................... (be) among the first to advocate armed resistance to apartheid, going underground in 1961 to form the ANC's armed wing. He ........................ (leave) South Africa and................... (travel) the continent and Europe, studying guerrilla warfare and building support for the ANC.
Branded a terrorist by his enemies, Mandela................... (sentence) to life imprisonment in 1964, isolated from millions of his countrymen as they ................................. (suffer) oppression, violence and forced resettlement under the apartheid regime of racial segregation. He ........(imprison) on Rohben Island, a penal colony of Cape Town, where he.................... (spend) the next 18 years before being moved to mainland prisons.

6. Read the jumbled text and rearrange it into a cohesive paragraph.
In his later years in prison, he met President P.W. Botha and his successor de Klerk. He was behind bars when an uprising broke out in the huge township of Soweto in 1976 and when others erupted in violence in the 1980s. "As I finally walked through those gates ... I felt even at the age of 71 that my life was beginning anew. My 10,000 days of imprisonment were at last over," Mandela wrote of that day. When he was released on 11 February 1990, walking away from the Victor Verster prison hand-in-hand with his wife Winnie, the event was watched live by millions of television viewers across the world. But when the regime realized it was time to negotiate, it was Mandela to whom it turned.

7. Now read the text below and fill in the gaps with the clues given in the box.There is one extra word than is necessary.

tuberculosis	renew to for	be	damage
September	of remained	do	the

But prison and old age took their toll on his health.

Mandela was treated in the 1980s for.............. and later required an operation to repairthe................... to his eyes as well as treatment................ prostate cancer in 2001. His spirit, however,............... strong."If cancer wins I will still................. the better winner," he told reporters in.............. ofthat year. "When I go............... the next world, the first thing I will................... is look for an ANC office to............................... my membership." Most South Africans are proud......... their post-apartheid multi-racial 'Rainbow Nation'.

8. Now fill in the gaps in the text below using suitable words.

Mandela's last major appearance on the................. stage was in 2010 when he..............a cap in the South African................... and rode on a golf cart,............. to an exuberant crowd of 90,000 .................. the soccer World Cup final, one.......... the biggest events in the country's.................... apartheid history. "I leave it to..................... public to decide how they should................ me," he said on South African....................... before his retirement. "But I should..................... to he remembered as an ordinary.................. African who together with others has.............................. his humble contribution."

[The text on Mandela is written by Andrew Quinn and Jon Herskovitz; Edited by Pascal Fletcher and Angus MacSwan, Source: http://W.yahoo.com/news/nelson-mandela-aparfreid-fighter-president-imifier-105117261.html, accessed on 14/02/2014]

If you want to read the next lesson of this unit please click the link below:

Lesson 2: The Unforgettable History