Unit 4 Listening and Speaking & Reading and Thinking
1、 Nelson Mandela is respected and admired around the world. And to South Africans he is a superstar. He is a hero who shocked the world by fighting for peace between races, despite the 27 years he spent in the prison of the South Africa.
Mandela who won the nation's first all-race election after the fall of apartheid (种族隔离) in 1994, retired in 1999. But he remains as popular as ever. His popularity has inspired an entire national industry. His portrait (肖像) has appeared at many places, including on some goods. His face has appeared on a South African coin, and some business leaders hope to build a statue in this likeness. It would stand taller than New York's Statue of Liberty.
"His popularity is similar to that of John F. Kennedy in US or Winston Churchill in Britain, but few politicians in that times have achieved his level of admiration," said Tom Lodge, the Head of the political science department of the University of the Witwatersrand. "What a skilled performer Mandela has been throughout his political career! He's a very, very clever man."
However, he is far from perfect. Most articles for his birthday, which appeared in every chief South African newspaper on the day, briefly mentioned that Mandela did have his shortcomings.
Then they returned to their praise. "Through the ages, the human race has had its icons (偶像)-men and women who rose above ordinary people to inspire their generations,"
The Guardian said. "In our generation, the gods presented us with Nelson Mandela."
1. Mandela is a hero to South Africans because ________.
A. he's as popular as Kennedy and Churchill
B. he spent 27 years in prison
C. he's a great fighter against the racialism
D. he won the first all-race election
2. What can we learn about Mandela?
A. He is not so popular as before.
B. His portrait has appeared on some goods.
C. He is the greatest politician in history.
D. He did not realize his own shortcomings.
3. The underlined sentence in the last paragraph means ________.
A. Mandela is as great as a god
B. we are proud to live in Mandela's times
C. Mandela often gave presents to others
D. we are proud to know Mandela
4. Which can be the best title of the article?
A. The Statue in South Africa
B. South Africa's White Racist Regime
C. Mandela, the Hero of South Africans
D. Mandela, Kennedy and Churchill
