文章大意:本文是一篇新闻报道。文章主要讲述了联合国大会当地时间12月19日举行特别纪念活动,悼念于12月5日与世长辞的诺贝尔和平奖获得者、南非“国父”、前总统纳尔逊•曼德拉。
2 . UNITED NATIONS, December 19, 2013 (Xinhua)—The United Nations held a special meeting to honor great Nelson Mandela, the former South African president who passed away on December 19, 2013 at the age of 95, because Nelson Mandela is respected across the world. And to South Africans he is a superstar. He is a hero who shocked the world by fighting for peace between races, although he spent 27 years in prison.
Nelson Mandela, winning the nation’s first all-race elections in 1994, stopped working completely in 1999. But he remains as popular as ever. His being popular has promoted the whole national industry. His picture has appeared at many places, including on some goods. His face has appeared on a South African coin, a business area was named in his honour and some business leaders hope to build a great statue in his honour—the Statue of Freedom. It would stand taller than New York’s Statue of Liberty.
His being popular is similar to that of John F. Kennedy in U.S. or Winston Churchill in Britain, but few politicians in this times have achieved his level of being popular. Sometimes it isn’t completely appreciated 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 major South African newspaper on the day, mainly mentioned that Mandela did have his shortcomings. Then they returned to their flowing praises.
“Through the ages, the human race has had its icons (偶像)—men and women who rose above ordinary people to encourage their generations,” The Mail and Guardian Weekly said. “In our generation, the gods presented us Nelson Mandela.”
1. Nelson Mandela is loved by all the people of South Africa 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’s the first all-race elections president |
2. Which of the following statements about Mandela’s picture is TRUE?
A.It helps develop business. |
B.It appears on the Statue of Freedom. |
C.It is used to raise money for the Statue of Freedom. |
D.It is similar to that of John F. Kennedy or Winston Churchill. |
3. The underlined sentence in the last paragraph means “
”.
A.Mandela is as great as god |
B.We are proud to live in Mandela’s time |
C.Mandela lives together with us all |
D.We are proud to know Mandela |
4. What can we infer from the text?
A.He contributed a lot to the development of peace between races. |
B.Most articles specially stressed Mandela’s shortcomings. |
C.The Statue of Freedom is a present for Mandela’s birthday. |
D.The article may have appeared in a newspaper on Mandela’s birthday. |