Book 1 Unit 5 ELIAS’ STORY
Adapted by Jin
My name is Elias. I am a poor black worker in South Africa. The time _______ I first met Nelson Mandela was _______ very difficult period of my life. I was twelve years old. It was in 1952 and Mandela was the black lawyer _______whom I went for advice. He offered _______(guide) to poor black people on their legal problems. He was generous _______ his time, _______ which I was grateful.
I needed his help _______ I had very little education. I began school _______ six. The school _______ I studied for only two years was three kilometers _______ . I had to leave because my family could not continue _______ (pay) the school fees and the bus fare. I could not read _______ write well. After _______ (try) hard, I got a job in a gold mine. _______ , this was a time_______ one had got to have a passbook to live in Johannesburg. Sadly I did not have it because I was not _______ (bear) there, and I worried about_______ I would become out of work.
The day _______ Nelson Mandela helped me was one of my _______ (happy). He told me_______ to get the correct papers so I could stay in Johannesburg. I became more hopeful _______ my future. I never forgot _______ kind Mandela was. When he organized the ANC Youth League, I joined it as soon as I _______ . He said:
”The last thirty years _______ (see) the greatest number of laws _______ (stop) our rights and progress, until today we have reached a stage _______ we have almost no rights at all.”
It was the truth. Black people could not vote_______ choose their leaders. They could not get the jobs they wanted. The parts of town_______ which they had to live were decided_______ white people. The places outside the towns_______ they were sent to live were the _______ (poor) parts of South Africa. No one could grow food there. In fact_______ Nelson Mandela said:
“…we were put into a position _______ which we had either to accept we were less important_______ fight the government. We _______ (choose) to attack the laws. We first broke the law in a way _______ was peaceful; when this was not allowed…only then _______ we decide to answer violence_______ violence.
_______ a matter of fact, I do not like violence…but in 1963 I _______ (help) him blow up some government buildings. It was very dangerous because if I _______ (catch) I could be put in prison. But I was happy to help because I knew it would help us achieve our dream _______ making black and white people equal.
The rest of Elias’ story
You cannot imagine _______ the name of Robben Island made us afraid. It was a prison _______ which no one escaped. There I spent the _______(hard) time of my life. _______ when I got there Nelson Mandela was also there and he helped me. Mr Mandela began a school _______those of us who had little learning. He taught us during the lunch breaks and the evenings when we should ____________(asleep). We read books under our blankets and used anything we could find _______(make) candles to see the words. I became a good student. I wanted to study for my degree _______ I was not allowed to do that. Later, Mr Mandela allowed the prison guards to join us. He said they should not _______(stop) from studying for their degree. They were _______(clever) than me, but they did pass their exams. So I knew I could get a degree too. That made me feel good about _______.
When I finished the four years _______ prison, I went to find a job. Since I was better _______(educate), I got a job working in an office. However, the police found out and told my boss that I _______(be) in prison for blowing up government buildings. So I lost my job. I did not work again for twenty years _______ Mr Mandela and the ANC _______(come) to power in 1994. All that time my wife and children had to beg _______food and help from relatives or friends. _______(luck) Mr Mandela remembered me and gave me a job taking tourists_______my old prison on Robben Island. I felt bad _______first time I talked to a group .All the terror and fear of that time came back _______me. I remembered the beatings and the_______(cruel) of the guards and my friends_______ had died. I felt I would not be able to do it, but my family encouraged me. They said that the job and the pay from the new South African government were my reward after working all my life for equal rights for the blacks. So now I am proud _______(show) visitors over the prison, for I helped to make our people free in their own land.
