VOA慢速英语2013 AS IT IS 2013-12-11 Nelson Mandela: The World Mourns His Loss, Remembers His Life

 

AS IT IS 2013-12-11 Nelson Mandela: The World Mourns His Loss, Remembers His Life

Welcome to As It Is from VOA Learning English. I’m Mario Ritter in Washington. 

Today, we have a special report on the memorial service for former South African President Nelson Mandela. Thousands of mourners attended the service on Tuesday in  Johannesburg. The attendees included more than 70 heads of state, including the president of the United States, Barack Obama.

Later, we tell about Mandela’s part in ending white minority rule in South Africa.

Mandela's Emotional Memorial

South Africans gathered Tuesday to remember and mourn former South African leader Nelson Mandela.  He was recognized for his long fight against racial separation, or  apartheid, in South Africa.  George Grow has the report by VOA’s Anita Powell who was there.

Rainy weather did not stop more than 60,000 South Africans, foreign officials and others from meeting at the Johannesburg soccer stadium to celebrate the life of  Nelson Mandela. 

The World Pays Tribute to Mandela in Johannesburg

The former president and anti-apartheid leader died Thursday at the age of 95. He had suffered continued lung infections.

He was praised in South Africa and around the world for leading the intense struggle to end South Africa’s oppressive system of racial separation. He spent 27 years  in prison for his opposition¹ to the government. But after his release, he would become South Africa’s first black president in 1994.

Nelson Mandela was considered extraordinary for his growth during his years in prison from an angry youth leader to a wise statesman. He became known for stressing the  need for racial reconciliation² in a deeply divided nation.

World leaders and celebrities³ and crowds of South Africans met at the stadium.  Mr. Mandela’s last public appearance was in 2010 at the World Cup finals.

U.S. President Barack Obama spoke⁴ at the memorial. He said Mr. Mandela is his teacher, his example.

“Over thirty years ago, while still a student, I learned of Mandela and the struggles in this land.  It stirred something in me.  It woke me up to my responsibilities  - to others, and to myself - and set me on an improbable journey that finds me here today.  And while I will always fall short of Madiba’s example, he makes me want  to be better.  He speaks to what is best inside us. “

Forty-five-year-old Johannesburg resident Thuli Fihla said she could not miss the event.  She credits Mr. Mandela for helping⁵ her get ahead in life. 

“As a South African, and someone who has seen apartheid before and now witnessed the new democracy, there was no way I could miss this day.  Mandela is everything to  us.  I’ve got the kind of job that I have now because of Mandela.  I have the kind of home that I have now because of Mandela.  You know, everything we have in this  country, we owe to Mandela and his colleagues.”

Mr. Mandela was also a politician. And his memorial was not free of politics.  Mr. Mandela’s death has taken place at a time of rising disapproval⁶ for President Jacob  Zuma who has been accused of corruption⁷.  The crowd expressed disapproval of Mr. Zuma many times during the event. The gathering⁸ cheered former President Thabo Mbeki  and even cheered the nation’s last apartheid president, F.W. de Klerk.

Mr. Mandela’s body will now go to the capital, Pretoria, where it will remain for three days.  He will then be buried in a family ceremony in his ancestral home of  Qunu.  Each province will also hold memorial ceremonies.

I’m George Grow.

How a Former Prisoner Ended Aparteid

South Africa’s system of racial separation and white rule ended in a surprising way: not with violence -- but through compromise and negotiations¹⁰. VOA’s Anita Powell  in Johannesburg spoke with two South Africans who took part in the talks. Caty Weaver¹¹ has her report.

It began secretly in the 1980s with unofficial talks between Nelson Mandela and members of the South African intelligence service. At the time, Mandela had spent more  than 20 years in prison for fighting the white minority government and its racial policies.

Nelson Mandela later wrote that he made a decision to reach out to the government. It was possibly the wisest political decision of his life. It led to the 1993 Nobel  Peace Prize and later, his election as South Africa’s first black president.

Dave Steward¹² is head of the FW De Klerk Foundation. He says Mandela’s decision was the right move. It showed the ANC was a political force that could be taken  seriously. But it did not please militant¹³ members of the African National Congress.

Twenty years ago, Dave Steward was a top assistant to Mr. De Klerk, who was South Africa’s president. Mr. De Klerk was involved in the later part of the negotiations.  He shared the Nobel Prize with Mr. Mandela.

“The role played by Nelson Mandela at this juncture¹⁴ was extremely important. Sitting in prison at Pollsmoore in Capetown, he reached the conclusion, by himself and  often against the advice and wishes of his colleagues, that there was not going to be an armed or military outcome to the struggle in South Africa, that there would  have to be a negotiated solution.”

Jay Naidoo was active in the struggle against apartheid. He says only Nelson Mandela had the ability to take such an unpopular step within the ANC. Mr. Naidoo was then  head of South Africa’s largest group of trade unions.

“The apartheid regime could not defeat us and we could not defeat them. We were at a stalemate. The alternative was a scorched¹⁵ earth. So in that context, leaders rose  on both sides of the conflict to say, ‘How do we lay the basis for a peaceful settlement?’ And there was no better person to lead our side than Nelson Mandela,  someone who had spent 27 years in jail for our freedom.”  

Jay Naidoo also praises the labor¹⁶ movement and the work of trade union negotiators.  

“We had a whole decade of negotiations on very tough and adversarial issues before the political negotiation⁹ process started. So I think generally speaking, the  environment and the conditions for negotiations towards a peaceful settlement of the racial question and apartheid issues in South Africa, was led in very different  places.” 

Dave Steward says things changed quickly after the negotiations started. He says Mandela went on the offensive and “came out swinging” – a plan that might have  failed with someone else.

“In fact, some of his attacks on De Klerk were quite brutal¹⁷. These issues could have led to serious complications in the negotiating process if different  personalities were involved.”

Both men also noted¹⁸ another issue that often is raised in discussions about Nelson Mandela: his powerful personality and his humility¹⁹. It was that rare combination,  they said, that enabled Mandela to take a brave step that changed the world around him.

I’m Caty Weaver.

1 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

2 reconciliation   

n.和解，和谐，一致

参考例句：

• He was taken up with the reconciliation of husband and wife.他忙于做夫妻间的调解工作。
• Their handshake appeared to be a gesture of reconciliation.他们的握手似乎是和解的表示。

3 celebrities   

n.（尤指娱乐界的）名人( celebrity的名词复数 )；名流；名声；名誉

参考例句：

• He only invited A-list celebrities to his parties. 他只邀请头等名流参加他的聚会。
• a TV chat show full of B-list celebrities 由众多二流人物参加的电视访谈节目

4 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

5 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

6 disapproval   

n.反对，不赞成

参考例句：

• The teacher made an outward show of disapproval.老师表面上表示不同意。
• They shouted their disapproval.他们喊叫表示反对。

7 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

8 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

9 negotiation   

n.谈判，协商

参考例句：

• They closed the deal in sugar after a week of negotiation.经过一星期的谈判，他们的食糖生意成交了。
• The negotiation dragged on until July.谈判一直拖到7月份。

10 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

11 weaver   

n.织布工；编织者

参考例句：

• She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快，而且布的质量很好。
• The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。

12 steward   

n.乘务员，服务员；看管人；膳食管理员

参考例句：

• He's the steward of the club.他是这家俱乐部的管理员。
• He went around the world as a ship's steward.他当客船服务员，到过世界各地。

13 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。

14 juncture   

n.时刻，关键时刻，紧要关头

参考例句：

• The project is situated at the juncture of the new and old urban districts.该项目位于新老城区交界处。
• It is very difficult at this juncture to predict the company's future.此时很难预料公司的前景。

15 scorched   

烧焦，烤焦( scorch的过去式和过去分词 )； 使（植物）枯萎，把…晒枯； 高速行驶； 枯焦

参考例句：

• I scorched my dress when I was ironing it. 我把自己的连衣裙熨焦了。
• The hot iron scorched the tablecloth. 热熨斗把桌布烫焦了。

16 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

17 brutal   

adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的

参考例句：

• She has to face the brutal reality.她不得不去面对冷酷的现实。
• They're brutal people behind their civilised veneer.他们表面上温文有礼，骨子里却是野蛮残忍。

18 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

19 humility   

n.谦逊，谦恭

参考例句：

• Humility often gains more than pride.谦逊往往比骄傲收益更多。
• His voice was still soft and filled with specious humility.他的声音还是那么温和，甚至有点谦卑。