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ELIASSTORY My name is Elias.I am a poor black worker in South Africa.The time when I first met Nelson Mandela was a very difficult period of my life.I was twelve years old.It was in 1952 and Mandela was the black lawyer to whom I went for advice.He offered guidance to poor black people on their legal problems.He was generous with his time，for which I was grateful.,I needed his help because I had very little education.I began school at six.The school where I studied for only two years was three kilometres away.I had to leave because my family could not continue to pay the school fees and the bus fare.I could not read or write well.After trying hard，I got a job in a gold mine.However，this was a time when one had got to have a passbook to live in Johannesburg.Sadly I did not have it because I was not born there，and I worried about whether I would become out of work.,The day when Nelson Mandela helped me was one of my happiest.He told me how to get the correct papers so I could stay in Johannesburg.I became more hopeful about my future.I never forgot how kind Mandela was.When he organized the ANC Youth League，I joined it as soon as I could.He said：,“The last thirty years have seen the greatest number of laws stopping our rights and progress，until today we have reached a stage where we have almost no rights at all.” It was the truth.Black people could not vote or choose their leaders.They could not get the jobs they wanted.The parts of town in which they had to live were decided by white people.The places outside the towns where they were sent to live were the poorest parts of South Africa.No one could grow food there.In fact as Nelson Mandela said：,“.we were put into a position in which we had either to accept we were less important，or fight the government.We chose to attack the laws.We first broke the law in a way which was peaceful；when this was not allowed.only then did we decide to answer violence with violence.”,As a matter of fact，I do not like violence.but in 1963 I helped him blow up some government buildings.It was very dangerous because if I was caught I could be put in prison.But I was happy to help because I knew it would help us achieve our dream of making black and white people equal.,伊莱亚斯的故事 我叫伊莱亚斯。我是南非一个穷苦的黑人工人。第一次见到纳尔逊曼德拉的时候，是我一生中非常艰难的时期。当时我才12岁，那是在1952年，曼德拉是我寻求建议的黑人律师(lawyer)。他为黑人提供法律(legal)问题上的指导(guidance)。他对此从不吝惜自己的时间。在这一点上我很感激他。,我需要他的帮助是因为我只受过很少的教育。我六岁开始上学，我仅仅在那里读了两年的学校有三公里远。我不得不辍学，因为我的家庭无法支付学费(fee)和交通费。我既不会读，也不会写。几经周折，我才在一家金矿找到一份工作。,可是那个时候你要想住在约翰内斯堡(Johannesburg)就非得要有身份证(passbook)不可。非常遗憾的是我没有这个证件，因为我不是在那里出生的，我很担心我会不会失业(out of work)。,有纳尔逊曼德拉帮助的日子是我一生中最快乐的时光。他告诉我要想在约翰内斯堡立住脚，应当如何获取所需证件。我对自己的未来更充满了信心(hopeful怀有希望的)。我永远不会忘记曼德拉是多么善良。当他组织了非国大青年联盟(ANC Youth League)时，我立即加入了这个组织。他说：,“过去30年来所出现的许多法律剥夺了我们的权利，阻挡了我们的进步，一直到今天，我们还处在几乎什么权利都没有的阶段(stage)。” 他说的是事实。当时黑人不能选举(vote)或是选择他们的领导人。他们不能做自己想做的工作。他们在城里的住宅区都是由白人决定的。他们被打发去居住的城镇之外的地方是南非最贫穷的地区。在那儿没有人能够种庄稼。事实上，就像纳尔逊曼德拉所说的：,“我们被置于这样一个境地：我们要么被迫接受低人一等的现实，要么跟政府斗争。我们选择向法律进攻(attack)。首先我们用和平的方式来打破原有的法律法规，而当这种方式也得不到允许时只有到这个时候，我们才决定用暴力(violence)反抗暴力。”,事实上(as a matter of fact)，我并不喜欢暴力但在1963年的时候，我帮助他炸毁(blow up)了一些政府大楼。那是很危险的事情，因为如果我被抓住了，可能要坐牢。但是我愿意帮忙，因为我知道，这有助于实现我们黑人和白人平等的(equal)梦想。,THE REST OF ELIASSTORY You cannot imagine how the name of Robben Island made us afraid.It was a prison from which no one escaped.There I spent the hardest time of my life.But when I got there Nelson Mandela was also there and he helped me.Mr Mandela began a school for those of us who had little learning.He taught us during the lunch breaks and the evenings when we should have been asleep.,We read books under our blankets and used anything we could find to make candles to see the words.I became a good student.I wanted to study for my degree but I was not allowed to do that.Later，Mr Mandela allowed the prison guards to join us.He said they should not be stopped from studying for their degrees.They were not cleverer than me，but they did pass their exams.So I knew I could get a degree too.That made me feel good about myself.,When I finished the four years in prison，I went to find a job.Since I was better educated，I got a job working in an office.However，the police found out and told my boss that I had been in prison for blowing up government buildings.So I lost my job.I did not work again for twenty years until Mr Mandela and the ANC came to power in 1994.All that time my wife and children had to beg for food and help from relatives or friends.Luckily Mr Mandela remembered me and gave me a job taking tourists around my old prison on Robben Island.,I felt bad the first time I talked to a group.All the terror and fear of that time came back to me.I remembered the beatings and the cruelty of the guards and my friends who 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 to show visitors over the prison，for I helped to make our people free in their own land.,伊莱亚斯的故事续篇 你无法想象罗本岛(Robben Island)这个名字听起来多么令我们恐惧。那是一座任何人也逃 (escape)不出的监狱。在那里我度过了我一生中最艰难的岁月。但是我到那里时，纳尔逊曼德拉也在那儿，他帮助了我。曼德拉先生为我们那些几乎没有上过学的人开办学校。他在午餐后的休息时间以及晚上本来该睡觉的时间教我们学习。,我们躲在毯子(blanket)下面读书，我们用可以找到的任何东西做蜡烛来看字。我成了一名好学生。我想要获取学位，但是别人不允许我这样做。后来曼德拉先生让狱卒参加我们一起学习。他说他们不应该被剥夺为获取学位而学习的权利。他们并不比我聪明，却通过了考试。因此我就知道我也能够拿到学位。这让我觉得自己还不错。,在监狱里待完四年之后，我去找工作。因为我受过比较好的教育(educate)，我得到了一份坐办公室的工作。可是警察发现了，告诉了我的老板说我因为炸政府大楼而坐过牢。于是我失业了。在曼德拉先生和非国大于1994年掌权(come to power)前，我有20年没有工作。,在此期间，我的妻儿只得从亲戚(relative)朋友处讨饭(beg)吃，并乞求帮助。幸亏曼德拉先生还记得我，给了我一份工作，叫我带着旅行团去参观罗本岛上我住过的那座旧监狱。我第一次给旅行团作讲解时心情很不好。我回忆起那时所有的恐怖(terror)和令人畏惧的情景。我记起了狱卒的鞭打和暴行(cruelty残忍；残酷)，我想到了我那些死去的朋友。,我觉得我不能做这份工作，但是我的家人却鼓励我。他们说，从南非新政府得到的这份工作的薪饷，是我毕生为争取黑人的平等权利而斗争所得到的回报(reward报酬)。现在我还能给参观者介绍有关监狱的情况，对此我感到非常骄傲。因为我曾经为黑人在自己的国土上争取自由而出过力。,同学们,来学校和回家的路上要注意安全,同学们,来学校和回家的路上要注意安全,
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