普通高中课程标准实验教科书 英语必修1 Unit 5 Nelson Mandela-a

      THE REST OF ELIAS’ STORY

     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 learning¹. 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 educated², 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 terror³ and fear of that time came back to me. I remembered the beatings and the cruelty⁴ 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 reward⁵ after working all my life for equal rights for the Blacks. So now at 51 I am proud to show visitors over the prison, for I helped to make our people free in their own land.

1 learning   

n.学问，学识，学习；动词learn的现在分词

参考例句：

• When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时，常会从车上掉下来。
• Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。

2 educated   

adj.受过教育的，有教养的

参考例句：

• She was well educated in literature at a university.她在大学里受到良好的文学方面的教育。
• Children should be educated in a correct way.教育孩子要得法。

3 terror   

n.恐怖；可怖的人(事)

参考例句：

• We were in mortal terror of being found out. 我们非常害怕被发现。
• That guy is a proper terror. 那家伙真是讨厌。

4 cruelty   

n.残忍；残酷

参考例句：

• He was treated with great cruelty.他受到残酷虐待。
• Mercy to the enemies means cruelty to the people.对敌人的仁慈就意味着对人民的残忍。

5 reward   

n.报酬，酬谢，赏金；vt.奖赏，酬谢，报应

参考例句：

• He will expect some reward after working so hard.他工作很努力，会得到报偿的。
• I didn't do it for reward;I did it for love.我做这件事不是为了报酬，而是出于爱好。