Page 2 - Two Stories About Flying- Black Aeroplane

(B) “It was only when I began to learn that my boyhood freedom was an illusion, when I discovered as
a young man that my freedom had already been taken from me, that I began to hunger for it. At first as a
student I wanted freedom only for myself, the transitory freedoms of being able to stay out at night, read
what I pleased and go where I chose. Later, as a young man in Johannesburg, I yearned for the basic and
honourable freedoms...”
I The title that best suits this extract is
a) Freedom for everything
b) Knowledge about Freedom
c) Significance of Freedom
d) Realisation of Freedom

ii Why do you think the speaker mentions some freedoms as ‘transitory’?
a) The freedoms are momentary and keep changing with time.
b) The definition of freedom is constant but perspectives differ.
c) Freedom means different things to different people.
d) Freedom is not that important after a certain age.

iii Choose the option that best fits the usage of the word ‘illusion’ as used in the extract.
a) He was never able to get past the illusion.
b) The illusion I experienced was quite intriguing.
c) A large mirror in the room creates an illusion.
d) I was living under the illusion that this is possible.

iv The speaker says, ‘at first as a student I wanted freedom only for myself.’ Why do you think he only
thought about himself?
a) He didn’t want to think about the freedom denied to others.
b) He was being selfish and was only bothered about himself.
c) He didn’t think that freedom denied to him was important for others.
d) He was too young to realise that freedom was denied to others as well.

v A part of the extract has been paraphrased. Choose the option that includes the most appropriate
solution to the blanks in the given paraphrase of the extract.
The speaker’s belief about freedom, since childhood proved false. It was not until the speaker grew up to be
a young man when it i)___________ on him that he was ii)________of freedom. Then he began iii)
_______it.
i) desired ii) dawned iii) depriving
i) dawned ii) deprived iii) desiring
i) dawned ii) arrived iii) desiring
i) arrived ii) deprived iii) dawned

C Answer in 20-30 words
i Based on your reading of the lesson, what can you infer about Mandela as a father and as a leader?
ii Mandela feels that courage is triumph over fear. How would you define courage in this context?
iii If you were in Mandela’s position, would you have given preference to your family or your country?
Why?
iv Mandela says that his country’s greatest wealth is its people and not the purest diamonds. Justify
his statement.

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