EXTRACT A
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela was born in Transkei, South Africa on July 18, 1918. His father was Hendry Mphakanyiswa of the Tembu Tribe. Mandela himself was educated at University College of Fort Hare and the University of Witwatersrand where he studied law. He joined the African National Congress (ANC) in 1944 and was engaged in resistance against the ruling National Party’s apartheid policies after 1948. He went on trial for treason in 1956-1961 and was acquitted in 1961.
After the banning of the ANC in 1960, Nelson Mandela argued for the setting up of a military wing within the ANC. In June 1961, the ANC executive considered his proposal on the use of violent tactics and agreed that those members who wished to involve themselves in Mandela’s campaign would not be stopped from doing so by the ANC. This led to the formation of Umkhonto we Sizwe. Mandela was arrested in 1962 and sentenced to five years imprisonment with hard labour. In 1963, when many fellow leaders of the ANC and the Umkhonto we Sizwe were arrested, Mandela was brought to stand trial with them for plotting to overthrow the government by violence. His statement from the dock received considerable international publicity. On June 12, 1964, eight of the accused, including Mandela, were sentenced to life imprisonment. From 1964 to 1982, he was incarcerated at Robben Island Prison, off Cape Town; thereafter, he was at Pollsmoor Prison, nearby on the mainland.
EXTRACT B
Mandela loved the gatherings which, while often stage-managed and to a certain extent set up for the media, were also perfect opportunities for his people to observe Madiba (a name his people affectionately called him) at close range.
Two meetings are crystallized in the memory, not so much for their political importance but for what they showed of his personality and almost child-like enjoyment of the moment, not to mention the intense impact he had on people.
The first was an encounter with the Spice Girls in 1997, when the British band was taking the world by storm. They were performing at a concert in Johannesburg to help raise money for the Prince’s Trust, a charity overseen by Prince Charles.
As he was hugged and kissed by each of the women in turn, including Ginger Spice wearing bright-red, six-inch (15-cm) platform shoes and a super-short Japanese-style dress, Mandela beamed and declared it to be the “greatest day of my life”.
It was a phrase he often used when meeting high-profile visitors, an easy way of flattering them since it was nearly always the greatest day of their lives rather than of his.
That was the mark of the man: that he could switch from meeting kings and presidents one day, a child from Soweto or his former jailers the next and the Spice Girls the day after, and genuinely be able to say each time that it was the best of all possible days.
That said, it was the boxers he met, including Muhammad Ali and George Foreman, who really put a smile on his face, reminding him of his earliest sporting passion.
EXTRACT C
Nobody ever sat with me at regular intervals to give me a clear and connected account of the history of our country, of its geography, natural wealth and problems, of our culture, of how to count, to study weights and measures. Like all Xhosa children, I acquired knowledge by asking questions to satisfy my curiosity as I grew up, learnt through experience, watched adults and tried to imitate what they did. In this process, an important role is played by custom, ritual and taboo, and I came to possess a fair amount of information in this regard…In our home there were other dependents, boys mainly, and at an early age I drifted away from my parents and moved about, played and ate together with other boys. In fact, I hardly remember any occasion when I was ever alone at home.
There were always other children with whom I shared food and blankets at night. I must have been about five years old when I began going out with other boys to look after sheep and calves and when I was introduced to the exciting love of the veld[1]. Later when I was a bit older I was able to look after cattle as well…A game I enjoyed very much was what I call Khetha (choose-the-one-you-like) …We would stop girls of our age group along the way and ask each one to choose the boy she loved. It was a rule that the girl's choice would be respected and, once she had selected her favourite, she was free to continue her journey escorted by the boy she had chosen.
[1] veld – open uncultivated grasslands in South Africa.
EXTRACT D
The Mandela Effect refers to a situation in which a large mass of people believes that an event occurred when it did not. Looking at the origin of the Mandela effect, some famous examples, as well as some potential explanations for this strange confluence of perceptions can help to shed light on this unique phenomenon.
The term "Mandela Effect" was first coined in 2009 by Fiona Broome when she created a website to detail her observance of the phenomenon. Broome was at a conference talking with other people about how she remembered the tragedy of former South African president Nelson Mandela's death in a South African prison in the 1980s.
However, Nelson Mandela did not die in the 1980s in a prison—he passed away in 2013. As Broome began to talk to other people about her memories, she learned that she was not alone. Others remembered seeing news coverage of his death as well as a speech by his widow.
Broome was shocked that such a large mass of people could remember the same identical event in such detail when it never happened. Encouraged by her book publisher, she began her website to discuss what she called the Mandela Effect and other incidents like it.
Read the four extracts below on the topic of 'choking under pressure’.
Choose the option (A, B, C or D) which you think best answers the question.
Which extract...