Reading comprehension
A Famous People Week
A1 It is Famous People Week now at Sunshine Middle School. The school has posted
some articles about famous people around the world on the noticeboard. Read the articles
below about Michelle Kwan and Nelson Mandela.
Michelle Kwan—the queen on ice
Michelle Kwan was born on 7 July 1980 in California.
Her parents moved to the USA from Hong Kong in the
early 1970s.
Michelle started skating at the age of five. She took part
in many competitions and won many awards. A few
months before the 1998 Winter Olympics, things got out
of control—Michelle fell on the ice after doing a very
simple jump and broke her toe. It was a sad accident, but
she did not give up. She soon went back to training. At the 1998 Winter
Olympics, she skated wonderfully. Her toe was broken, but she was still
able to leap and spin beautifully, and she won the silver medal.
Although Michelle enjoys skating a lot, she says that winning is not
everything. She believes happiness comes from enjoying what you are
doing.

Nelson Mandela—a fighter for the rights of black Africans
Nelson Mandela was born on 18 July 1918 in Umtata, South Africa. He was
sent to a school at seven. Later, he went to another school and studied
English and History. In 1937, Mandela attended college. He became
interested in African culture. He found that black Africans were treated badly,
and he wanted to fight for their rights.
In 1962, Mandela was sent to prison. However, people did
not forget the efforts he had made for black Africans.
Mandela came out of prison in 1990. He was awarded the
Nobel Prize in 1993 for his contribution to the equality of
black Africans. In 1994, he became the first black African to
be elected president in the country. After that, he worked
even harder for the rights of the people in South Africa.
Mandela passed away on 5 December 2013. He once said that in an ideal
society all persons can live together with equal opportunities.

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