Question

This text repeatedly contrasts the past with the present or the future. We can use coordinated clauses to contrast two views, for emphasis or effect. Given below are sentences carrying one part of the contrast. Find in the text the second part of the contrast, and complete each item. Identify the words which signal the contrast. This has been done for you in the first item.

1. For decades the Union Buildings had been the seat of white supremacy, and now...
2. Only moments before, the highest generals of the South African defence force and police ... saluted me and pledged their loyalty. ... not so many years before they would not have saluted ______
3. Although that day neither group knew the lyrics of the anthem ..., they would soon ______
4. My country is rich in the minerals and gems that lie beneath its soil, ______
5. The Air Show was not only a display of pinpoint precision and military force, but ______
6. It was this desire for the freedom of my people ... that transformed ______ into a bold one, that drove ______ to become a criminal, that turned ______ into a man without a home.

Answer 1

1. it was the site of the inauguration of South Africa’s first democratic, non-racial government.
   Contrast words: and now
2. Only moments before, the highest generals of the South African defence force and police saluted me and pledged their loyalty, not so many years before they would not have saluted but would have arrested me.
   Contrast words: not so many years before
3. Although that day neither group knew the lyrics of the anthem, they would soon know the words by heart.
   Contrast word: Although
4. My country is rich in the minerals and gems that lie beneath its soil, but I have always known that its greatest wealth is its people.
   Contrast word: but
5. The Air Show was not only a display of pinpoint precision and military force, but also a demonstration of the military’s loyalty to democracy and the new government.
   Contrast words: not only... but also
6. It was this desire for the freedom of my people that transformed a frightened young man into a bold one, that drove a law-abiding attorney to become a criminal, that turned a family-loving husband into a man without a home.
   Contrast words: transformed... into, drove... to become, turned... into