Tenth May dawned bright and clear. For the past few days, I had been pleasantly besieged by dignitaries and world leaders who were coming to pay their respects before the inauguration. The inauguration would be the largest gathering ever of international leaders on South African soil. The ceremonies took place in the lovely sandstone amphitheatre formed by the Union buildings in Pretoria. For decades this had been the seat of white supremacy, and now it was the site of rainbow gathering of different colours and nations for the installation of South Africa's first democratic non-racial government.
Read the following extract and answer the questions.
Generated by claude-sonnet-4-6 · 2026-06-15 07:15 · grounding stimulus+chapter
Model Answer
(i) This statement infers that Mandela's inauguration was a historic event of global significance — the world's leaders came to South Africa in unprecedented numbers, showing international support for the end of apartheid and the birth of democracy.
(ii) For decades, the Union Buildings in Pretoria symbolised white supremacy — only one race held power. Now, the same site became a "rainbow gathering," uniting people of all colours and nations to celebrate South Africa's first democratic, non-racial government. It marks a powerful transformation from exclusion to inclusion.
(iii) 'Pleasantly besieged' can be correctly substituted with "happily surrounded" (or "warmly overwhelmed").
(iv) False. The amphitheatre formed by the Union Buildings in Pretoria was the seat of white supremacy for decades — it was a centre of political power, not a venue for theatrical performances.
Source: Nelson Mandela – Long Walk to Freedom, Chapter 2
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Explanation
- (i) Inference means reading between the lines — stress the global significance and historic nature of the event.
- (ii) Use the contrast the passage gives directly: "seat of white supremacy" → "rainbow gathering." Examiners reward use of these exact phrases.
- (iii) 'Besieged' means surrounded/overwhelmed; 'pleasantly' softens it. Any phrase capturing happily surrounded scores the mark.
- (iv) The passage says it was the "seat of white supremacy," not a theatre. Don't be misled by the word amphitheatre — here it refers to an open semicircular structure, not a performance stage.