现代大学英语精读四.ppt

A Drink in the Passage Author Alan Paton (1903-1988) Alan Paton was born in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa. He started his career by teaching  at a school in Ixopo. The dramatic career change to director of a reformatory (管教所）for black youths at Diepkloof, near Johannesburg, had a profound effect on his thinking. The publication of Cry, the Beloved Country (1948) made him one of South Africa’s best known writers, and by the time he died, it had sold over 15 million copies. Following his non-racial ideals, he helped to found the South African Liberal Party and became its president. His Works Cry, the Beloved Country Perhaps the most famous novel to come out of South Africa, Paton’s 1948 work brought to the notice of the world the dilemmas of ordinary South Africans living under an oppressive system, one which threatened to destroy their very humanity. Informed by Paton’s Christian and liberal beliefs, the novel tells of a rural Zulu parson’s （牧师） heart-breaking search for his son, who has been drawn into the criminal underworld of the city. Cry, the Beloved Country has sold millions of copies around the world. Apartheid With the enactment of apartheid laws in 1948, racial discrimination was institutionalized（使制度化）. Race laws touched every aspect of social life, including a prohibition of marriage between non-whites and whites, and the sanctioning （认可）of “white-only” jobs. In 1950, the Population Registration Act required that all South Africans be racially classified into one of three categories: white, black (African), or colored (of mixed decent). The coloured category included Apartheid major subgroups of Indians and Asians. Classification into these categories was based on appearance, social acceptance, and descent（血统）. Non-compliance with the race laws were dealt with harshly. All blacks were required to carry “pass books” containing fingerprints, photo and information on access to non-black areas. Apartheid In 1960, a large group o