с тестом
east. The Nana repeated the name aloud.
‘They have snow there,’ Kwesi said. Kwesi worked in town. Once, at the cinema, there was a movie with snow. The children applauded and cried merrily ‘
Anko! Anko!’ asking to see the snow again. The white puffs fell and fell. ‘Those are lucky countries,’ Kwesi said. ‘They do not need to grow cotton; the cotton falls from the sky. They call it snow and walk on it and even throw it into the river.’
We were stuck here by this fire by chance – three of us, my friend Ko
fi from Accra, a driver and I. Night had already fallen when the tyre burst – the third tyre, rotten luck. It happened on a side road, in the bush, near the village of Mpago in Ghana. Too dark to fix it. You have no idea how dark the night can be. You can stick out your hand and not see it. They have nights like that. We walked into the village.
The Nana received us. There is a Nana in every village, because Nana means boss, head man, a sort of mayor but with more authority… The Nana from Mpago was skinny and bald, with thin Sudanese lips. My friend Kofi introduced us. He explained where I was from a
nd that they were to treat me as a friend.
‘I know him,’ my friend said. ‘He’s an African.’
That is the highest compliment that can be paid to a European. It opens every door for him.
The Nana smiled and we shook hands. You always greet a Nana by pressing his right hand between both of your palms. This shows respect. He sat us down by the fire, where the elders had just been holding a meeting. The
bonfire was in the middle of a village, and to the left and right, along the road, there were other fires. As many fires as huts. Perhaps twenty. We could see the fires and the figures of the women and the men and the silhouettes of clay huts – they were all visible against a night so dark and deep that it felt heavy like a weight.
Poland. They didn’t know of any such country. The elders looked at me with uncertainty, possibly suspicion. I wanted to break their mistrust somehow. I didn’t know how and I was tired.
‘Where are your colonies?’ the Nana asked.
My eyes were drooping, but I became alert. People often asked that question. Kofi had asked it first, long ago, and my answer was a revelation to him. From then on he was always ready for the question with a little speech prepared, illus
trating its absurdity.Kofi answered: ‘They don’t have colonies, Nana. Not all white countries have colonies. Not all whitesare colonialists. You have to understand that whites often colonise whites.’
The elders shuddered and smacked their lips. They were surprised. Once I would have been surprised that they were surprised. But not any more. I can’t bear that language, that language of white, black and yellow. The language of race is disgusting.
Kofi explained: ‘For hundred years they taught us that the white is somebody greater, super, extra…only the English travelled around the globe. We knew exactly as much as they wanted us to know. Now it’s hard to change.’
One of the elders asked, ‘Are all the women in your country white?’
‘All of them.’
‘Are they beautiful?’
‘They’re very beautiful,’ I answered.
‘Do you know what he told me, Nana?’ Kofi interjected. ‘That during their summer, the women take off their clothes and lie in the sun to get black skin. The ones that become dark are proud of it, and others admire them for being as tanned as blacks.’
Choose the correct letter (a, b or c) – (1 point each)
1. Why did the children applaud the snow?
a) It was a funny film.
b) It was like cotton.
c) They had never seen it before.
2. Why did the travel
lers have to stop in the village?
a) There was no spare tyre.
b) It was too dark to put on a new tyre.
c) They had had bad luck with their tyre
s.
3. How did the writer react to their question about colonies?
a) He was tired but it made him nervous.
b) He let his friend answer the question.
c) He was surprised by their question.
4. What attitudes did the Africans have towards the British?
a) T
hey resented being colonized.
b) They still thought the British were great.
c) They did not know about other Europeans.
5. Why
did Kofi mention the fact that the women in the writer’s country sunbathed?
a) The sun in Africa would be too hot.
b) The women were white.
c) To have dark skin was admired.
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