The End of the World is Near (Part 1) - QualityTime-ESL

The End of the World is Near (Part 1)
Notice that in a title only the first letter of the first word and the first letter of each main word are
capitalized. Also notice that each paragraph is indented?
The evening of ________________ (write out in letters) ___________________, (write out
in letters) ___________________________________________ was not very ______________
_______ any ________________ typical __________________ evening in the homes of
Americans
_______________
the
_________________ were ______
United
States.
At
_____________
__________
_________ quietly reading books or ____________
_________. Numerous ______________________, who were ________________________
______________ to have _________ ____ the radio, ______ _____________ _____ one of the
two programs that ________
__________________. Television _______
_______
________
________ ____________________, and moreover the audience could ________ only
___________ _______________ two radio ________________. One program _________ evening
was a light comedy _______________ and the other a serious _________, which was the
dramatization of classic _________________
_____________, _______________ "The War of
the Worlds". The novel _____ _________ _____________ by H.G. Wells in the (write out in
letters) ____________________
________________. The radio play, ____
______
____________ ___________, was _________________ by a young, _____________ actor-writer
called Orson Welles.
The U.S. listeners _________ ______________ to _______________ a peaceful evening
_________________ to the ____________________ offered by the radio. The play was
announced, but the program _____
______ ___________ ____ time. ___________
____ the
opening lines of the play, the listeners _______________ dance music. When this dance music
_____
________
_____________
for
_____________
minutes,
people
_______
Copyright QualityTime-ESL.com
___________________
if
something
______
_________
______________.
Then
___________________, an announcement was ___________ in the form of a "news-flash". A man
speaking ____ ____ ______________ ____________ said some kind of strange gas explosions
______
________
______________ on the planet of Mars and that an ____________
____________________ had _____________ near Princeton, New Jersey, ___
_________
___________ from New York City. _______ the next half hour non-stop broadcasts _______
__________ _________________ of the ___________. The news _____
_______________. It
informed the now ______ _________ listeners that Martians with ________________________
bodies and _________________ with ___________ rays _____ __________________ from the
_______________ and had __________
_____________ about (write out in letters)
____________________________ persons. It was ______________
______________
___ the
_______________ observers that the Martians ____ __________ to _________ _________ on the
__________.
ASSIGNMENT: LEARN this text "by heart" i.e. be ready to recite it to your partner in class and
underline all the VERBS in RED.
STRUCTURES (To be learned)
th
1. On October 30 , 1938, one thousand five hundred Martians were said to have landed.
2. Most families were listening to the radio when the announcement was made.
3. The announcer told the listeners that a spaceship had landed near Princeton.
4. He made the audience believe that Martians had come to make war on the world.
TRANSLATE (exactly as in the recording above):
1. Le soir du trente octobre mille neuf cent trente-huit (write out completely in letters)
2. N'importe quel dimanche ordinaire
3. Juste avant la 2e Guerre Mondiale
4. La majorité des Américains était chez eux
5. Qui étaient assez chanceux d’avoir accès à la radio
Copyright QualityTime-ESL.com
6. Ils écoutaient un des deux programmes
7. Ils pouvaient seulement choisir entre deux stations de radio
8. Le roman avait été écrit par H.G. Wells au XIXe siècle
9. La pièce fut réalisée par un acteur inconnu
10. Les auditeurs s’attendaient à passer une soirée tranquille
11. Le divertissement offert par la radio
12. Les gens commençaient à se demander s’il y avait un problème
13. Un homme parlait d’une voix excitée
14. Des explosions de gaz avaient été observées
15. Un vaisseau spatial étranger avait atterré
16. Des émissions sans arrêt
17. Reportage en direct des évènements
18. Ces actualités étaient alarmantes
19. Des Martiens avaient déjà tué mille cinq cents personnes
20. Les Martiens étaient venus pour faire la guerre à la terre
Vocabulary and Grammar
any other: n'importe quel autre
broadcast: émettre un programme
broadcast: émission (de radio ou television)
entertainment: divertissement
if something had gone wrong s'il y avait eu un problème (une panne)
in an excited voice: une voix exitée (Attention ce n'est pas "an exciting voice” )
kill: tuer
land: atterrir
novel: roman
on-the-spot: sur place (en direct)
people were: VERBE TOUJOURS AU PLURIEL
play: pièce de théâtre
Princeton University* (near New York *université ancienne très renommée dans le New Jersey
au sud de l'état de New York
quiet: calme
spaceship: vaisseau spatial
this news was: VERBE TOUJOURS AU SINGULAR
Copyright QualityTime-ESL.com
war: guerre
wonder: se demander
1,500: say one thousand five hundred
Reading off dates:
In certain countries like the U.S.A. and Sweden dates are written with the month first (Mo.), then
the day and finally the year (Yr.). In GB and most other countries including France you indicate the
day, then the month and finally the year. Moral of the story: "To avoid problems always write out
the month starting with a CAPITAL letter of course!"
Write out the following dates, as you would say them both the American and the English
ways:
1. 11/9/95
(U.S.A. and Sweden) ______________________________________________________
(U.K. and France)________________________________________________________
2. 7/12/9m
(U.S.A. and Sweden) ______________________________________________________
(U.K. and France)________________________________________________________
Vocabulary Part 1 (with meanings in French):
according to
across
alien
actual
announcement
as late as
be startled
be under attack
broadcast
events
excited voice
fear
faint
flee, fled, fled
further
go wrong
hoax
handkerchief(s)
selon
à travers
étranger
réel
annonces
aussi tard que
être étonné, surpris
être assiégé
émission
évènements
voix excitée
peur
s'évanouir
s'enfuir
d'autres
mal se passer
Supercherie, farce canular
mouchoir
invader
moreover
look for
novel
obvious
on the other hand
point out
on-the-spot
quietly(not: quite)
safety
search the sky for
spaceship
throughout
wet
whole
wonder
worried
wrap
envahisseur
de plus
chercher
roman
évident
d'autre part
signaler
sur place
tranquillement
sécurité
chercher qqch dans le ciel
vaisseau spatial
de long en large
mouillé
entier
Se dema,nder
inquiet
envélopper
Copyright QualityTime-ESL.com