DST 1 Correction - English CPGE 2014

DST 1 (UKIP) CORRECTION
R. SCHMITT
1.
LE TH EM E (10 points)
Traduire en anglais le passage suivant :
L'UKIP espère devenir la troisième force politique britannique.
Le parti qui attire actuellement le plus l'attention est sans conteste l'UKIP. A deux jours des élections locales, ce parti anti-européen dirigé
par Nigel Farage bénéficie d'une popularité grandissante.
À l'époque de la dernière élection locale, en 2009, le Parti conservateur avait fait un raz de marée électoral, profitant de la descente aux
enfers du travailliste Gordon Brown. Quatre ans plus tard, les choses devraient se corser pour le premier ministre, David Cameron, malgré
l'annonce d'un référendum de sortie de l'Union européenne en cas de réélection.
Créé en 1993 par les mécontents du traité de Maastricht, l’UKIP pourrait prendre le rôle de tiers parti, aux côtés des conservateurs et des
travaillistes. Un positionnement occupé précédemment par les libéraux-démocrates, désormais membres de l’actuelle coalition au pouvoir.
Adapté du Figaro, le 29 avril 2013 (136 mots).
SYMBOLS :
Orth = orthographe / GR = grammaire / inex = inexact / md =mal dit ou maladroit / fs = faux-sens / CS = contre-sens / ponct = ponctuation
/ maj = majuscules / BARB = barbarisme / NS = non-sens / calq = calque / sstrad = sous-traduit / srtr = sur-traduit / mod = modulé
CORRECTION :
 = article zéro, absence d’article (fonctionnement indénombrable)
’s = génitif (revoir Study Guide si besoin)
ing = structure en –ING à apprendre
souligné = structure intéressante / idiomatique, à apprendre
UKIP wishes (/hopes /yearns) to become (/to make it as /to rise as) (Great) Britain’s third political force (/the UK’s
third political party).
The party which currently attracts (/The party currently attracting /grabbing /catching) most of the attention (/The party
currently getting (the) most coverage) is unquestionably (/undoubtedly /without doubt /no doubt /without a shadow of a
doubt) UKIP. Just two days before (/Only two days prior to) local elections (/With locals elections in (a mere) couple
of days), this anti-EU (/anti-European) (/eurosceptic) (/euroskeptic) party led by Nigel Farage enjoys increasing (/growing
/rising /soaring) popularity (/likeability) (/is growing ever more popular).
At the time of the last (/the previous /the latest) 2009 local elections (/Back when the latest local elections took place (/were
held) in 2009), the Conservative Party (/the Tories) had won in (/by) a landslide (/won (at the polls) with flying colo(u)rs),
benefit(t)ing from Labourite Gordon Brown’s (political) downfall (/demise /descent into hell). Four years later, Prime
Minister David Cameron may run into trouble (/might find it more difficult [winning]) (/should have a harder time [winning])
despite having (/in spite of having) announced (/declared /promised) (to hold) a Brixit referendum (/an in-out referendum on
Europe) if re-elected (/should he win re-election) (/if he were re-elected).
Founded (/Created) in 1993 by those discontented (/displeased) with the Maastricht Treaty, UKIP could become (/rise as
/make it as) a third party (/may take on the role of (/a) third party) alongside (/next to) Labour (/Labourites) and (the) Tories
(/the Conservatives) – a part previously played (/a position held so far) by the Liberal Democrats (/by Lib-Dems), now minor
partners in the current (/in today’s) coalition government (/who have now joined in the coalition currently heading the
country).
2.
EXERCICE D’EXPRESSIO N ECRITE (10 points)
 ARTICLE’S LEXICO N
UKIP conference: it's easy to mock, but they like it
Adapted from The Guardian – Friday 20 September 2013 (268 words)
'Stairs or lift? I'd recommend the stairs," said the nice chap tasked with directing journalists to the gallery at
Westminster Central Hall. "The lift is very slow. Plus, there's a bit of a wait." To the UKIP party conference, where
the ties are exuberant, the thinking is free, and progress in the corridors is slow, occasionally stationary, thanks to a
preponderance of walking sticks and an average age that makes Nigel Farage, the 49-year-old party leader, look
like an impish school prefect expressing distastefully rightwing opinions purely to wind up his teachers.
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‘Stair or lift?’ = (on prend) les escaliers ou l’ascenseur ? / the nice chap = le type/le gars/le gaillard sympa(thique)
tasked with directing = dont la tâche consiste à diriger (/mener) (les journalistes vers le hall)
ties are exuberant = les cravates (portées par ces hommes politiques) sont exubérantes
the thinking is free = ce sont des « libres-penseurs » / des gens qui disent ce qu’ils pensent / qui ne mâchent pas leurs mots
(who do not mince words / who speak their mind)
corridors = les couloirs / progress in the corridors is slow = on peine à avancer dans les couloirs
occasionally stationary = (on peine à avancer…), voire on fait du surplace
a preponderance of walking sticks [ironie du journaliste]= une (écrasante) majorité de politiques (voûtés sur /s’aidant
d’une) canne (de septa- ou octogénaires) / an average age = un âge moyen, une moyenne d’âge
an impish school prefect [ironie du journaliste]= un préfet (milieu scolaire) espiègle (/taquin /rusé)
distateful (-fully) rightwing opinions = des prises de positions de droite radicales (/déplaisantes (à l’oreille))
to wind up his teachers = pour agacer ses professeurs
It's been two decades since the party was founded and the motto on the main stage declared "20 years ahead",
though in the usual manner of party conference slogans it didn't say of or to what. It's easy to mock UKIP, but of
course they really rather like it. "We've been roundly abused, laughed at, mocked and derided!" an almost gleeful
Farage told his conference audience as he opened his leader's speech, having bounded on stage to a booming clip of
techno music so loud that even those without hearing aids were a little startled. "But we've changed the face of
British politics!"
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a decade = une décennie / a motto = a catchphrase = a slogan
on the main stage = sur le stand ou l’estrade principal(e) (du hall où est donnée la conférence)
20 years ahead = 20 ans plus tard (1993-2013 / UKIP celebrates its 20th anniversary)
usual = ordinaire, habituel / unusual = inhabituel
(we’ve been) roundly abused = (on nous a) vivement critiqués (/on ne nous a pas épargnés)
(we’ve been) laughed at, mocked and derided = on nous a ri au nez, sans nous prendre au sérieux, raillés de toute part
to bound (on stage / on the platform) = bondir, surgir – voire : faire une entrée fracassante (sur l’estrade)
(bouding) to a booming clip of techno music = accompagné d’un clip de musique techno tonitruante
those with earing aid = les malentendants / qui ont une prothèse auditive
to be startled = sursauter, être pris par surprise
(to change) the face of British politics = bouleverser/ changer la face de/ l’échiquier politique (britannique)
He has a point. David Cameron no longer refers to UKIP members as "fruitcakes and loonies and closet racists".
Tory party membership has fallen by almost half to 130,000 since Cameron became leader while UKIP's, Farage
said, is now 30,000 and growing. "We're delighted! The other parties are appalled! The commentators are
amazed!".
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To have/make a point = faire une remarque pertinente (/juste), être dans le vrai
Cameron no longer says this = Cameron does not say this any longer (/anymore) = Cameron ne dit plus cela
to refer to (/to call) someone AS (being something) = faire allusion ou référence à qqun comme (étant…)
‘fruitcakes and loonies and closet racists’ = des cinglés, des dingues ou des racistes inavoués (/en puissance)
[Tory party membership HAS FALLEN by half to 130,000 SINCE [Cameron became leader]]
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 Trad : le nombre d’adhérents au parti conservateur a décru de près de moitié depuis que Cameron est à sa tête
 GR : remarquez le present perfect (HAS FALLEN) pour faire le bilan sur les années 2010-2013
 GR : remarquez SINCE suivi d’une date = prétérit !. Ici date sous-entendue (SINCE he became leader, SINCE 2010),
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to be delighted = être très satisfait, être ravi / to be appalled = être effaré, attéré, consterné / to be amazed = être surpris
 QUESTION 1 : According to the journalist, has UKIP eventually come of age?
1. UNDERSTANDING THE QUESTION :
Paying attention to the journalist’s (positive/negative) (implicit/explicit) arguments about UKIP’s political positioning, can
UKIP be said to have changed in any more mature way?
2. USEFUL QUOTES & HOW TO USE THEM :
PART 1. // UKIP hasn’t changed much :
a.
b.
Still exuberant, lacking in conformity :
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title : it's easy to mock, but they like it
REFORMULATION  Off-the-wall humo(u)r remains a key element of UKIP’s identity …
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line 3 : the ties are exuberant
line 11 : having bounded on stage to a booming clip of techno music
REFORMULATION  UKIP clearly lacks in decorum … be it in the choice of dress or stage music
Growing desperately old :
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c.
line 4 : a preponderance of walking sticks
line 12 : even those without hearing aids
REFORMULATION  UKIP has not grown any younger, either … its old guard now reliant on ‘walking
sticks’ and ‘hearing aids’ … being well in its late 70s or early 80s …
Without a clear political program or vision :
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line 8 : "20 years ahead", though … it didn't say of or to what.
REFORMULATION  UKIP’s program is also wanting in detail as to … what has been achieved so far …
or whereto it is heading in future …
PART 2. // Yet, although it hasn’t changed as such, its perception has :
a.
No longer criticized right, left & center :
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b.
line 9 : "We've been roundly abused, laughed at, mocked and derided!"
line 14 : He has a point. David Cameron no longer refers to UKIP members as ‘fruitcakes and loonies’
REFORMULATION  The columnist does acknowledge (/admit) how far (/to what extent) UKIP has gone
toward(s) becoming accepted as a mainstream party …
(This veneer of) respectability comes from growing membership & success at the polls :
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line 15 : Tory party membership has fallen by almost half … while UKIP's … is now growing.
REFORMULATION  No longer dismissed as a political joke … UKIP has earned a measure of respect …
none the least from Tories …
3. A POSSIBLE 120-WORD-LONG ANSWER :
With UKIP turning 20, an ironical Guardian wonders whether it may finally rise as a grown-up party.
Admittedly, off-the-wall humo(u)r remains a key element of its identity – UKIP clearly lacking in decorum,
be it in the choice of dress or stage music. It has not grown any younger, either, its old guard now reliant on
‘walking sticks’ and ‘hearing aids’. It is also wanting in detail as to whereto it is heading in future.
Yet despite it all, the columnist acknowledges how far UKIP has gone toward(s) becoming accepted as a
mainstream party. No longer dismissed as a political joke, UKIP has earned a measure of respect – none the least
from Tories whose dwindling electorate is slowly flocking to UKIP.
120 words sharp (=pile !)
4. RELEVANT (=pertinent) LEXICON FOR YOU TO LEARN :
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to turn 20 = to celebrate one’s twentieth anniversay or birthday
to wonder (whether or not) = to ask oneself if …
a grown-up party = a mature, adult political party
admittedly = true = granted = effectivement, il faut bien avouer que…, il est vrai que …
its off-the-wall humour = son côté décalé, à la marge, non conforme, pas dans la norme
to lack in = to want in = manquer (cruellement) de …
decorum = form = conformité, respectabilité, bienséances // lacking in decorum = va à rebours des conventions
BE IT (this or that) = qu’il s’agisse (de ceci ou cela)
to grow old(er) or young(er) = vieillir, rajeunir…
the old guard = la vieille garde, les éléphants (d’un parti politique)
to be reliant on = to be dependent on = to depend or rely on
to acknowledge = to admit = to recognize // acknowledging how far or to what extent (it has changed) = reconnaissant
combien / à quel point (le parti à évolué) …
as to (whether) = quant à (savoir si)…
whereto it is heading = quel cap prend le UKIP / to head (for) = se diriger (dans une direction)
yet = still = however = be that as it may = nevertheless = despite it all = toutefois, pourtant, malgré tout, ceci dit …
no longer dismissed = not dismissed any longer = not dismissed anymore
to dismiss = to discard = to look down on = prendre de haut, dénigrer, balayer d’un revers de main
to have gone (quite a long way) towards being (accepted) … = to have made progress in becoming (more mature)… = avoir
fait du chemin, des progrès sur la voie de la maturité / la respectabilité …
to earn respect = to make a name for oneself = to get acceptance = gagner le respect, se faire un nom, une réputation, se
faire accepter // to earn a measure of respect = gagner une once de respectabilité…
a veneer of respectability = un vernis (/un semblant) de …
none the least (from Tories)= et non des moindres (de la part des conservateurs)
whose dwindling electorate = whose declining /decreasing membership = dont l’électorat déclinant … dont le nombre
toujours plus faible d’adhérents…
to flock (to) = to move in massive numbers (to) = to flee to = migrer, fuir, se réfugier (quelque part) [en masse]
 QUESTION 2 : In your opinion, is form or content more important to succeed in politics?
1. DEFINING THE TERMS:
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‘FORM’ :
‘CONTENT’ :
‘SUCCEED’ :
understood as communicative (rhetoric, image, body language)
defined as a political program or agenda
i.e. come out on top during elections, achieve political success
2. BE SMART! (Line of Analysis =problématisation):
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OPPOSITION or COMBINATION ?
o Quite hard to combine both form & content. Political failures often result from lacking in one of the two!
o If possible, best is to combine them, since form/content are 2 sides of the same coin, 2 means of achieving
electoral success :
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1) an objective/rational means based on cold hard facts (CONTENT) = meant to convince
2) a more subjective/irrational means
(FORM)
= meant to persuade
3. A POSSIBLE 200-WORD-LONG ESSAY:
[INTRO/ (1) definition of terms & line of analysis / (2) subtle outline / (3) clear positioning]
Be it rhetorics or effective body language, form is a political must-have. It allows politicians to
spin (or sway) a given electorate, eventually securing much-needed ballots in the polls. Yet form won’t do the trick
if not backed up by relevant content. (2) Two examples should help illustrate why form or content alone is
insufficient. (3) My take being that both should go hand in hand together, being two sides of the same coin.
(1)
[PART 1. CONTENT alone is insufficient –> Romney’s example]
Take Mitt Romney, for instance. His solutions to fix America weren’t why he lost to Obama last
November. What estranged him from most ethnic minorities* was twofold, and inherently form-related : not only
was he unable to shake off his billionaire image, but he also made quite a number of unfortunate blunders***. In
other words, content wasn’t what bogged him down – form was.
[PART 2. FORM alone is insufficient –> Salmond’s example]
Conversely, politicians are hard-pressed to win any elections if content is lacking. The unlikely prospect of
Scottish independence**** may be a good case in point: (al)though Salmond’s separatist goal is clear, what this
actually means for Scots isn’t. He only provided a late, unconvincing answer to the currency question*****. And
while he may be using the right rhetoric – or form –, actual content is nowhere in sight.
199 words
NB.
* Only 29% of Latino Americans & 7% of African Americans voted for Romney on Nov 6th, 2012
** Romney co-founded Bain Capital, a first-rate investment banking firm. This partly explains his current wealth (or net worth)
*** Romney’s most renown mishap was the ‘47% incident’ (Sep. 2012) when he suggested nearly half of Americans live off state subsidies
**** The latest polls suggest only 30-40% of Scots actually want independence
***** Salmond’s currency union plan (Scotland retaining the pound instead of joining the eurozone) has been called flawed or impractical
4. RELEVANT (=pertinent) LEXICON FOR YOU TO LEARN :
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be it (this or that) = qu’il s’agisse de (ceci, cela)
a must-have = a prerequisite = a necessity
to spin = to sway = influencer
a given electorate  given = specific (un électorat donné, précis)
to secure (votes, a victory etc.) = to ensure = to guarantee
much-needed ballots = des scrutins si nécessaires
in the polls = aux urnes
backed up by = supported by = appuyé, sous-tendu, étayé par
relevant (content) = (un contenu) pertinent / irrelevant = pas pertinent, hors propos
my take (on an issue) = my position = the way i see it (// ‘what’s your take on gay marriage?’)
to go hand in hand (together) = aller de pair, aller bien ensemble, être complémentaire, l’un ne va pas sans l’autre ..
two sides of the same coin = les deux facettes (complémentaires) d’un même problème (« les deux revers de la médaille »)
Take (this) for instance = let’s consider (this) (for example) (Prenez Romney, par exemple..)
To fix America = guérir, soigner l’économie américaine
To estrange oneself from (someone) = to alienate (someone) = se mettre (qqun) à dos
Twofold, threefold = double, triple, contenant 2 / 3 pans, aspects, volets
NOT ONLY + inversion ( cf. QCM Sesame 2009)
To shake off (a bad image) = to get rid of
To make a blunder = faire une bourde  Romney was mocked for being gaffe-prone (enclin à faire des gaffes)
In other words = to put it differently = autrement dit
Content was not what bogged him down = content was not the main problem  (to be bogged down = littéralement
ce qui l’ « embourbait »), ici : le contenu n’était pas le problème majeur, n’était pas ce qui « coincait »…
Conversely = On the other hand = à l’inverse
To be hard-pressed (to do something) = to have difficulty doing something (A l’inverse, les hommes politiques
éprouvent généralement des difficultés à remporter quelque élection que ce soit si…)
If content is lacking => to lack = manquer (…si le contenu n’est pas à la hauteur, n’est pas au rendez-vous)
Unlikely = improbable / Prospect = perspective
//The unlikely prospect of (Scottish independence) = le faible espoir, l’improbabilité de voir l’Ecosse devenir indép.
A good case in point = a prime example = un excellent exemple, un exemple de choix
To provide a (late, unconvincing) answer = fournir une réponse (tardive et bien peu convaincante)
actual (content) = (du contenu) véritable / actually = véritablement, en fait, en vérité
[ !!! à ne pas confondre avec current = actuel / currently = actuellement ]
to be nowhere in sight = to be nowhere to be found = to be nonexistent (il n’y a pas l’ombre de…)