TERM L - CORRIGE COMPREHENSION ECRITE – `Tis, Frank

TERM L - CORRIGE COMPREHENSION ECRITE – 'Tis, Frank McCourt
1. Identify the text and say in which country the scene takes place. Justify the last answer with 2
elements from the text.
> The text is an extract from the autobiography of Frank McCourt. The scene takes place in
the USA. : Princeton (l.42) – a one dollar tip (l.64) (1 + 1 + 1) = 3pts
2. In this hotel there are 3 types of people, give a name to each type and say who they are. (2 +2 +2) =
6
> the customers : « the boys and the girls »
> the employees / the staff : the narrator and the Puerto Ricans.
> the management staff : the maître d'
3. How long has the narrator been in the USA. ? Use your own words and justify with a quote from
the text..
> He has just arrived by boat and therefore hasn't been in the States very long : « just off the
boat » (l.18-19) 2 pt
4. Explain what the narrator's job consists in. Use your own words and justify with a quote from the
text.
> He is a cleaner, he has a menial job : « in my houseman's uniform with my dustpan and
broom »
(l. 5-6) « did you clean around the table? » (l.31) 2 pts
(l'une ou l'autre des citations.)
5. What is the narrator's opinion of the boys and the girls who meet in the Biltmore Hotel? Why?
> He hates them, he would like to snarl at them or hit them with his broom. He can't stand
their contempt. He thinks that they are spoilt and they have had it easy whereas he has always
had to fend for himself. He wasn't born with a silver spoon in his mouth like them and life
hasn't been a bed or roses as far as he is concerned.
(detestation : 1 + mépris: 1 + facile pour eux : 1 + dur pour lui : 1) = 4 pts
6. Why are the boys and the girls so disrespectul to the narrator?
> Because they feel superior to him since they are rich. They don't belong to the same social
class.
They come from the upper-class whereas he is from the lower class.
(sentiment de supériorité :1 + richesse : 1 mais aussi + classe sociale :1) = 3 pts
7. Sum up the incident the narrator was faced with one day. (40 words)
>One day when he cleaned a table he threw away a napkin on which a rich girl had written the
phone number of a boy who was a prestigious university student. He was told off and ordered
to get the napkin even though it was in a garbage bin.
(6 elts : 6 pts)
8. Describe the maître d' 's attitude towards the girl and the narrator. How can you account for the
difference?
> She is the daughter of a rich customer whereas he is only an immigrant so the maître d' is
obsequious towards the girl whereas he looks down on Frank and thinks he can humiliate him.
(fille à papa/ riche : 1 + status social de Frank : 1 + mépris pour Frank :1 + obséquiosité : 1)
=4pts
9. Contrast the narrator's situation with that of the Puerto Ricans'.
>Although they are employees too, they seem better off. They are a group, so they can stick
together unlike McCourt who is on his own. Moreover they work in the kitchen so they don't
have to put up with the arrogance of the customers.
(point commun : 1 + meilleure situation des PR : 1 + groupe vs tout seul / pas de solidarité : 1
+ cuisine vs subir mépris des clients : 1) = 4pts
10. What solution does he find to solve his problem?
> After a short while he stops looking for the napkin and decides to write a fake telephone
number on a clean napkin that he has previously stained and gives it to her. = 4 pts
11. Explain the end of the last sentence : « ...and my only sorrow is ... »
> The made up phone number is his revenge against the girl for the humiliation he has just
been a victim of. His only regret is that he won't see her anger and frustration when she tries to
call the Princeton student. He wishes he could see her reaction so he could fully enjoy getting
his own back.
(vengence / humiliation : 1 + regret : 1 + colère et frustration de la fille :1 + savourer sa
vengeance : 1 ) = 4 pts
***
CORRIGE Traduction :
The garbage bins by the kitchen are overflowing
Les poubelles près de la cuisine débordaient
and I don't know how I'm going to find a small piece of paper lost in that waste, coffee grounds, bits of toast,
fishbones, eggshells, grapefruit skins.
et je me demande comment / je ne sais pas comment je vais (faire pour) trouver un petit
morceau de papier perdu dans ces / au milieu de toutes ces ordures/déchets : le marc de café;
les morceaux de pain grillé, les arêtes de poissons, les coquilles d'oeufs et les pelures de
pamplemousse.
I'm on my knees poking and separating with a fork from the kitchen where the Puerto Ricans are singing and
laughing...
Je suis agenouillé là à farfouiller et séparer les détritus avec une fourchette provenant de la
cuisine où les Porto Ricains chantent et rient. / une fouchette de la cuisine d'où viennent les
rires et les chants des Porto Ricains.