There is a whiff of Chanel perfume in the air as well

SESSION 2008
NOM :
TEST D’ENTREE EN CLASSE DE CPGE E&S
SUJET D ’ ANGLAIS
DUREE DE L’EPREUVE : 1 H 30
( LA / LE
2008/2009
NOTE :
CANDIDAT(e) COMPOSERA SUR CETTE
FEUILLE
/ 20
)
1) READ THE TEXT BELOW
[ There is a whiff of Chanel perfume in the air as well - dressed women
move from room to room along wide , cream - carpeted corridors . This place
could very well be mistaken for an executive job agency but these are the
offices of Holmes Investigazioni , Italy’s first and only detective agency
staffed by women . A loud laugh announces the arrival of Carmelina
Costa , in her mid - forties and dressed from top - to - toe in Yves St
Laurent couture clothes , who happens to be the director of the company . ]
Fifteen women , aged between eighteen and thirty - five , are employed by
the agency . “ I usually get them either before they get married or after they are
divorced !!! ” Husbands and children are distractions and boyfriends are very
often not understanding enough because of the long and unpredictable working
hours .
“ Sooner or later , a man will say you have to choose . He will say it’s either your
job or him .” says Ms Costa . “ It happened to me years ago and I chose my
job ! ”
She is certain women make the best detectives .
“ For a start , it’s a job you do with your brain not with your muscles . My girls
don’t lack physical strength but they hardly ever have to use it because their
thinking and their intuition are very well - developed . ”
What does Ms Costa look for in a new recruit ?
“ They must have good intuition , iron nerves , patience and a hundred per cent
dedication to the job . They needn’t be beautiful . In fact , they should preferably
be average - looking , neither too pretty nor too plain . It’s even better if they have
not seen too many TV series about glamorous female detectives since I would
not want them to think they ’ re going to be sitting around all day long in a
sports car , somewhere between Miami Beach and Malibu ! ”
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The bulk of the agency ’ s work , more than 95 percent , is divided
between industrial espionage and searching for missing people . The
former is usually tricky and a case once involved a company that
wanted to have some of its employees investigated because some
of their most secret plans had been leaked .
“ I do remember that in that particular case , I had some of my women
pose as secretaries or managers . They had to watch , listen , take
photographs , talk to people in order to find out how the place worked . ”
In a bar , round the corner , veteran detective Nikka is busy teaching
Barbara , a former medical student , how to follow someone without
being noticed .
“ You mustn’ t make any jerky movements or change direction suddenly .
Always walk slowly and keep looking around you . If you’ re in a car , you
must try to keep at least one car between yours and the one you are after .
Don’ t , whatever you do , ever fix your eyes on the back of somebody ’ s
neck because if you did that , you might as well be wearing a tee - shirt
saying “ Look ! I ’ m a detective and I ’ m following you ! ”
It ’ s 6 PM and Nikka ’ s eyes dart to an office block opposite .
Barbara and she have been waiting for more than three hours in
that bar when their prey eventually comes out and gets into his car .
Their prey ?
A man suspected of selling commercial secrets .
They drink up their cappucino and leave .............
Elspeth Thompson
“ San Francisco Chronicle ” , August 23rd 2003
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2) TRANSLATE INTO ENGLISH
1 Madame Costa est la directrice de cette agence depuis quelques années .
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2 Elle a quitté son mari il y a dix ans car il lui avait demandé d ’ arrêter de travailler .
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3 Son mari ne voulait pas qu’une femme de vingt - deux ans fasse ce travail .
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4 On ne lui ( lui = madame Costa ) a jamais dit que …………..
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5 Si son mari avait accepté , elle ne l’aurait pas quitté et serait encore mariée .
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6 Depuis combien de temps est-elle divorcée ?
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7 Bien que ce travail soit intéressant , je ne crois pas que …..
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8 Quand j’aurai le temps , je ferai repeindre le bureau car je ne supporte pas cette couleur !
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9 Elle aurait été plus heureuse si ………………
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10 C’est l’article le plus étrange que j’aie jamais lu !
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3) TRANSLATE INTO FRENCH
[ There is a whiff …
…. director of the company . ]
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4) WHAT (MIGHT) BE SURPRISING ABOUT THIS COMPANY
AND WHY ? ( About 50 words )
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5) WRITING ( About 120 words )
Women can apply for any ( kind ) of
job . Discuss .
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