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SESSION2OO7
A NG L A I S
LVI
SériesES-S
Durée: 3 heures - Coefficient3
L'usagedes calculatriceset de tout dictionnaireest interdit.
Barème appliqué pour Ia correction
Compréhensionécrite
10 points
Expression
10 points
Ce sujet comporte4 pages.
TANSEME/AG3
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DaytonaBeach,Florida,summer of seventy-seven.
lt is sunny, glamorous,and full of college
students,Vietnam vets, and crazed loons of surfers looking for waves. lt's so different,so
teemingwith vitality,so tropicaland exotic,so tackyl and exciting,so unbearablyhot and here
we are, three milk-bottlewhite lrish girlstraipsingthe main drag lookingfor summerjobs. lt's a
far cry from war-tornBelfast,I can tell you, and nothingbut nothingwill make me go back there,
at least not for a while. I have finishedmy finals and at presentam awaitingthe resultsof my
degree.I have absolutelynot a clue what I want to do with my life, despitemy mother'sfervent
'wishes',I
hope that the nuns will turn up a wee teachingjoô for me, even though,againsttheir
Well, this is as good a placeto study anothertribe as the next. I won't
did SocialAnthropology.
1 0 even allowmy friendPatricia'sendlesswhingingto dent my optimism.She's at it now.
'Thisis all yourfault,MaggieLennon.You told us it'd be far easierto get jobs here,so you did.'
'And I can't stickthis heat;it's not natural
Patriciasniffsloudly,self-pitybubblingup in her throat.
for peoplefrom lrelandto livehere-'
She pausesin the middle of her tiradeto adjusther cork-heeledplatformsandals.I bite my
1 5 tongue.Maureen,my otherfriend,saysnothing.She has learnednot to interruptPatricia'srants;it
onlywindsher up more.I adjustthe cheapsunglassesI boughtyesterdayfor a dollarand squint
back at my two friends.Their whitelegs look almostluminous.I feel so alien,yet I am deliriously
happy to be here and feel the hot sun beatingdown on me. lt is so bright and blinding,but
Patriciahas a point;we are in a bit of a fix right enough.We've been here almostthree days
)^
now and not the slightestsniff of a job. I aloneof the three of us am hopefulwe'll get jobs soon.
We had better.We have only aboutfifty dollarsleft.We are stayingin a tacky motelwell away
from the seafront;three of us in one doublebed. Not pleasant.
'Do you need anotherstickingplaster?'Maureenoffersone to Patriciain an effortto placatez
her. Patriciasits on a low wall and attemptsto get it to stickto her squelchyfeet.
'And anotherthing - that fella in the chemist- you'd have thought I was speakingGreek.
25
'Why in the name of God would you call a
lmagine!band aids.' Patriciaspits the word out.
plastera band aid?' She steps down from her shoes and surveysher ruinedfeet. I don't point
out that if she'd brought proper sandals this wouldn't have happened.We are outside a
restaurantthat overlooksthe beach.
' L e t ' sg o i n h e r ea n d g e t a C o k e , ' l s a y . ' L o o k i,t s a y si t ' s a i r - c o n d i t i o n e d . '
30
Grumbling,they both follow me into Paesano'sPerfect Pasta and Pizzeria.I order three
Cokes and a waitressbrings them to our table.They are massiveand seem to be composed
entirelyof ice with a dribbleof Coke.We sip them gratefully.lt is so cool inside,cool and dark;
the temperatureis practicallyfreezing.I'm gettingused to this. Burningup one minute,teeth
3 5 chatteringthe next;it's interesting.
'Maybewe shouldhave takenthosejobs in AsburyPark3
afterall,' Maureenventures.
'HmmmlP
' a t r i c i as n o r t sw i t h d e r i s i o nS. h e s t a r e sa c c u s i n g l a
yt me.
'Well,everybodyelse from lrelandwas goingto New Jersey;it seemed a good idea to come
here.Anyway,we haven't met any other lrish people.I'm sure we'll be a rarity and get more
40 t i o s . '
'A rarity,a rarity!Maybewe couldget jobs in the zoo.'
'Do you thinkwe will getjobs, Maggie?'Maureensoundsworried.
' S u r e ,m a y b et h e y n e e d p e o p l eh e r e . 'I h o p e I s o u n dm o r e c o n f i d e ntth a n I f e e l . I g e t u p a n d
walk over to the waitressand ask her if there is a manager I can speak to. She tells me the
45 o w n e rw i l l b e b a c k i n h a l f a n h o u r .I g o b a c kt o t h e t a b l e .' T h e o w n e rw i l l b e h e r e i n h a l fa n h o u r .
I ' m g o i n gt o w a i t . '
' T h ep l a c ei s h a l fe m p t y ,l d o u b t i f y o u ' dm a k em u c hw o r k i n gh e r e . ' M a u r e e ns o u n d sd u b i o u s .
'l'm going
'Waitif you want,'Patriciaannounces.
to try the hotels.'
Two Cokeslater,the owner arrives.He is a squat littlepeasantwith a tanned,gnome-likeface.
5 0 He is solid,ratherthan fat, with very whiteteeth and the palestblue eyes. I go over to him. I am
officially
freezingnow, my teeth are chattering.
' l ' m l o o k i n gf o r a j o b a s a w a i t r e s s . '
:-
I
tacky:in bad tasteand/orcheap
' p l a c a t e :m a k es o m e o n el e s s
angry
'Asbury
Park:seasideresorttown in New Jersey
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55
60
65
'Novacancies
though.
The blueeyesstareunflinchingly
at me - notoffensively
for waitresses'.
'Whereareyou from?'heaskseventually,
adding:'lt'stoo latein the seasonto getjobs.'
'l'mfromBelfast,
Northern
lreland.Howis it toolate?lt'sonlyJune.'
n d si n Ma y.'
H e s h r u g s' .Se a so sta
'Whereareyoufrom?'I ask.'Youaren'tAmerican.'
s Am er ican- eventuall yH.'e
F o r a m o m en tI th i n kh e i sn 'tg o i n gto answer'.Ever yone'an
'Gre
e
ce
vi a N e wJe rse y.'
sm i l e sf i n a l l y.
'l ' v eb e e nt o Gre e cee ve rysu mmeur n tilnow,'I tellhim .' l loveGr eece.'
'W h a t ' sy o u rna me ? '
' M a g g i Le e n n o n . '
for me to sit down,andpoursus botha coffee.lt is bitter.lt burnsmy mouth.
He indicates
'Tellme aboutGreece.'
An hourlaterI havea job, and he agreesto seeMaureenand Patricia.He sayshe'llfiresome
people.That'sthe way it worksin America.You see something
or someoneyou like better,
yo us w a p .
Heart,2005
YourCheatin'
AnnieMacCartney,
I .C O M P R E H E N S I O N
NOTE IMPORTANTE AUX CANDIDATS :
Les candidatstraiterontle sujet sur la copie qui leur sera fournie en respectantl'ordre des
questions et en faisantapparaîtrela numérotation(numéroet lettrerepère le cas échéant,ex:
1 5 b- v o i r e n p a r t i c u l i e rl e s q u e s t i o n s1 , 2 , 4 , 5 , 9 e t 1 0 ) .l l s c o m p o s e r o ndte s p h r a s e sc o m p l è t e s
chaquefois qu'illeur est demandéde rédigerles réponses.Le nombre de mots indiquéconstitue
une exigence minimale.En I'absenced'indication,les candidatsrépondrontbrièvementà la
questionposée.Les citations serontlimitéesaux élémentspertinents et précédéesde la mention
de la ligne.
1. a) Say who the four maincharactersare.
b) What are theircountriesof origin?Quotethe textto supportyour answer.
2. Givethe namesof the charactersthe underlinedpronounsreferto.
a) lines3-4'.here we are
b) line 6: !have finishedmy finals
3. Who is the narrator?
4. a) Wheredoesthe storytake place?(countryand city)
b) What'sthe weatherlike?Pickout threeelementsto justifyyour answer.
Questions5 to 8. Focus on the passagefrom line 1 to line 29.
5. True or False?Justifyyour answereachtime with a quotationfrom the text.
a)The scenetakesplacenowadays.
b) The femalecharactersare tryingto find work.
c) The narrator'slookingfonvardto goinghome.
d) The narrator'sa fullyqualifiedteacher.
e) The femalecharactersare all confidentaboutthe nearfuture.
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6. line 19: Patricia has a point; we are in a bit of a fix right enough.
financialsituation.
Findtwo otherquotationsto confirmthat they are in a vulnerable
7. Why is Patriciafeelingso sad and low?(20 words)
8. Explainwhat the problemat the chemist'swas. (30 words)
Questions9 to 14. Focus on the passagefrom line 30 to the end of the text.
9. a)Whereexactlyis the secondsceneset?
b)Why do the femalecharactersinitiallychooseto go there?
10. line 37: She sfaresaccusinglyat me.
a) Saywho the underlinedpronounrefersto.
b) What is this characteraccusedof by the othertwo? (20 words)
11.Who doesthe narratordecideto wait for and why?
12. Explainwhat objectionsthe malecharacterraises.Quotethe textto justifyyour answer.
13.What strategydoes the narratoruse to persuadethis male character?(30 words)
14. What are the consequencesof the narrator'sefforts?(20 words)
II. EXPRESSION
Choosesubject1 or subject2.
S u b j e c1
t:
"Travelbroadensthe mind",as the sayinggoes. Do you thinkthatthe more you travel,the
you become?(300words)
moreopen-minded
Subiect2:
wishes?(150words)
a) In yourchoiceof a career,areyoureadyto go againstyourparents'
your
firstdaysin
of
friend
home
telling
Write
a
letter
to
a
back
You
are
the
narrator.
b)
(
15
0
F l o r i d a . w o rd s)
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