test d`entree en quatrieme annee

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TEST D'ENTREE EN QUATRIEME ANNEE
- 2010 ANGLAIS
Durée de l’épreuve : 1 h 30 mn
Document autorisé : aucun Coefficient : 2
Vous devrez apporter les réponses à ce test
en cochant obligatoirement la grille-réponse proposée en fin de
a b c d e
document, comme il convient et proprement, selon le modèle ci-contre
1
B
2
X
X
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prénom(s) et l’avoir détachée soigneusement.
Vous pouvez conserver le dossier des questions, si vous le souhaitez.
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The absurd imperial reflex still lingers. By Pankaj Mishra.
There were chuckles and sniggers in Qatar last month when Hillary Clinton, the US secretary
of state, warned that a military dictatorship was imminent in Iran. Threatening America's most
intransigent adversary, Clinton seems to have been oblivious to her audience: educated Arabs in the
Middle East where America's military presence has long propped up several dictators, including
such stalwart [1] allies in rendition and torture as Hosni Mubarak.
Of course, by her own standards, Clinton was being remarkably nuanced and sober: during
the presidential campaign in 2008 she promised to "obliterate" Iran. An over-eager cheerleader of
the Bush administration's serial bellicosity, Clinton exemplifies Barack Obama's essential continuity
with previous US foreign policymakers - despite the president's many emollient words to the
contrary. Clinton has also "warned" China with an officiousness redolent of the 1990s when her
husband, with some encouragement from Tony Blair, tried to sort out the New World Order.
But the illusions of western power that proliferated in the 90s now lie shattered. No longer as
introverted as before, China contemptuously dismissed Clinton's warnings. The Iranians did not fail
to highlight American skullduggery [2] in their oil-rich neighbourhood. But then Clinton is not
alone among Anglo-American leaders in failing to recognise how absurdly hollow their quasiimperial rhetoric sounds in the post-9/11 political climate.
Visiting India last year David Miliband decided to hector [3] Indian politicians on the causes
of terrorism, and was roundly rebuffed. Summing up the general outrage among Indian elites, a
leading English language daily editorialised that the British foreign secretary had "yet to be housetrained". The US treasury secretary, Timothy Geithner, provoked howls of laughter in his Chinese
audience when he assured them that China's assets tied up in US dollars were safe.
As foreign secretary of a nation complicit in two recent terrorist-recruiting wars, Miliband
could have been a bit more modest. Resigned to financing America's massive deficits with Chineseheld dollars, Geithner could have been a bit less strident.
But no: old reflexes, born of the victories of 1945 and 1989, linger [4] among Britain and
America's political elites, which seem almost incapable of shaking off habits bred of the long
Anglo-American imperium - what the American diplomat and writer George Kennan in his last
years denounced as an "unthought-through, vainglorious and undesirable" tendency "to see
ourselves as the centre of political enlightenment and as teachers to a great part of the rest of the
world".
(…) Decolonisation seems to have dented [5] little the sense of superiority that since 1945
has made American leaders in particular consistently underestimate the intensity of nationalist
feeling in Asia and Africa. In proposing cash bribes for the "moderate" Taliban, the Obama
administration reminds one of FDR's bright idea about the original inhabitants of Palestine: "What
about the Arabs?" he once asked the Zionist leader Chaim Weizmann. "Can't that be settled with a
little baksheesh?"
This was undoubtedly a more subtle approach to the Middle East than the one proposed by
Winston Churchill, who once threatened to "set the Jews on them [Egyptians] and drive them into
the gutter". But as the cold war intensified, the American secretary of state, John Foster Dulles,
assaulted new postcolonial leaders with you're-either-with-us-or-against-us ultimatums. "Dulles
flies around," Thomas Mann noted in his diary, "soliciting clients for American irresponsibility."
However, refusing to shake hands with Zhou Enlai, and denouncing Jawaharlal Nehru's policy of
non-alignment as "immoral", Dulles alienated one major country after another in Asia and Africa.
1
The peremptory manner of officials like Dulles was likely shaped by a war-ravaged and
politically supine [6] Europe and Asia, where the US occupied two major countries, Germany and
Japan, and subsidised several others. But many postcolonial leaders, who had just seen off
European empires after a protracted and bitter struggle, were unlikely to bend the knee before a new
hegemony.
In the 1950s and 60s geopolitical intrigues did not much engage masses in Asia and Africa; it
was something for elites to sort out. But a new generation - highly politicised by television and the
internet - now vigorously amplifies its opinions even in countries perceived as friendly to western
interests. Turkey's leaders respond to public sentiment as they radically downgrade their country's
longstanding and beneficial relationship with Israel. China's cyber nationalists, who have been
nurtured on a history studded with instances of western iniquity, retaliate faster than their
government to perceived insults from the west. Droning [7] on about the dangers of a nuclear Iran,
Clinton in Qatar appeared to treat her Arab interlocutors as though they were children; but most
children above a certain age in the Middle East know about the blatant contradiction in US policy of
punishing Iran while mollycoddling [8] the only country with undeclared nuclear weapons in the
region.
What form will this political awakening take as power shifts, along with its rhetorical
advantages, from the west to the east? In VS Naipaul's prophetic novel A Bend in the River, Salim,
the Indian-African narrator, laments his community's political immaturity, envying Africa's
European conquerors: "an intelligent and energetic people", who "wanted gold and slaves, like
everybody else," but who also "wanted statues put up to themselves as people who had done good
things for the slaves". Salim believes that the Europeans "could do one thing and say something
quite different because they had an idea of what they owed to their civilisation"; and "they got both
the slaves and statues".
The Chinese, Indians, Iranians and other emerging powers too have an idea of what they owe
to themselves: the richness of the world that the west first claimed for itself. But while getting what
they want, they won't claim the sanction of a superior morality and civilisation. Indeed, the long and
appalling history of European hypocrisy in Asia and Africa may be why Beijing dispenses
altogether with talk of Chinese values as its strikes deals with nasty regimes in Africa, and why
even democratic India keeps mum [9] about the advantages of regular elections as it tries to offset
Chinese influence over Burma's military despots. Unredeemed by any higher idea, this new
scramble for resources is of course an ignoble spectacle: after all, as a French sage put it, hypocrisy
is the tribute vice pays to virtue. Certainly, the new ruthless [10] realpolitik of the east does not
pretend to realise a universal good; but it may prove to be much less obfuscating, and maybe even
less aggravating, than the moral didacticism of the west.
The Guardian, March 5th 2010. (abridged)
2
Les exercices 1, 2 et 3 portent sur l’article du Guardian. Exercice 1 ‐ Choisissez l’expression synonyme qui correspond le mieux, en contexte, au sens du mot souligné en gras dans l’article. Reportez la réponse dans la grille‐réponse ( /10) 1‐ [stalwart] a) unreliable b) aggressive c) dubious d) zealous 2‐ [skullduggery] a) combination b) dishonest behavior c) strategy d) honesty 3‐ [hector] a) lecture b) heckle c) test d) intimidate 4‐ [linger] a) lengthen b) link c) survive d) hedgehop 5‐ [dented] a) endangered b) burst c) eroded d) denied 6‐ [supine] a) inactive b) soppy c) superior d) sordid 7‐ [droning] a) drowning b) expanding c) drawing d) drooping 8‐ [mollycoddling] a) protecting b) spoiling c) threatening d) letting down 9‐ [mum] a) motherly b) loud c) puzzled d) quiet 10‐ [ruthless] a) down‐to‐earth b) flat c) angry d) pitiless Exercice 2 ‐ Choisissez la reformulation qui correspond au mieux au sens du texte et reportez votre réponse dans la grille‐réponse. ( /5) 11‐ US secretary of state Hillary Clinton seems a) to over‐estimate her Qatari partners. b) to lack charisma. c) not to know her audience’s mindset. d) not to have understood how pitiless the diplomatic world is. 12‐ According to Pankaj Mishra, the US diplomacy a) has forgotten the lessons of the Cold War. b) has not evolved since the 1990s. c) wants to sever its strategic links with Egypt. d) has preposterous post‐colonial ambitions. 3
13‐ The writer thinks that David Millibrand a) could become extremely influential in Indian politics. b) is instrumental in making Indian policymakers aware of the dangers of terrorism. c) should have met his Indian counterpart before his official visit to India. d) could have taken some precautionary measures before addressing Indian politicians. 14‐ According to the writer, decolonisation a) is over. b) has shown how irresponsible former colonists still are. c) has shaken the mindset of former colonists. d) has already created a new clash of civilisations. 15‐ Pankaj Mishra thinks that, in Asia and Africa, a) new elites have a moral sense of their mission. b) the internet is the new battlefield between the West and its former colonies. c) new elites need to be politically educated. d) new elites have a clearer sense of their national interests. Exercice 3 Reportez vos réponses au verso de la grille‐réponse ( /10) When answering, you are not allowed to quote the text: you must reformulate. ‐ “The absurd imperial reflex still lingers.” Give two examples given by Pankaj Mishra to justify such a statement. ‐ “The new ruthless realpolitik of the east does not pretend to realise a universal good; but it may prove to be much less obfuscating, and maybe even less aggravating, than the moral didacticism of the west.” To discuss this sentence, give two examples, given by the author, of the “new ruthless realpolitik of the east” and one example, also given by the author, of the “moral didacticism of the west”. Exercice 4 – La fin des mots en gras a été effacée dans le texte ci‐dessous. Ecrivez lisiblement le mot entier dans la grille‐réponse. ( /8) Sometimes politics can be like watching a car crash in slow motion. Take for inst— (16) Britain and the European Union. The imminent British election campaign will barely mention Europe, but it could well produce a Conservative government with the rare distinction of being bo— (17) the most Eurosceptic in the EU’s history and the lea— (18) loved in main— (17) Europe. The new prime minister, David Cameron, will then go to Brussels with a ser— (20) of demands that his European peers—for good and bad reasons—will take great pleasure in rejecting. Britain’s already awk— (21) relationship with Europe will hit a new low. That so much of this is avoidable makes it even wor— (22). Both the Tories and the current leaders of the EU need to start pa— (23) a little more attention to what each other is up to. The Economist print edition, March 31st 2010. 6
Exercice 5 –Remplacez les blancs par les éléments appropriés : the / a / an / Ø [ce signe signifie qu’il ne faut rien mettre]. Reportez la réponse dans la grille‐réponse. ( /5) Remittances, _____ (24) essential financial lifeline for families throughout the Caribbean, have suffered significantly in the past year, falling by at least 11 per cent or even more in some countries. The flow of money to nations throughout the region, indeed in almost every case in the Caribbean and Latin America, has been hurt by the deep economic recession in the United States, Canada and Britain. The high unemployment across _____ (25) United States has reduced the earning power of Caribbean immigrants and that reduced financial strength means people at home are getting less. It's _____ (26) vicious circle that shows little signs of easing up this year. Remittances are crucial to the economic sustainability of _____ (27) most Caribbean states. _____ (28) Dominican Republic, Haiti, Jamaica and Guyana top the list because of the fact that the money their nationals send home contribute between five and ten per cent to the gross domestic product. The Nation News, 16 March 2010. [adapted] Exercice 6 ‐ Choisissez la bonne réponse et reportez‐la dans la grille‐réponse. ( /7) 29. The Boston Tea Party is generally considered to ____ the start of the American Revolution. a) herald b) heraldry c) forerunner d) precursor 30. The Declaration of Independence ____ the rights of the individual. a) holds b) upholds c) lifts d) advocate 31. A ____ is a person who brings a civil action in a court of law. a) plain b) complaint c) plaintiff d) defendant 32. The appointment of judges based on party affiliation is called judiciary ____ . d) packing a) picking b) package c) packaging 33. When trying a case, it is essential to hear the ____ involved. a) litigants b) litigate c) litigation d) mitigates 34. People ____ the fact they are unable to escape from the pressures of modern life. a) aggrieve b) object c) enrage d) resent 35. The failure of the protest novel ____ in its rejection of life. a) lies b) lays c) relies d) rests Exercice 7‐ Trouvez l’erreur et reportez votre réponse dans la grille‐réponse. ( /5) 36. Perhaps (a) as many as 77% of all softwares (b) installed on PCs today (c) in America (d) was developed by the same company. 5
37. The power outage in Sydney (a) caused the city (b) to be without electricity (c) for several hours, crippling (d) a hundred of businesses. 38. (a) Agreeing to sell (b) most of its assets and eventually (c) is phasing out the business, the firm will (d) be merging with one of its competitors. 39. I (a) really (b) regret for the (c) delay in the (d) shipping of your order. 40. The jury will (a) announce the names of the winners (b) as soon as (c) they (d) will finish their deliberations. 6
EXAMEN D’ENTREE EN 4e ANNEE 2010
* ANGLAIS *
NOM : ……………………………………………………………………….
Prénom : ..………………………………………………………………….
ANGLAIS TEST D'ENTREE EN 4e ANNEE 2010 NOTE: /50 c d a Grille‐réponse: a b 01 29. 02 30. 03 31. 04 32. 05 33. 06 34. 07 35. 08 36. 09 37. 10 38. 11 39. 12 40. 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 b c d 21 22 23 the a an Ø 24 25 26. 27. 28. TSVP /… Exercise 3: (2 points par réponse) When answering, you are not allowed to quote the text: you must reformulate. o “The absurd imperial reflex still lingers.” (1): o “The absurd imperial reflex still lingers.” (2): o The “new ruthless realpolitik of the east” (1): o The “new ruthless realpolitik of the east” (2): o The “moral didacticism of the west” (1):