LOOK - Didier

5
U N I T
F I V E
OBJECTIFS
Lexique
• Relations familiales :
indépendance et cohabitation des générations
Grammaire
• V1 Ø V2 / V1 to V2
• (be) used to + nom / used to V2
• Modal + Perfect
Phonologie
• Prononciation de <s>
• Place de l’accent tonique : nom ou verbe ?
Méthodologie
• Réagir à l’oral
Cuckoo
in the nest
5
O P E N I N G
FLYING OFF
Look at the illustration
1 a. What is going on, in your opinion?
b. Which of the following words could be
used to interpret it? Develop your ideas.
protection - space - generation gap independence - take off - loneliness adventure - escape - clash - childhood
Consider the title “Cuckoo in the nest”
2 a. What do you associate with the word
“nest”?
b. What is particular about the cuckoo’s way
of life?
3 Link the title of the chapter and the
illustration.
Flying off
“I CAN REMEMBER”
“I can remember”
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A child can change in a moment. You turn your back for
a couple of seconds, and when you look again you find
they have already grown into someone else.
I can remember seeing Pat smile properly for the
first time. He was a little fat bald thing, Winston
Churchill1 in a Babygro, howling because his first teeth
were pushing through, so Gina rubbed some chocolate
on his sore gums and he immediately stopped crying
and grinned up at us – this big, wide, gummy grin – as
if we had just revealed the best secret in the world.
And I can remember him walking for the first time.
He was holding himself up by the rail of his little yellow
plastic stroller, swaying from side to side as if he were
caught in a stiff breeze, as was his custom, when without
warning he suddenly took off, his fat little legs sticking
out of his disposable nappy and pumping furiously to
keep up with the stroller’s spinning blue wheels.
He bombed off out of the room and Gina laughed
and said he looked as though he was going to be late
for the office again.
But I can’t remember when his games changed. I
don’t know when all his toddler’s games of fire engines
and Postman Pat videos gave way to his obsession with
Star Wars. That was one of the changes which
happened when I wasn’t looking.
Tony Parsons, Man and Boy (1999)
1. Churchill (1874-1965): British Prime Minister
84 ■
XL 1
RE
Read the text
4 Identify the people concerned.
5 What period of the child’s life does the
narrator remember? Justify.
6 What general feelings are conveyed by his
memories? (affection, fondness, nostalgia...)
7 a. What images or expressions does the
narrator use to evoke his child’s characteristics?
face and hair
smile
walk
speed
b. Why are they funny?
REACT : “A child can change in a moment”.
Do you agree?
Calvin & Hobbes
1 By simply looking at the comic strip, which
of these arrows would you associate with the
attitude of: a. Calvin ; b. his father?
1.
2.
Read the text in the comic strip
2 What does Calvin want? Imagine why.
3 a. What is fatherhood compared to?
b. Read these definitions. Pick out other words
belonging to this semantic field.
RECALL n. /RI’kô:l/ A procedure by which an official
may be removed by vote of the people.
IMPEACHMENT n. Accusing a public official of a
crime against the State.
4
What would Calvin like his father to do?
RECAP the comic techniques used by the
cartoonist.
Beattie is three
At the top of the stairs
I ask for her hand. O.K.
She gives it to me.
How her fist fits my palm,
A bunch of consolation.
We take our time
Down the steep carpetway
As I wish silently
That the stairs were endless.
Listen to the poem
2 What impression is given by the sounds and
the rhythm?
3
Briefly sum up the narrator’s general feeling.
(1969)
LISTEN
Listen to part 1
1 a. Who is speaking?
b. Imagine why prisoners like this poem.
Listen to part 2
2 a. Pick out as many details as possible about:
- Beattie herself
- the house she lived in
b. Listen for the word which best sums up the
author’s state of mind. Link it with a line from
the poem.
▼
ADRIAN MITCHELL
Read the poem
1 a. Who do you think “I” and “she” could be?
b. Where exactly does the scene take place?
c. Observe the punctuation. Is it the same
throughout the poem? Explain.
COMMENTARY ON THE POEM
Listen to part 3
3 a. What kind of teenager has Beattie
become?
b. The author launched one of his books by
reading two poems. Explain what happened
then.
c. Pick out four words the author associates
with the poem.
REACT : Do you remember a poem, a song or
any particular tune from your childhood?
What effect does it have on you?
5 - CUCKOO
IN THE NEST ■
85
TEXT 1
Making the break
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ou are beginning to
reach out for independence
and to search for your own place in
society. This is a natural process to which most parents
5 will give gentle encouragement – unless they wish you to be
still living at home at the age of forty.
. PROBLEM ONE : Making the break from the familiar routine
. too suddenly.
. The scene: Amy has gone to her room to change out of her school
10 uniform. Usually it takes about two minutes. Then she is ready to flop into
. her favourite armchair and watch Children’s BBC. However, today she does
. not emerge from her room for nearly two hours . except to disappear into
. the bathroom for a while. Eventually she comes downstairs and finds herself
. face to face with her father. Her hair has changed colour from mouse to
15 haystack blonde and she has made it spiky with loads of hair gel. She has
. used very pale foundation on her face, strong, dark eye make-up and very
. loud lipstick. She is wearing a bright green top and long brown skirt and dangly
. green earrings... so she looks a bit like a tree.
. ‘Wh... what happened?’ stammers Mr Average.
20 ‘Er... perhaps I just grew up’, says Amy.
. This is NOT a good answer since the average parent does not
. necessarily equate your hair changing colour with growing up.
. ‘And where do you think you are going, looking like that?’
. enquires Mrs Average, appearing from the kitchen.
25 ‘Out’, replies Amy.
‘Out where?’
‘Oh! Just out. You know...’
No. They don’t know. They don’t ever want to know. And they will
most certainly NOT be letting Amy out of the house until she at least
looks like the daughter they are used to.
So don’t use shock tactics and expect your parents to be impressed if
you suddenly look grown-up. They are more likely to be alarmed, and a
worried parent is unlikely to let you out of the house. Remember: a worried
parent is a difficult parent, a parent who is likely to say ‘No’. It is much better
to look reasonably normal: you can still make yourself look good without going
completely over the top.
If you really want to experiment with wild clothes, hair and make-up, it is
probably better to do so at home in the company of a friend, and have a good laugh
before you wash it all off again. Accustom your family gradually to seeing you
experiment with your appearance; impress upon them that it is just a bit of fun.
You may even accept some of their advice on what suits you and what does not.
(OK! So you will never accept your father’s opinion that you would look good in a kilt.)
In other words, tread carefully if you want your parents to open the door and let
you into the world. This is especially important if they tend to be over-protective.
KATHLEEN LAMB,
86 ■
XL 1
RE
Help! My social life is a mess! A survival guide (1997)
OUT LINE
Look at the origin of the document.
What links can you establish between the
words: “help”, “social life”, “mess”, “survival”
and “guide”?
1
2 Read the title and the first seven lines.
a. Who is speaking? To whom? What about?
b. What could the link between “cuckoo in the
nest” and “making the break” be?
c. Would it be the same if the author had
written: “Making a break from the familiar
routine”?
READ & REPLY
1 Read the text and pick out information about
the family. Why were they given this name?
RECAP : Look at the illustrations and link as
many elements as possible with the text.
REACT
1. Imagine you wanted something from your
parents or someone else. Which technique
would you choose – shock tactics or smooth
talking?
2. Do you sometimes read guides or teenage
magazines that give you advice, or do you
prefer to act according to your own ideas?
AVERAGE /’•vRIdÂ/ Typical, ordinary.
Concentrate on lines 1-18
2 Complete the chart about Amy:
usually
today
activities (time spent)
physical appearance
RECAP what “making the break” means to Amy.
Read the dialogue (l. 19-27)
3 a. How do her parents feel? Justify your
choice.
furious - alarmed - overjoyed - worried - amazed sarcastic - jealous - upset - delighted - helpless
Writing
1. What does the word “independence” mean
to you?
2. How would your parents react if you (or your
sister) came downstairs looking like the girl on
the right? Explain why.
b. In the narrator’s opinion, did Amy choose
the right method to make the break? What do
you think?
MEMO
6
Read the end of the text
4 List the advice given by the narrator to
teenagers and fill in the chart.
What they should do
What they should not do
Concentrate on the narrative technique
5 a. Read lines 1-3 again. Would you say the
narrator takes the teenager’s side, the parents’
side or a neutral position? Find other examples
of this in the text.
b. What do you think of the narrator’s choice?
Do you agree with it? Is it meant to be taken
seriously?
Judging / advising
• Teenagers should avoid ... (+ V-ing)
• They should ... (+ V) rather than ... (+ V)
• Teenagers had better ... (+ V)
Taking sides
• The narrator seems to be on ...’s side.
• She apparently sides with ...
• I think she doesn’t take sides.
P
R O N O U N C I N G
• Prononciation de <s>
She has used /z/ very pale foundation on her face...
She used /s/ to be very ordinary.
➤ See activities in your Workbook
5 - CUCKOO
IN THE NEST ■
87
GRAMMAR PAGE
LOOK & E
1. Les liens grammaticaux
䊳
GB 3, 40
Elle s’est mise à se teindre les cheveux. Elle a
cessé de regarder les émissions pour enfants.
À quoi servent les mots en gras ? Y a-t-il l’équivalent
en anglais ?
be likely to V2
On ne peut dire : *A worried parent is likely. Pourquoi ?
Complétez ce morceau d’énoncé afin qu’il ait un sens.
Quel est le mot qui vient immédiatement après likely ?
Ré-écrivez l’énoncé suivant au moyen d’un modal de
façon à faire disparaître likely :
• a worried parent is a difficult parent, a parent who is
likely to say ‘No’. (l. 33-34)
V1 Ø V2
• you can still make yourself look good (l. 35)
Y a-t-il ici une idée de contrainte véhiculée par make ?
Comment traduisez-vous cet énoncé ?
Let peut fonctionner sur le même modèle que make :
let V2. Ré-écrivez la phrase suivante de façon à faire
apparaître un V2 :
• if you want your parents [...] to let you into the world…
(l. 44-45).
Quelle est l’idée véhiculée par la construction let Ø V2 :
donner l’autorisation de V2 ou ne pas faire obstacle à
V2 ?
used to V2 // be + used + to + nom
Quel est l’opposé de likely présent dans le texte ?
Comment traduiriez-vous likely en français ?
V1 to V2 // V1 sb to V2
• She wanted to be blonde. // She used to be blonde.
to précède dans ces deux cas : un nom ? un verbe ?
• They are not used to their daughter’s loud make-up. //
• You are beginning to reach… (l. 1-2)
• they wish you to be still living… (l. 5-6)
Complétez le tableau suivant avec les cinq occurrences
qui restent dans le texte :
V1 to V2
P AIN
V1 sb to V2
beginning to reach they wish you to be
still living...
Deux des V1 de la colonne de droite pourraient
également être dans la colonne de gauche. Lesquels ?
Faites un énoncé avec chacun d’entre eux pour illustrer
cet emploi. Deux des V1 de la colonne de gauche ne
pourraient jamais être dans celle de droite. Lesquels ?
En quoi le verbe français “vouloir” est-il une source
d’erreurs face à want ?
LEARN & E
She is still the daughter they are used to living with.
to précède maintenant : un nom ? un verbe ?
Traduisez : She used to be blonde. // She is not used to
wearing loud make-up.
2. Les adjectifs
䊳
GB 67
a. wild, l. 37. Quel nom qualifie-t-il exactement ?
b. • a bright green top (l. 17) // a long brown skirt (l. 17) //
dangly green earrings (l. 17-18)
Les noms top, skirt et earrings sont chacun précédés
de deux adjectifs. En quoi l’assemblage bright green
top est-il différent des deux autres ?
P OIT
1 Traduisez :
h.“Tu crois que tu vas où comme ça ?”
a.Ils ne veulent pas qu’elle sorte dans une tenue extravagante.
i. Elle voulait se faire belle mais son père ne l’a pas laissée faire.
b.Ses parents ne s’attendaient pas à la voir grandir si vite.
j. Il y a de fortes chances pour que ses parents l’empêchent
de sortir.
c. Il faut qu’ils s’habituent à voir leur fille sortir le soir.
d.Ils ont décidé de la laisser sortir seule.
e.Certains parents ont toujours tendance à trop protéger
leurs enfants.
2 Mettez dans le bon ordre ce qui est entre […]
a. She wore a [blue / dress / dark / horrible].
f. Il y a peu de chances pour qu’ils disent “oui” à chaque fois.
b. They are not used to seeing her wearing
[green / dangly / earrings / expensive / bright].
g.Leur désir est que leur fille vive avec eux jusqu’à l’âge de
quarante ans.
88 ■
XL 1
RE
c. Amy used to be a [shy / girl / worried / English].
visual arts
KEY WORDS
> ...to talk about
the theme
street lamp, cobbled street, college,
university town, e-business, website,
online shopping, Internet services, library,
place an order, book-shop,
delivery/shipping, low cost, significant
savings, risk, debt, equal opportunity,
student loan, grant, bicycle park, rely on
one’s parents, hand-outs...
> ...to talk about
the advert
poster, stick/tie to a lamp-post, target,
catch-phrase, capital letters, lay-out,
eye-catching, launch a campaign, brand,
ad within an ad, advertising strategy,
visual device, effective message,
appeal to consumers, age group, impact ...
5 - CUCKOO
IN THE NEST ■
89
TEXT 2
Warning:
an American teenager
is loose in Europe
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T
he last thing I said to my teenaged son
as I put him on the plane for Europe
was: “Don’t lose your passport!” The
second-to-the-last thing I said was: “Don’t lose
your passport!” In fact, if you were to analyse
all the statements I made to my son in the
week before his departure, they’d boil down
to: “Don’t lose your passport!”
The message I was trying to convey was that
he should not lose his passport. Of course he
did not need to be told this. He is a teenaged
boy, and teenaged boys already know
everything. When a boy reaches 13 years of
age, the Knowledge Fairy comes around and
inserts into his brain all the information in the
entire universe. From that point on, he no
longer needs any parental guidance. All he
needs is parental money.
At this point, you veteran parents are
asking: “So, when did your son lose his
passport?” The answer is: before he legally got
into Europe. He may have set an Olympic
record for passport-losing, because apparently
his was stolen, along with all his traveler’s
checks, while he was on the plane. Don’t ask
me how this could happen. My son has tried to
explain it to me, but I still don’t understand,
because I have a leaky1 old brain.
All I know is that when the plane landed,
my son had no passport and almost no money.
Fortunately, the plane landed in Germany, a
carefree, laid-back nation that is not a big
stickler2 for paperwork.
Ha! Ha! I am of course kidding. The
national sport of Germany is stickling. So my
son spent a number of hours trying to
convince various authorities that he was a
legal human. Meanwhile, back in the United
States, unaware of what had happened, I was
exchanging increasingly frantic telephone
calls with the mother of the boy my son was
supposed to meet in the Frankfurt airport,
who had reported back to her that my son
had not arrived. The mother had suggested
several things that her son could do, such as
have my son paged or ask an authority, but of
course her son scoffed at these ideas, because
he is also a teenaged boy, and thus did not
need to be told how to find somebody in a
large, unfamiliar foreign airport. He
preferred the time-tested technique of
wandering around aimlessly. His mother, who
also has a daughter, assured me that girls do
not act this way.
Eight fun-filled and relaxing hours after his
plane landed, my son finally called me, and I
nearly bit my tongue off not telling him I Told
You So. He told me that the Germans had
graciously agreed not to send him back to
Miami, which is good, because he would
probably have ended up in Kuala Lumpur.
He got a new passport the next day, but
replacing the traveler’s checks was not so
simple. I will not name the brand of traveler’s
checks involved, except to say that it rhymes
with “Wisa.” As I write these words, my son and
I have both been calling the Wisa people for a
week, and they still haven’t given us a Final
Answer on whether they’ll replace the checks.
It says on the Wisa website that you can “easily
get a refund if your cheques are lost or
stolen,” but in my son’s case it apparently is
going to require a vote of the full United
Nations.
But never mind that. The main thing is,
he’s safely and legally in Europe, where he
and his friend will be backpacking around for
a month, relying on their common sense.
Dave Barry, Miami Herald, June 18, 2000
1. leaky: qui a des fuites
2. be a stickler: être tâtillon, pointilleux
90 ■
XL 1
RE
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OUT LINE
1 Select things you would take with you if you
were to travel abroad. Classify the items under
the headings below and compare with the rest
of the class.
absolutely
essential
useful but
not essential
superfluous but
important for you
Read lines 1-8.
a. Who is speaking? Briefly explain the situation.
b. One sentence is repeated three times. What
does it reveal about the father and his son?
2
c. Think of other recommendations the father
might have made to his son before leaving.
d. Can you imagine the boy’s reactions?
3 Judging from the title and the first paragraph,
what do you expect the text to be about?
LOOSE /lu:s/ adj. Free from the influence or
authority of other people.
READ & REPLY
Read the text once.
a. Pick out information about the teenager’s trip:
1
place of departure, destination, reason for trip, duration.
b. What happened to the boy? Sum up his story.
c. Who does “you” (l. 19) refer to? Draw
conclusions about the narrator’s intentions.
2 Concentrate on paragraph 2. The narrator
draws a portrait of teenagers. Fill in the chart.
what they know
what they need
what they don’t need
REACT : Do you think this portrait is realistic
or exaggerated? Explain.
3 Read paragraphs 3 to 6.
a. How would you define “veteran parents”:
6 The narrator uses the same technique to
tell the reader the story of his son.
Here’s an example:
what the narrator
says
what he really
means
He may have set
an Olympic record
for passport-losing
Nobody has ever
lost a passport
so rapidly. He’s
a real champion!
device
exaggeration
Now do the same using these expressions:
1. A carefree, laid-back nation ... (l. 32)
2. The national sport of Germany is stickling ... (l. 35)
3. Eight fun-filled and relaxing hours ... (l. 55)
4. It apparently is going to require a vote of the full
United Nations. ... (l. 73)
REACT : In the son’s situation, what would you
have done?
elderly parents? parents with experience of children?
parents who keep on practising sports?
b. Study the German boy’s attitude in the airport:
1. What he did.
2. What he could have done.
c. Pick out and analyse the parents’ reactions.
4 Focus on the end of the text. What was
annoying about the traveler’s checks episode?
Writing
1. “Girls do not act this way”? Do you agree?
2. Do you think the narrator draws an accurate
picture of teenagers?
5 “Of course he did not need to be told this” (l. 10-11)
“and thus did not need to be told how to find...”.
(l. 48-49)
What does Dave Barry mean exactly? Choose
the right answer:
a. The boys are old enough to know what they are doing.
b. Dave Barry is reporting the boys’ words in his own
particular way.
c. He is speaking completely objectively.
d. He is being ironical.
P
R O N O U N C I N G
• Prononciation de <s>
lose, loose...
• Place de l’accent tonique : nom ou verbe ?
refund et refund
➤ See activities in your Workbook
5 - CUCKOO
IN THE NEST ■
91
GRAMMAR PAGE
LOOK & E
1. Modal + Perfect
䊳
GB 3, 16
a. Il devrait écouter son père.
b. Il aurait dû écouter son père.
Dans laquelle de ces deux phrases l’énonciateur portet-il un jugement
- d’ordre général ?
- a posteriori ?
Traduisez ces phrases.
Ajoutez have + participe passé aux énoncés suivants,
et traduisez le résultat obtenu :
• He could lose his passport.
• He would phone his dad.
• She should wait for him.
Ré-écrivez cet énoncé en imaginant que vous jugez a
posteriori. Quels sont les changements que vous devez
opérer ? Faites le même travail avec :
• He may stay for another week if you give him enough cash.
3. Enrichir un énoncé : adjectifs,
appositions, noms complexes
et subordonnées relatives 䊳 GB 34, 75
Voici le “noyau” d’un énoncé complexe :
LEARN & E
1 Traduisez les énoncés suivants :
a. Il aurait dû faire plus attention à son passeport.
b. Tu ne crois pas qu’il aurait pu téléphoner ?
c. Il est possible que sa mère n’ait pas reçu ma lettre.
d. Si je ne lui avais pas envoyé d’argent, il aurait passé la
nuit en prison.
e. S’il avait écouté son père, il n’aurait pas perdu son
passeport.
f. Meanwhile, back in the United States, unaware of what
had happened, I was exchanging increasingly frantic
telephone calls with the mother of the boy my son was
supposed to meet in the Frankfurt airport, who had reported
back to her that my son had not arrived.
RE
Sur quoi porte l’adverbe increasingly ?
Voici comment Dave Barry enrichit cet énoncé en
apportant des précisions :
• Meanwhile, back in the USA, unaware of what had
happened [...] (l. 38-39)
Placez les trois éléments surlignés dans le tableau :
nature de l’information
éléments du texte
état du sujet
temps
back.
XL 1
• [...] I was exchanging increasingly frantic telephone calls
with the mother [...] (l. 39-41)
lieu
2. [Modal+ Perfect] + if+ Prétérit Perfect
• He will be in trouble if the Germans decide to send him
92 ■
P AIN
• … I was exchanging increasingly frantic telephone calls
with the mother of the boy [Ø my son was supposed to
meet in the Frankfurt airport], who had reported back to
her that my son had not arrived. (l. 39-44)
Analysez ce qui est surligné. Est-ce considéré comme
un nom ? un verbe ?
Quel est le rôle de ce qui est entre […] introduit par Ø :
- apporter des informations superflues ?
- apporter des précisions indispensables ?
Que reprend who : the mother ? the boy ?
Quelles questions faudrait-il poser pour obtenir en
réponse :
- ce qui est surligné ?
- ce qui est introduit par that ?
P OIT
2 Enrichissez chacun des trois énoncés suivants :
a. the two boys met
b. my son called me
c. you can get a refund
en choisissant parmi les éléments suivants :
1. eight hours after his plane landed
2. eventually
3. easily
4. and in the end you don’t get anything back
5. in the airport underground car park
6. after wandering around aimlessly for hours
7. at least that is what the ad says
8. but of course you never know with banks
9. just as I was on the phone with the FBI
10. on my mobile
▼
LISTEN
“ BOOMERANG KIDS”
OUT LINE
Before listening
1 Read the dictionary section below.
BOOMERANG n. A curved piece of wood
which, when thrown in the right way, can be
made to return to the person who throws it.
Listen to the whole document
2 Pick out the names of the people
interviewed.
In your opinion, how many of them
still live with their parents?
3
LISTEN & REPLY
PART 1 - Listen to the interviewer’s first question
1 Imagine the reasons why Karen left home.
Use the following prompt:
She may have left home because…
Listen to the rest of part 1
2 a. Pick out three reasons why she left home.
b. Which expressions best describe her feelings
now? Justify your choice.
lonely, disillusioned, homesick, free at last
RECAP Karen’s “boomerang experience”.
PART 2 - Listen to Michael
3 a. Which sentence is repeated twice?
b. What do you think he misses most?
PART 3 - Listen to Liza
4 a. Briefly explain her situation.
b. List the material things that are mentioned.
c. Do you think she is really independent?
PART 4 - Listen to Clare
5 Complete her definition:
Independence is not …
Independence is …
6 Is her definition of independence the same
as Liza’s?
PART 5 - Listen to Ken
7 Complete his opinion:
On the one hand ... On the other hand ...
RECAP : Whose attitude do you like best?
Whose attitude do you understand least?
Explain why.
REACT : “For girls, it’s hard because you’re not
encouraged to be independent.” Do you agree?
Writing
Leaving home and then coming back. Would
you call this a success or a failure?
P
R O N O U N C I N G
• Lien graphie-phonie <o>
wonderful, on, who, more, home, now
• Formes faibles
was, there’s, have, that
• Accentuation et sens
I do miss my family
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TEXT 3
Mamma mia!
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5
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10
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15
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20
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T
he proportion of unmarried Italian
men aged up to 30 who still live with
their parents has reached a staggering
70%, up sharply even from five years ago.
Many children who have left the nest to marry
have not flown far: 43% of all married Italians
aged up to 65 live within a single kilometre
(not much more than half a mile) of their
mothers. Some 15% live in the same building.
Of those who do not actually live with mamma,
77% see her at least once a week; 58% of
married sons and 65% of married daughters
see her every day.
These figures reveal a lot about modern
Italy. The new, stay-at-home family is no longer
just a restaurant, a hotel and a hospital but
also a hospice, a nursery and much else
besides. Since Italy is greying faster than any
other European country, except Spain, having
married children nearby lessens the problem
of caring for the aged. And as more and more
mothers go out to work, grandparents are
there to look after the children.
When the children grow up, grandparents
– whose pensions are among the highest in
Europe – are able to come up with money for
the coveted motorino, the moped every Italian
teenager craves. And when those same
children cannot find a job, the pension makes
up for Italy’s absence of unemployment
benefits.
The extended family also acts as a bank,
when, as is the custom, parents help their
married children to buy their first house: 69%
of Italian families own one. It is an insurance
company too, since family members tend to
help one another, financially and otherwise.
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25
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30
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35
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The Economist, April 1st, 2000
TEXT 4
Parental hand-outs never stop
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5
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10
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15
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C
hildren in the UK are staying at home
with their parents longer than ever
before and continuing to rely on them
financially, according to a new survey. Parents
are subsidising their cash-strapped offspring
well into adulthood, the Abbey National
survey says. Not only are young people leaving
home later than previous generations, but
they are also returning to the family more
often. The research showed that children
between the ages of 16 and 25 who are still
living under the family roof pay just £20 a week
on average to their parents for their upkeep.
Since the late 1950s, the proportion of young
adults who return home after initially fleeing
the nest has nearly doubled, from 25% to
46%. Modern parents are also doing more for
their kids than mothers and fathers in
generations past. It’s not just the comfort of
the parental home children are reluctant to
leave behind, it’s the cash they are handed out.
The survey found that four decades ago, only
one in five young adults received cash handouts, up to £100, from parents after leaving
home. But today half of them get this financial
help, the survey revealed.
BBC News, 26 July, 2001
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20
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25
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TEXT 5
“Elderly” children
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10
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I
n spite of history and present day
documentaries which tell us kids are
always raving to leave home, parents keep
finding that not only can they keep their
young at home without any trouble, but as the
years go by they can’t seem to get them to
leave.
What do parents feel about the cuckoos in
their nests? Nearly all have bewilderingly
mixed feelings. They think their kids should
go, but it can be quite nice if they stay... “My
stay-at-home”, writes a mother, “is a tall,
handsome 23-year-old son. A year ago, after a
blazing row with his father, he departed and
went to stay with his married sister. Soon he
came back; I’m glad in some ways to have him
back. He uses hot water, the telephone and
breakfast cereals as if they were free, but he
also brings into the house humour,
controversy, appreciation of food and the
vitality of youth. And where could he go? He
works hard and travels long distances. He
cannot afford to buy a flat and there are none
to rent.”
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15
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20
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Brian Philips, The Observer Review
OUT LINE
1
What ideas do you associate with the word
“Mamma”? Do they boil down to the impression
given by the cartoon?
Read the first sentence of each of the three
articles.
a. Which countries are mentioned?
b. Give the main topic of these articles.
2
READ & REPLY
Mamma Mia!
1 Concentrate on the first paragraph.
a. What do the percentages reveal about Italian
sons and daughters?
b. Imagine reasons for this situation.
synonyms on the right using clues from the
context:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
2 Give the main features of the Italian family
(members of the “family”, people staying at
home, people at work...)
RECAP the roles of the extended family, as in
the example:
“bank” → the family helps the children
financially. Do the same with these words:
restaurant - hotel - nursery - insurance company hospital - hospice
Does this situation create a clash between
generations?
5
a. not willing
b. children
c. conclusions
d. maintenance
e. helping financially
f. short of money
g. count on
“Parental hand-outs” imply that:
a. Parents try to help their children financially when
they grow up.
b. Parents would rather have their children out of the
house when they are 18.
6
3
Parental hand-outs never stop
4 This article contains a number of words you
may not know. Match the words on the left with
rely on
subsidising
cash-strapped
offspring
findings
upkeep
reluctant
Pick out three main trends of the British family.
7 List the words relating to money and draw
conclusions about the young adults’
motivations.
8
Was the situation the same in the sixties?
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“Elderly” children
9 “Elderly” children: comment on the
association of these two words.
15 Look at the two cartoons on this page. Do you
think they present more accurately than the texts
(pp. 94-95) the real situation and attitudes of
“cuckoos in the nest”?
10 Are “cuckoos in the nest” only considered as
parasites?
11 Pick out the mother’s mixed feelings about
her son staying at home.
☺
Staying in the nest
Staying in the nest
Young adults* living with their parents
% change, 1987-95
20 10 – 0 + 10 20 30 40 50
Italy
56
Belgium
24
Greece
49
Portugal
49
France
17
Ireland
34
Spain
59
Britain
17
Germany
Netherlands
Source Eurostat
12
As % of all
young adults*
1995
21
12
Writing
Would you rather leave home as soon as you
have the opportunity, or stay at home as long as
you can? Explain.
* Aged 25-29
What do you call this type of visual:
a bar chart? a line graph? a pie chart? a table?
13 Which part of Europe is mostly concerned
by this trend: northern or southern Europe?
14
Compare Germany and Italy, Britain and
France, Greece and Portugal.
RECAP the general trend followed by young
adults in Europe. Do you think things are likely
to change in the future?
MEMO
6
Comparing figures and percentages
• The percentage of young adults living with
their parents is higher in... than in... = There
are more young adults in... than in...
• The proportion of... is lower in... than in...
= There are fewer... than in...
• The percentage is the same in... as in...
= There are as many young adults living with
their parents in... as in...
• The proportion of... has increased by... %
since the late 50s.
P
R O N O U N C I N G
• Syllabes non accentuées
among, afford...
“You won’t be losing a daughter.
We’re going to live here!”
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1. D’un chiffre à l’autre
䊳
GB 57, 61
a. Écrivez en toutes lettres puis lisez à voix haute :
43%, 58 %, 65%, 77%, £100
b. Exprimez en pourcentages ce qui est en italique :
• The proportion of young adults who return home has
doubled. In the fifties only one in five young adults received
cash handouts... But today half of them get financial help.
c. Un peu… beaucoup…
Many, much : retrouvez ces deux mots dans Mamma
mia. Dans quels cas employez-vous l’un ou l’autre ?
d. Plus… ou moins ?
• more and more mothers go out to work… (Mamma
mia, l. 21-22)
Comment exprimeriez-vous l’opposé ?
• Modern parents are also doing more for their kids than
mothers and fathers in generations past. (Parental handouts, l. 17-19)
Comment exprimeriez-vous l’opposé ?
2. Not only… but also… (latin : non solum...
sed etiam)
• Not only are young people leaving home later [...]
but they are also... (Parental hand-outs, l. 7-9)
• parents keep finding that not only can they keep their
young at home… (“Elderly children”, l. 3-5)
Quelle semble être la conséquence directe de la
présence de not only sur la suite de l’énoncé ?
LEARN & E
1 Traduisez les énoncés suivants :
a. Les enfants qui ne vivent pas avec leurs parents les voient
au moins une fois par semaine.
P AIN
Dans “Not only is she leaving home but she is also
taking the dog with her”, qu’est-ce qui relève de
l’information ? du déjà dit / déjà connu ?
..........................
Complétez
Si not only est suivi d’un énoncé avec modal (can, will,
etc.), c’est le ... qui se place avant le ... .
Si not only est suivi d’un énoncé en be + -ing (Présent,
Prétérit) c’est ... qui se place avant le ... .
Plus difficile : comment fait-on au Présent ou au Prétérit
simple ? Construisez deux phrases :
Not only / he eat / all / the cereals / but he / also
/ spend his time / using the telephone.
3. up
On connaît bien up 5 quand il s’oppose à down 9.
Retrouvez des emplois de up avec ce sens de base
dans les trois documents.
On connaît en revanche moins bien up dans les
exemples suivants :
• grandparents are able to come up with money…
(Mamma Mia, l. 24-26)
• the pension makes up for Italy’s absence of
unemployment benefits. (Mamma Mia, l. 29-31)
Pour trouver le sens de l’union [verbe + up] il n’y a pas
d’autre solution que de rechercher dans le
dictionnaire.
Pouvez-vous citer d’autres exemples de [verbe + up]
dans lesquels on ne retrouve pas le sens de up lié à 5 ?
shut up; ...
P OIT
b. He got financial help from his parents. He was also given
money by his grandparents.
b. Non seulement elle a utilisé mon téléphone sans me le
demander mais elle a aussi mangé toutes les céréales.
c. Children are reluctant to leave behind the comfort of the
parental home. They don’t want to lose the financial help
they get from their loved ones either.
c. My “stay-at-home” is a tall, handsome 23-year-old son.
A year ago, after a blazing row with his father, he went to
stay with his married sister.
3 Complétez avec and, between, from, of, to, up :
d. Parents keep finding that not only can they keep their
young at home without any trouble, but as the years go by
they can’t seem to get them to leave.
a. 43% … all married Italian men aged … … 65 have
spaghetti every day.
2 Ré-écrivez les énoncés suivants de façon à
employer not only… but also :
c. Some young adults receive cash hand-outs … … £100.
a. He spends hours on the phone. He also lies in bed all day.
GRAMMAR PAGE
LOOK & E
b. The proportion of children who return home has nearly
doubled,… 25% … 46%.
d. Most children … the ages … 16 … 25 pay just £20 a
week for their upkeep.
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Word
perfect
t
c
e
f
r
e
p
d
Wor
1 Ne pas confondre !
3 Money, money, money ...
Choosing one of the words from the pairs below,
complete the sentences. Do not forget to put the verbs
into the appropriate form.
latest / last
even / same
die / dye
do / make
lose / loose
advise / advice
say / tell
Choose the correct expression to complete the short text
below:
overspend, budget, in the red, loan, support
a. Be careful not to ... your luggage.
b. The father ... his son to phone him.
c. He was worried about his son being let ...in Europe.
d. Parents tend to ... their children to be careful. On the
other hand, children do not always accept their ... .
e. ... if most children leave the family nest before 30, more
and more of them tend to stay longer.
f. The ... survey shows an increase in the number of stayat-homes, but the next one may show a different trend. ...
year the situation was not the ... .
g. Amy wanted to ... her hair. She kept ... she was really ...
to do it!
h. Ken was pleased to come back home because he no
longer had to ... his bed and ... the dishes.
Most parents are ready to ... their children financially but
some students have to take out a ... in order to pay for
their studies. Students living on their own may be tempted
to ... . They should draw up a ... to avoid being ... .
4 Nuance !
Choose one word from each of the following pairs and
complete the sentences below.
a. expérience: “experience” or “experiment”?
1. Amy’s parents did not really appreciate her ... .
2. Veteran parents have got ... .
b. laisser : “let” or “leave”?
1. Amy did not want to ... her parents.
2. Amy’s parents did not ... her wear what she liked.
c. assurer : “assure”, “make sure” or “insure”?
1. He ... his father he had phoned several times but the line
was busy.
2. Italian grandparents help their grandchildren ... their
mopeds.
3. His father ... that he could have his passport replaced.
2 Synonymes
Choose synonyms from the list for the expressions that
are underlined.
accept self-discipline, deal with challenges and pressures,
manage by herself, obstacles
a. She’d like to leave home but she worries she won’t be
able to cope with life on her own.
b. There will be hurdles but they won’t be insurmountable.
c. Students must learn to schedule work and leisure time.
d. Leaving home means the young adult has to handle
new responsibilities.
Now check your answers in a dictionary.
d. sécurité: “safety” or “security”?
1. The German authorities were real sticklers for
paperwork because of tight ... in airports.
2. You must fasten your ... belt when the plane takes off.
e. seul / seulement : “alone”, “lonely” or “only”?
As an ... child, I often felt sad and ... . When I left home, I
chose not to live ... and decided to share a flat with friends.
Now check your answers in a dictionary.
video
Leaving home hell
“Once upon a time, there was a little boy who lived in a lovely
house with his mummy and daddy... he was their little Prince.
Then, one day, the little boy said to his mummy and daddy:
‘I can’t stand it any more! I’m leaving!...’ “
“Kids should stay for free”
... but when a kid is 37?
See activities in your Workbook
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CAN YOU…
react spontaneously?
On vous demande souvent de réagir et de donner votre point de vue. Voici une fiche pour vous aider.
1. Donnez vos réactions
◗ Listen to these reactions.
Topic: Is there a right time to leave home?
1 “Definitely not! If you
think it’s just a matter
of age, you’re completely
mistaken! It’s a matter
of how you feel with
yourself, how you get
on with your parents,…”
2 “Well, it depends. 17,
18 or 19? Does age really
mean anything? Until
I can afford to pay my
rent, pay for my holiday,
my mobile, my car,
everything, I won’t leave
home.”
3 “I think 16 is the right
age! I’d be so glad to
leave now. My parents
really don’t understand
me. I’m an alien in my
own home. I think it’s
sad but we don’t speak
the same language.“
4 “Mmm, I don’t know.
I’d like to decide on my
own. I’d like my parents
to treat me like a grownup, but on the other
hand I think I’d be
homesick, I’d miss my
family. What’s the best
thing to do? I really don’t
know.“
5 “Sure! When you’re 18
you’re old enough to
leave home. You don’t
have to ask your parents
for permission to go out
in the evening. When
you’re 18 you’re not
a child any more, you’re
a grown-up.“
6 “What do you mean
‘a right time’? If you’re
talking about being
independent, going
wherever you want,
doing what you want,
well, I already do. My
parents are cool, I’m really
close to my family and I
don’t need to go away.“
7 “No doubt about it!
Everybody has to leave
home one day. This is
a natural move towards
adulthood. When I’m 20,
I’ll probably go travelling,
or start a job or
university course.“
8 “I can’t say. Well, er, I’d
like to try living on my
own but, er, I know it is
not very practical, you
see, to move into
a rented room. I mean, it
brings with it too many
responsibilities, you
know, cooking, cleaning,
money, the whole lot. I’m
not prepared yet. It’s too
early, you see…“
Toutes ces réactions sont construites sur le
même modèle : réaction immédiate + raison ou
conséquence.
◗ Who believes that there is a right time to leave
home? Who doesn’t? Complete the chart below
and justify, as in the example.
yes
Reaction
n°1
no
not sure
✔
justification
“Definitely not”
“You’re mistaken”
◗ Now give your first reactions to the following
question:
Do you think shock tactics is a good strategy
to get what you want from your parents?
2. Utilisez des gap fillers
Il est difficile de parler sans hésiter, même
pendant une minute.
◗ Tentez l’expérience en français, en répondant à
la question suivante : “Vous quittez la maison de
vos parents : préférez-vous vivre seul ou partager
un appartement avec des amis ?”
Quels mots et quels procédés avez-vous employés
spontanément pour prendre le temps de réfléchir
et pour combler les vides ?
En anglais, les gap fillers jouent ce rôle.
◗ Listen to Karen (Boomerang kids, p. 93). What
gap fillers does she use?
◗ Now read the script below and identify them.
“The problem I find now is when I go back home, it’s
hard to adjust and, you know, I mean, you just can’t
come and go, you know.”
◗ Would it change the message if there were no
gap fillers?
◗ Listen to reaction n° 8 again. Rewrite it without
the gap fillers.
◗ Practise adding gap fillers while you answer the
following question:
You’ve decided to “strike out on your own”.
Would you rather live alone or share a flat?
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