PAS DE QUOI !
I Compréhension
Il y a, bien entendu, plusieurs manières de construire une phrase pour arriver à une même idée. Ceci
n?est qu?une proposition de corrigé.
1. The characters who are present are :
- Eilis
- Father Flood
- Eilis?s mother
- Eilis?s sister, named Rose
2. The main topic of the conversation is the fact that going to the United States would represent
a great opportunity for Eilis, who is a hard-working girl. She could get a well-paid job
corresponding to her qualifications.
3. a) Eilis works at Miss Kelly?s, which is a shop. But it is a low-paid job where she is
humiliated.
b) She had intended to go to England to find a better job.
c) She didn?t carry out her plans because she is not the one who makes the decision : first,
the boys (probably her brothers) said it wasn?t the best time, then they added that she might
only get a factory work and finally, her mother refused to let her go.
4. a) Father Flood visited Eilis?s house to try to convince the mother to let Eilis go to the USA,
to persuade her that it was the right thing to do.
b) First, he suggested that she would find a lot of work because she was skilled, educated
and honest. Then she would get a good salary. He also added that in Brooklyn, Eilis would
be at ease, surrounded by a lot of Irish people. Father Flood concluded by telling her that his
parish was a safe place, with nice people and a lot of life centres.
c) Father Flood?s general mission consists in several involvements such as helping people,
trying to lead them along the way, visiting the sick, advising them when they have to
make choices.
5. a) Rose remained silent, probably thinking that it would be a great opportunity for her sister
to leave to the USA. She has probably arranged the meeting with Father Flood because he is
the one that can convince their mother. She is nervous, hoping that the Parish priest will
managed to persuade her. ?She twisted her ring and then her bracelet. (l.23/24)
The mother also kept silent, watching the floor, avoiding to look at Eilis. She had already
refused to let her go to England but this time she may realize that going to the USA could be
her daughter?s only chance to get a job and have nice living conditions. She may be thinking
about the dangers Eilis would find there, about the fact that she may never see her daughter
again. ?It might be very dangerous.? (l.26)
b) Eilis doesn?t speak, she only watches. She is used to seeing her mother listening carefully
to Father Flood. But when Eilis tried to meet her mother?s gaze, it was in vain. ?She looked
across at her mother who deliberately [?] did not return her glance.? (l.21/22).
However, Eilis was surprised by her sister?s behavior. Usually she would ask questions, talk
to Father Flood. But this time, Rose remained silent. Eilis also tried to meet her sister?s
gaze, but she didn?t manage to. ?Rose appeared to be in a sort of dream.? (l.31)
6. On the one hand, England is seen as a place allowing people to come back home for
Christmas or in the summer, a place that allows people to keep in touch with their family. It
is something familiar because Eilis knows several people who went to England.
On the other hand, Eilis has the feeling that England only leads to an ordinary life, that when
you live in England, you miss your homeland and you want to come home.
On the contrary, America is described as a very far away place to be ; a place that doesn?t
allow people to come back. She feels that if you go the America, you will never return.
However, people living there seem to be proud of it and don?t miss their homeland.
7. Durant les jours qui suivirent, personne ne parla de la visite de Père Flood ou de la
possibilité qu?il avait émise qu?elle parte pour Brooklyn / aille à Brooklyn, et c?est ce même
silence qui avait conduit Eilis à penser que Rose et sa mère en avaient discuté, et y étaient
favorables. Elle n?avait jamais envisagé d?aller en Amérique. Beaucoup de personnes
qu?elle connaissait étaient partis pour l?Angleterre et revenaient souvent pour Noël ou
pendant l?été.
Note : pour la traduction aussi, plusieurs possibilités peuvent être acceptées.
II Expression : la qualité de la langue est prise en compte pour la notation (lexique,
grammaire, etc.)
Sujet 1 : Il s?agissait ici d?imaginer une conversation entre Eilis et sa mère avant que la jeune fille
ne parte pour les Etats-Unis. Plusieurs possibilités concernant les idées : un dialogue faisant
apparaître l?inquiétude de la mère ou au contraire mettant en avant une mère qui cache ses craintes.
Même cas de figure pour Eilis.
Vous pouviez situer la scène à la maison, sur le port, etc. Le moment de la journée aussi était au
choix. Le tout étant de créer une logique dans l?enchaînement des idées.
Le texte représentait une aide pour la mise en place du dialogue. En effet, il établie clairement des
passages narratifs et du dialogue et donne toutes les informations nécessaires pour le respect de la
méthodologie :
- Les guillemets à chaque changement de locuteurs
- La ponctuation à l?intérieur des guillemets
- La différence avec le français concernant les verbes introducteurs (ex. he said en anglais /
dit-il en français)
Pour gagner des points, il restait à conserver l?enchainement logique de vos idées, à donner la
tonalité du dialogue (tristesse, pleurs, espoir, etc.) grâce à des adverbes ou des verbes (softly, she
whispered, she sighed, etc.) et à conclure le dialogue. On ne coupe pas un dialogue même si on a
atteint le nombre de mots nécessaire.
Sujet 2 : Sujet très personnel ou chacun pouvait laisser libre cours à son imagination, tout en
sachant que le correcteur ne vous connait pas et qu?il ne peut pas savoir si ce que vous dites est vrai.
Ce qui est important, c?est l?enchaînement des idées (de manière logique), l?utilisation des mots de
liaisons, la variété de votre lexique, la correction de la langue que vous employez.
Vous pouviez dire à quels choix vous êtes confrontés et parler des personnes qui vous influencent
dans ces moments : vos parents, vos amis, les médias, la religion, etc.
Une phrase ou deux d?introduction suffisaient, un développement et bien entendu une conclusion.
A noter qu?habituellement en S/ES LV1 on demandait au candidat 300 mots alors que cette année il
n?en était demandé que 250.