BACCALAURÉAT GÉNÉRAL - SESSION 2004
ÉPREUVE
ANGLAIS LV.1
Durée: 3 heuresSéries ES - S
Coefficient : 3Ce sujet comporte 8 pages numérotées de 1/8 à 8/8.
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Barème
Compréhension du texte 10 Expression personnelle 10 5
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realised they looked wrong about fifteen minutes after she left the house. By then, it was too late to turn back. They were too high, shoes bought for a wedding outfit that had languished in the wardrobe for three years after that one July day when the sun had thwarted the bridal party and stayed firmly behind the clouds.
They'd been too high then, sinking heavily into the grass outside the church. And they were still too high. Aisling did her best to walk quickly along Leeson Street, feeling totally self-conscious in her navy blazer, long cream skirt and cream court shoes.
The people sitting in motionless cars were probably office veterans, no doubt. Seasoned workers who knew what to wear to work and how to do more than switch on a computer. Could they see pure ignorance written all over her face? And pure fear, come to that?
Streams of people passed her by, walking quickly along the pavement, listening to Walkmans and staring straight ahead as they bypassed slow walkers and parking meters.
From open car windows, she could hear snippets of radio talk shows and the thumping bass of loud music. Aisling sneaked the odd sideways glance into the cars beside her. One attractive woman was peering into her rear-view mirror, mascara wand held aloft as she finished her morning make-up. Another driver was reading, a newspaper spread out on the steering wheel. Others just gazed vacantly out of their windscreens, probably praying for the car ahead to move.
It was all so hectic, Aisling thought in surprise. She hadn't seen Leeson Street this busy for years, nearly twelve years to be exact. Since she'd given up work, she was never there during the early morning rush. If she brought the boys into the city centre during the school holidays, she waited until the traffic jams were gone.
Now, in common with all the people walking purposefully towards offices, banks and shops, it was where she worked. Work. She had a job. Oh God. Those words hadn't seemed petrifying when she was twenty-two, confident in her ability to deal with any problems in the motor department. Had she really run that place or had she imagined it all? Right now, Aisling wasn't sure her former career hadn't been a dream. If she'd been as good as Mum and Jo were trying to convince her she was, why the hell was she scared out of her mind at the prospect of starting a much easier job when she was older?
Dodging the cars, like everyone else did, she crossed Leeson Street and turned right onto Pembroke Street Upper. She was sweating from the hasty walk and panicked that she hadn't put enough perfume on.
A subtle squirt of Chloé had seemed like the right idea at ten past seven. But after the long walk from Haddington Road where she'd decided to leave the car, she was hot and sticky, and wished she'd splashed on more perfume.
She hadn't wanted to overdo it. She wanted to appear like aworking woman, someone who left the house at seven-fifty every morning like clockwork, with the kids fed, the kitchen tidy and a casserole defrosting for the evening. Not like a terrified ex-housewife overdoing it with gallons of
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perfume, high heels and an outfit which looked perfect in Quinnsworth and totally wrong behind a desk. Now she wished she'd had the presence of mind to put some deodorant in her bag.
Number seventeen. There it was, a rich dark green door with brass fittings and a gleaming brass plate beside it proclaiming that this was the office of Richardson, Reid and Finucane, Solicitors. A magnificent Georgian house in a line of magnificent houses, like something out of Homes and Gardens.
What she wouldn't give to be sitting at home right now, with a copy of the magazine spread on the kitchen table as she contemplated another spurt of decorating. Anything, even stripping the wallpaper off the back bedroom, would be preferable to this sheer terror. Calm down, Aisling, she told herself. It's your first day, nobody is going to expect too much from you. Hopefully.
Cathy KELLY, Woman to Woman, 1997.
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1. Tick the right answers.
The anecdote takes place in the country
in the city
outside
inside
in the morning
in the afternoon
in the evening
at night
2. Fill in the grid with information about the main character.
Name Aisling Justify with one quotation from the text.
Age group 15-23 24-30
34-40 41-60
Children yes
no
3. Whose point of view is the story told from?
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4. In your own words, sum up the three different phases in the main character’s professional life.
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5. Match each proper noun with one of the phrases below.
the main character’s relatives / a law firm / a perfume / a chainstore / a close friend / a railway station
Chloé Quinnsworth Richardson, Reid
and Finucade Mum and Jo
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6. Find the words in the text that correspond to the following definitions:
set of clothes: ...
experienced: ...
a thin fast stream of liquid: ...
exaggerate: ...
consider : ...
a sudden increase of activity for a short period of time: ...
7. In paragraph 2, which word suggests that Aisling feels she is being looked at?
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8. Lines 12-19: pick out three synonyms for the verb “look fixedly”
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9. Lines 19-22: pick out three words to justify the use of the adjective “hectic”.
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10. Say whether the following statements are TRUE or FALSE. Justify your answers by quoting from the text.
a. Her shoes were appropriate for the occasion. T F
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b. She didn't think she was fit for her first job. T F
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c. She commuted to her new job by train and bus. T F
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d. She was really concerned about the image she projected. T F
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e. She was so scared by her first day at work that she would have preferred to be
at home. T F
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f. She did her best to control her apprehension. T F
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12. What did Mum and Jo think about her professional qualities?
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13. Lines 37-39: in your own words, describe her idea of the ideal working woman.
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14. In lines 41 to 44, pick out at least four elements that can account for her apprehension.
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15. Translate into French from “What she wouldn’t give…” (line 45) to “… this sheer terror.”
(line 47).
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II – EXPRESSION PERSONNELLE
Traitez l'un des deux sujets suivants, au choix. (300 mots)
1. You must already have felt apprehension at the prospect of a first day at school, abroad or elsewhere. Write about your experience.
2. How important do you think work should be in somebody’s life?
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