Le sujet 2009 - Bac S - Anglais LV1 - Expression |
Avis du professeur :
Trois sujets de type argumentatif où vous êtes amenés à discuter des questions relatives au thème abordé, en donnant votre opinion personnel. Des sujets plutôt intéressants qui vous forcent à réfléchir sur l'aspect matérialiste de nos existences. -Ce que vous avez vous rend-t-il populaire auprès des autres? La popularité liée à ce que l'on possède est éphémère alors que celle liée à nos qualités intrinsèques perdure. -Quelle idée vous faites-vous d'un métier prestigieux? Vous devez là encore argumenter sur les apparences, le prestige, le salaire, mais aussi la dimension humaniste qui va de pair avec un poste prestigieux. Le dernier sujet était plus difficile et nécessitait une pensée structurée et réfléchie. De facture plus philosophique, il était davantage destiné aux plus avertis d'entre vous. |
Choose
subject 1 (a+b) or subject 2.
Subject
1 (a+b):
a.
ll. 4-6 'Connor was becoming popular with his classmates on account
of the hundreds of electronic toys and state-of-the-art computer
games that filled his enormous bedroom.' Does popularity depend on
what you have? (150 words)
b. l.
16 'Algy had a prestigious job valuing paintings for London's
smartest auctioneers.' What is your idea of a prestigious job?
(150 words)
Subject
2:
l.65
'She has to take responsibility for her own learning.'
To what
extent is an individual responsible for his/her learning or
professional training? (300 words)
. Nancy
had arrived in England six months ago, and had invited Victoria to a
coffee
morning with Philly Bingham,
a fellow mother at the school where Nancy had recently
enrolled
her son, Connor. All three women had sons in the same class. Alex and
Philly's
son, Rufus, were old
friends, but Connor was becoming popular with his classmates on
5 account of the hundreds of electronic toys and
state-of-the-art computer games that filled
his
enormous bedroom. Also, he had a home cinema in the basement with all
the latest
films. And Nancy Masters
served fabulous teas with real chips and American
burgers
followed by tubs of
expensive ice-cream.
Philly
Bingham was attempting to stare discreetly around the room, taking in
the
10 sound system, the television and the acres of
mahogany furniture. Philly, thought
Victoria,
would probably describe herself as an old-fashioned Englishwoman from
an old-
established English family.
Philly's own drawing room consisted of good but
shabby
furniture, a few faded rugs
and a Labrador. On no account would Philly allow into her
house
a television the size of the one Nancy possessed. But, then, Philly
couldn't afford
15 one. She and her husband had
inherited their house from Algy's father, and although
Algy
had a prestigious job valuing paintings for London's smartest
auctioneers his salary
barely kept
them in pasta.
There
followed a stilted attempt at conversation.
'So,
Nancy, how are you settling into London?' asked Victoria
politely.
20 'Weeell,
I'm finding my feet. I've located the American library, signed on
with an
American doctor. Of course,
the US school was full so we had to put Connor into the
local
one.'
Nancy
was really getting into the English way of life,
then.
'And
Hayden?'
25 'Weeell,
he's kinda busy at work. They've been doing a big takeover(1).
The cab comes
for him at
six.'
Philly
sounded bright. 'Oh, that's not too bad. I know these banks can
demand the
most ghastly(2)
hours. So he has the evening with you?'
Nancy
looked nonplussed. 'I mean the cab comes at six in the morning.
To go to
30 Canary Wharf(3).
He's up at five. He gets home most nights at around
eight.'
'Gosh(4).'
Philly was aghast. 'How does he keep going?'
'Oh,
he's pretty health conscious. I watch his diet and I don't let him
drink alcohol in
the week. And we go
jogging at the weekend, that kinda thing.'
Wow,
thought Victoria, life was a bundle of fun for Hayden
Masters.
35 'But
I still have some things to sort out,' continued
Nancy.
Philly
seized deftly on the opportunity to make some suggestions. 'Maybe we
can give
you some pointers. Algy and
I have been here for ten years so we know
virtually
everyone.'
Nancy
seemed doubtful. 'I'm kinda hoping to find a decent hairdresser. I
find the
40 salons here a little... dull.' Her eyes
took in Philly's chubby face and her lank brown hair,
pushed
back for the occasion with a velvet Alice band. 'You see, I need
volume in
my
hair, but I cannot find anyone
here who can really backcomb.'
Victoria
thought that Nancy's hair was immaculate already, platinum blonde
with the
ends curled neatly
outwards. But she knew just the man to take her on.
'Jean-Pierre.
45 He's excellent. I'll write down his
number for you.'
'Is
he American?'
'French.'
Nancy
looked disappointed, but evidently decided to change the subject.
'Let me pass
you some biscuits.'
[...]
50 'And
how is Ute doing?' enquired Victoria.
Nancy
sighed. 'I suppose I can't complain. We had such a wonderful Mexican
lady in
Dallas. All legal, of
course. We paid for her to be naturalised. Hayden can't take
any
chances with employing
aliens.'
Philly
choked on her biscuit.
55 Victoria
translated: 'Aliens are illegal immigrants. It's the American
term.'
Nancy
pushed on regardless: 'But it's so hard to get domestics here. Ute is
my third
au pair
already.'
Philly
and Victoria exchanged a glance. Consuela had been with Victoria for
nearly
five years.
60 Nancy
brushed a non-existent crumb from her spotless white polo shirt.
'She's fine
with cleaning and
shopping, but she struggles a little with Connor's homework. And
I
really cannot trust her with the
ironing. I'm having to have all that sent out'
'Perhaps
she has difficulties with the language,' said Philly, trying to be
helpful.
'I
can't help that! She has to take responsibility for her own
learning.'
Wives and Lovers, Jane Elizabeth VARLEY, 2003
(1)
takeover: (here) taking control of a company
(2)
ghastly: frightening, bad and unpleasant
(3)
Canary Wharf: large business and shopping development, in the London
Docklands
(4)
Gosh: 'Oh my God'
SUBJECT
1 (A+B):
a. l. 4-6 'Connor was becoming popular with his classmates on account of the hundreds of electronic toys and state-of-the-art computer games that filled his enormous bedroom.' Does popularity depend on what you have? (150 words)
It
is a
well-known fact that...
● It is universally acknowledged
that being well-off is a way to be (valued/recognized/praised
by the others).
● What we are mainly concerned
with here, is appearances and what people think about us.
●
Just
consider, by way of illustration how teenagers show their latest
mobile phones to the people around in order to be self-important.
● However,
it
is questionable whether popularity depends on what we have.
●
To round off this section, we might say that...
●
From all
this, it follows that...
b.
l.
16 'Algy had a prestigious job valuing paintings for London's
smartest auctioneers.' What is your idea of a prestigious job? (150
words)
It
is generally accepted that...
● Wealth, fame and fortune
help us to be accepted in our modern society.
●
It cannot be denied that a prestigious job is always linked with
money.
●
We may wonder to what extent showing off is the reflection of
happiness.
●
This issue leads us to the famous saying : money can't buy
happiness.
●
The lesson to be learned is that...
● All things considered,
we may claim that...
SUBJECT 2:
l.65
'She has to take responsibility for her own learning.'
To
what extent is an individual responsible for his/her learning or
professional training? (300 words)
The main issue
under discussion is learning and education as a whole.
●
This raises the whole question oh whether success is a consequence of
our personal choices.
●
What should be established at the very outset is that learning has
been imposed on us at a very early age.
● Nevertheless, it
should be borne in mind that the people we meet can shape our
learning and influence our choices.
Thus,
the idea of being responsible for one's learning could be somewhat
misleading.
●
Pour
exprimer une idée personnelle :
To
my mind/ In my view/ It seems to me that
I am convinced that/ I
(would) maintain/claim that.
●
Pour
marquer l'accord :
I
agree wholeheartedly with the opinion that...
I
approve of...
●
Le
désaccord :
I
disapprove of / I strongly disagree with.
●
Pour
résumer les arguments:
This
shows how.../ To put it in a nutshell
I have demonstrated that....
●
Pour
conclure :
All
in all,.../ At the end of the day,.../ Ultimately
then,...