Annales gratuites Bac Pro Secteur Tertiaire : Cellphones may put an end to quiet flying

Cellphones may put an end to quiet flying

     Security lines(1), weather delays and equipment failures make flying a burden for many
     people. For Jason Green, it is heaven - virtually the only place where he is not bombarded
     by phone calls and e-mail. "Being on a plane has become a mini-retreat for me," said Mr.
     Green, 32, executive vice president of Touchstone Pictures. "Long international flights are
 5   like vacation. No phone, no e-mail and no guilt for being unreachable."
     But American air companies are reassessing(2) the rules barring phones in the air and some
     international airlines are gradually introducing Internet access to their planes. And two
     European carriers - TAP Air Portugal and BMI, a British company - said recently that they
     would become the first to introduce cellphone service, in three-month trials on flights within
10   Europe next year.
     Many passengers fear being next to someone talking on the phone. Some business
     travelers say they enjoy the time away from electronic devices, and they have come to
     think of the airplane cabin as a place to nap(3), think or even work. Once cellphones are
     allowed on airplanes, the solution may not be so simple as keeping the devices turned off,
15   since business associates and bosses will expect to be able to get in touch.
     James E. Katz, director of the center for mobile communication studies at Rutgers
     University, said airplanes have become the last place where people in business do not feel
     obliged to be constantly available. The travelers are actually not being lazy by wanting to
     avoid work, but rather can really use the quiet time. "Being in an airplane is like going to a
20   monastery," Mr. Katz said.
     How to provide phone access on airplanes is a debate with many participants. An advisory
     committee of the Federal Aviation Administration is looking at whether cellphone use
     interferes with aircraft equipment. The Federal Communications Commission is studying
     whether transmissions from planes could interfere with cellphones on the ground.
25   And many people simply do not want to hear others chatting in flight. Melissa Brown, a
     flight attendant from Memphis, said she feared that cellphone use would give rise to more
     stress, especially among first-class travelers. "With cellphone usage, they'll have a new
     way to compete," she wrote. "Imagine 15 people or so yelling at their secretaries telling
     them how they needed their reports yesterday."
30   Mr. Reed said he was trying to take advantage of his in-flight quiet time while he still could.
     "It's going to happen one way or another," he said, sighing(4). But until then, "it has been a
     nice break."

Source: "The New York Times", October 15, 2005 (adapted)

Vocabulary
(1) security lines: files d'attente aux contrôles de sécurité
(2) to reassess: réévaluer
(3) to nap: faire un petit somme
(4) to sigh: soupirer

A. Répondez en français aux questions suivantes, en utilisant uniquement les informations contenues dans le texte. Composez des phrases complètes et justifiez toujours vos réponses. (9 points)

1. Quels sont les trois désagréments rencontrés par de nombreux passagers lors de leurs déplacements en avion ? (1,5 pt)
2. Pourquoi les hommes d'affaires apprécient-ils particulièrement les moments passés en vol ? (1,5 pt)
3. Quels nouveaux services certaines compagnies aériennes internationales introduisent-elles petit à petit ? (2 pts)
4. Quelle est la crainte partagée par de nombreux passagers en ce qui concerne ces nouveaux services ? Que redoutent certains hommes d'affaires ? (2 pts)
5. Quels sont les problèmes techniques dont débattent certaines commissions aériennes ? (2 pts)

B. Traduisez le dernier paragraphe en français (3 points)

De la ligne 30 "Mr Reed said..." à la ligne 32 "...a nice break".

C. Recopiez ce paragraphe en le complétant avec quatre mots choisis dans la liste suivante (2 points) :

Mobile phones, .......... are so popular, facilitate communication. Businessmen, .......... travel a lot, use them constantly. Planes are one of the places .......... mobile phones can't be used for safety reasons. This rule will change .......... the new trials are finished successfully.

D. Recopiez ce paragraphe en mettant les verbes entre parenthèses à la forme exigée par le contexte. (2 points)

Years ago people (to communicate) by writing letters. Nowadays, businessmen (to use) mobile phones and the Internet every day to exchange information but at the moment they (to feel) under pressure because they can be contacted at anytime. Nobody knows how fast the new technology (to develop) in the years to come.

E. Can mobile phones be used in all places or should their use be limited? Do you personally use your own mobile phone everywhere? Write 10 lines in English. (4 points)

LES REPONSES ATTENDUES

A.
1. Les désagréments rencontrés par de nombreux passagers sont les files d'attente aux contrôles de sécurité, les retards dus aux conditions météorologiques ainsi que les pannes mécaniques.
l.1 : "Security lines, weather delays and equipment failures make flying a burden"...

2. Les hommes d'affaires apprécient les moments passés en vol car ils peuvent se reposer : l.5. "Long international flights are like vacation", sans être dérangés par des appels téléphoniques ou des e-mail, l.2/3 : "the only place where he is not bombarded by phone cell and e-mail".

3. Des compagnies internationales permettent un accès internet dans leurs avions :
l.7 : "are gradually introducing Internet access to their planes" et des compagnies européennes vont bientôt permettre à leurs passagers de téléphoner avec leurs téléphones portables : l.9 : "they would become the first to introduce cellphone service".

4. De nombreux passagers n'ont pas envie d'être assis à côté de quelqu'un qui aurait une conversation téléphonique et qui pourrait les déranger et les empêcher de se reposer :
l.11 : "Many passengers fear being next to someone talking on the phone".
Quant aux hommes d'affaires, ils craignent de voir disparaître le dernier endroit où ils pouvaient enfin se reposer :
l.19/20 : "Being in an airplane is like going to a monastery".

5. Certaines commissions aériennes craignent que les ordinateurs et téléphones portables créent des interférences avec les transmissions radio des avions :
l.23 : "The Federal Communications is studying whether transmissions from planes could interfere with cellphones on the ground".

B.
Monsieur Reed dit qu'il essayait de profiter du moment de détente que lui offrait son vol tant que cela lui était encore possible. "Ca va changer de tout manière", dit-il en soupirant. Mais en attendant, "c'est un moment de détente bien agréable".

C.
Mobile phones, which are so popular, facilitate communication. Businessmen, who travel a lot, use them constantly. Planes are one of the places where mobile phones can't be used for safety reasons. This rule will change when the new trials are finished successfully.

D.
Years ago people communicated by writing letters. Nowadays, businessmen use mobile phones and the Internet every day to exchange information but at the moment they are feeling under pressure because they can be contacted at anytime. Nobody knows how fast the new technology will develop in the years to come.

E.
Pour ce sujet vous étiez amenés à donner votre point de vue. Vous pouviez donc utiliser des expressions telles que :
● Personally I believe
● In my opinion
● To my mind/In my view

Pour relier vos idées entre elles, vous pouviez utiliser des mots tels que :
● first of all
● moreover
● besides

Vous deviez bien structurer votre argumentation.
1. Importance of mobiles
● You can be reached anywhere
● You can call in case of an emergency
ex : accident (it can save lives).

2. limits of mobiles
Vous pouviez pour introduire la deuxième partie avoir recours à des expressions telles que :
● however
● yet
● on the other hand.
 Their use should be limited in some places like cinemas... because they prevent people from enjoying the show.
 Sometimes you want to have some privacy.

Vous ne deviez pas oublier de vous situer par rapport à l'utilisation du portable en précisant si vous étiez un utilisateur plutôt responsable et finalement conclure avec des termes comme : as a conclusion, to conclude, I would say...