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Annales gratuites Bac L : Compréhension

Le sujet  2002 - Bac L - Anglais LV2 - Compréhension écrite Imprimer le sujet
LE SUJET

Her Leah Pires passport had proven quite reliable in the past two weeks. But the customs agent had seen the alert an hour earlier during a coffee break. He pushed an alarm button on his scanner while he slowly examined every word of the passport. The hesitation at first was annoying, then Leah realized something was wrong. The travelers at the other booths were breezing through, barely slowing long enough to open their passports and having the approvals nodded back at them. A supervisor in a navy jacket appeared from nowhere and huddled with the agent. "Could you step in here, Ms. Pires ? " he asked politely but with no room for discussion. He was pointing at a row of doors down the wide corridor.
    "Is there a problem ? " she insisted.
    "Not really. Just a few questions." He was waiting for her. A uniformed guard with Mace1 and a gun on his waist was waiting too. The supervisor was holding her passport. Dozens of passengers behind her were watching.
    "Question about what ? " she demanded as she walked with the supervisor and the guard to the second door.
    "Just a few questions," he repeated, opening the door and escorting her into a square room with no windows. A holding room. She noticed the name of Rivera on his lapel. He didn't look to be Hispanic.
    "Give me the passport," she demanded as soon as they were alone and the door was closed.
    "Not so fast, Ms Pires. I need to ask you a few questions."
    "And I don't have to answer them".
    "Please, relax. Have a seat. Can I get you some coffee or water ? "
    "No."
    "Is this a valid address in Rio ? "
    "It certainly is".
    "Where did you arrive from ? "
    "Pensacola"2
    "Your flight ? "
    "Airlink 855."
    "And your destination ? "
    "Sao Paulo ? "
    "Where in Sao Paulo ? "
    "Maybe that's a private matter."
    "Business or pleasure ? "
    "Why does it matter ? "
    "It matters. Your passport lists your home in Rio. So where will you be staying in Sao Paulo ? "
    "A hotel."
    "And the name of the hotel ? "
She hesitated as she struggled to grab the name of a hotel, and the little interval was deadly. "Uh, the - the - Inter-Continental," she finally said, without the slightest hint of truthfulness.
He wrote it down, then said. "And we can assume the room there is reserved in the name of Leah Pires ? "
    " Of course," she said, snapping back nicely. But one quick phone call would prove she was lying.
    "Where is your luggage ? " he asked.
Another crack in the facade, and this one even more revealing.
She hesitated, glanced away, and said : "I'm travelling light".
Someone knocked on the door. Rivera opened it slightly, took a sheet of paper, and whispered to this unseen colleague, Leah sat down and tried to relax. The door closed and Rivera studied this evidence.
    "According to our records, you entered the country eight days ago, here in Miami, on a flight from London which originated in Zurich. Eight days and no luggage. Seems odd, doesn't it ?"
    "Is it a crime to travel light ? " she asked.
    "No, but it is a crime to use a false passport. At least here, in the US."
She looked at the passport lying on the table near him, and she knew it was as phony as could be. "It's not a false passport," she said indignantly.
    "Do you know a person by the name of Eva Miranda ? " Rivera asked, and Leah couldn't keep here chin up. Her heart stopped and her face fell, and she knew the chase was over.

The Partner, John Grisham, (BCA Books, 1997)

1 Mace : a weapon with paralysing gas
2 Pensacola : a town in Florida


I)

  1. Where does the scene take place ?
  2. What is happening to the main character and why ?

II)

  1. Read from line 1 down to line 10.
    Pick out four elements showing that the main character is going to be in trouble.
  2. Read from line 11 down to line 40.
    a) Pick out one sentence showing that the supervisor is trying to reassure the woman.
    b) Read the supervisor's questions : comment on his tone.
  3. a) (l. 49) "Another crack in the facade." What does this expression imply ?
    b) (l. 52) The supervisor "whispered to his unseen colleague". Why did he whisper ?

III)

  1. Find three lies the woman tells the supervisor during her interview with him.
  2. Read the text again from line 19 down to the end.
    a) Find four quotations showing that the woman tries to avoid answering the supervisor's questions.-
    b) Find four quotations showing how embarrassed she is.

IV)

Translate from line 51 "Someone knocked at the door..." to line 56 "...doesn't it ? "
LE CORRIGÉ

I)

1. Where does the scene take place ?
The action takes place in the USA, at the Miami airport, more precisely at the customs.

2. What is happening to the main character and why ?
While waiting to go through the gates, she is ordered to go into a room to have her passport checked. As it is forged, she is questioned but fails to convince them that her name is Leah Pires.

II)

1. Read from line 1 down to line 10.
Pick out four elements showing that the main character is going to be in trouble.
- But the customs agent had seen the alert (l 2).
- He pushed an alarm button while he slowly examined every word of the passport (l 3-4).
- The hesitation at first was annoying (l 4).
- Leah realized something was wrong (l 4-5).

2. Read from line 11 down to line 40.
a) Pick out one sentence showing that the supervisor is trying to reassure the woman.
"Please Relax".
b) Read the supervisor's questions : comment on his tone.
He sounds very professional, formal and distant in this passage. He keeps firing questions at her so quickly that she doesn't have time to make up lies.

3.
a) (l. 49) "Another crack in the facade." What does this expression imply ?
This shows that although she looks self-controlled and indestructible, as solid as a rock, she is vulnerable. A few seconds ago, she started losing her composure when she had to tell her first lie.
b) (l. 52) The supervisor "whispered to his unseen colleague". Why did he whisper ?
He didn't want Leah to overhear their conversation and to realize they already have some evidence against her.

III)

1. Find three lies the woman tells the supervisor during her interview with him.
a) A hotel / The Inter-Continental (l 42).
b) Of course (l 46).
c) It's not a false passport (l 60).

2. Read the text again from line 19 down to the end.
a) Find four quotations showing that the woman tries to avoid answering the supervisor's questions.
- And I don't have to answer them (l 22).
- Maybe that's a private matter (l 34).
- Why does it matter ? (l 36).
- Is it a crime to travel light ? (l 57).
b) Find four quotations showing how embarrassed she is.
- Without the slightest hint of truthfulness (l 43).
- She hesitated, glanced away (l 50).
- Leah couldn't keep her chin up (l 62).
- He heart stopped and her face fell (l 62).

IV) Translation

Translate from line 51 "Someone knocked at the door..." to line 56 "...doesn't it ? ".
Quelqu'un frappa à la porte. Rivera l'ouvrit prit une feuille de papier et murmura quelque chose à son collègue, invisible pour elle. Leah s'assit et tenta de se détendre. La porte se referma et Rivera étudia cette preuve.
"D'après nos fichiers, vous êtes entrée dans ce pays il y a huit jours ici à Miami, sur un vol en provenance de Londres et parti de Zürich. Huit jours et aucun bagage. Etrange, non ?"

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