Exercice Sur Texte.

[Tallula]

Bonjour, pouvez vous me corriger s'il vous plait?

Merci.

1) Read the following text.

Dilemma.

Tim, a young American, works in a meat packing pig factory. He has just received his draft papers and should join the army to fight in Vietnam. He doesn’t know what to do.

I did not want to die. Not ever. But certainly not then, not there, not in a wrong war. I imagined myself dead. I imagined myself doing things I couldn’t do – changing an enemy position, taking aim at another human being.

At some point in mid July I began thinking seriously about Canada. The border lay a few hundred miles north, an eight- hour drive. Both my conscience and my instincts were telling me to make a beak for it, just take off and run like hell and never stop. Then I’d think, Impossible. Then a second later I’d think, Run.

It was a kind of schizophrenia. A moral split. I couldn’t make up my mind. I feared the war, yes but I also feared exile. I was afraid of walking away from my own life, my friends and my family, my whole story, everything that mattered to me. I feared losing the respect of my parents. I feared the law. I feared ridicule and censure.

Most of this I’ve told before, or at least hinted at, but what Ihave never told is the full truth. How I cracked. How at work, one morning, standing on the pig line, I felt something break open in my chest. I don’t know what it was. I’ll never know. Quickly, almost without tought, I took off my apron and walked out of the plant and drove home. It was midmorning, I remember, and the house was empty. […] I remember taking a hot shower. I remember packing a suitcase and carrying it out the kitchen, standing very still for a few minutes, looking carefully at the familiar objects all around on the kitchen table. The old chrome toaster, the telephone, the pink and white Formica on the kitchen counters. The room was full of bright sunshine. Everything sparkled. My house, I thought. My life. I’m not sure how long I stood here, but later I scribbled out a short note to my parents.

What I said, exactly, I don’t recall now. Something vague. Taking off, will call, love Tim.

I drove North.

2) Answer the following questions.

a) General comprehension.

1) What is the nature of the text?

This text is an extact from "The Thin Theys Carried" by Tim O'Brien.

2) Sum up the text in some 50 words.

This text refers to an American man who works in a meat factory. He had a normal life until the day he received his call in the army to go to war in Vietnam. He did not know what to do, he would not die. And one day he had a realization. He left his job, went home, prepared his bags, then left.

3) Find the English for the following words :

Il y a deux mots que je n’ai pas trouvé ici…

Mettre en joue :

la frontière : The border lay.

seulement ficher le camp : run like hell

un déchirement : A moral split

avoir de l’importance :

b) First paragraph

4) What is the narrator’s opinion of the Vietnam war ?

The narrator thinks that the Vietnam War is a wrong war.

5) What does he fear? Quote the text to justify your anwer.

He is afraid of dying. “I did not want to die.”

c) Second paragraph and third paragraph.

6) Explain what the narrator means by “ I began thinking seriously about Canada”.

Means that the narrator does not go to war, it is not a good citizen, and the country would not be "proud" of him.

7) What does the narrator means by “ A moral split’. Answer in your own words then quote the expressions showing how he would like to escape then the expressions showing what he fears.

The narrator mean by "A moral split" it's a torture to his conscience. It does not what to do and it affects moral.

Quote : “I feared the war, yes but I also feared exile.”

“I feared the law. I feared ridicule and censure.”

“Both my conscience and my instincts were telling me to make a beak for it, just take off and run like hell and never stop.”

d) Fourth paragraph and the end.

8) True or false? Justify by quoting from the text.

a) Tim has told the whole truth before.

False : Most of this I’ve told before, or at least hinted at, but what I have never told is the full truth.

b) He suddenly couldn’t bear his dilemma any longer.

True : How I cracked. How at work, one morning, standing on the pig line, I felt something break open in my chest.

c) His home struck him as beautiful.

False : “and the house was empty.”

d) Leaving home was painful.

Right : “Everything sparkled. My house, I thought. My life.”

[Jean B]

Bonjour, pouvez vous me corriger s'il vous plait?

Merci.

1) Read the following text.

Dilemma.

Tim, a young American, works in a meat packing pig factory. He has just received his draft papers and should join the army to fight in Vietnam. He doesn’t know what to do.

I did not want to die. Not ever. But certainly not then, not there, not in a wrong war. I imagined myself dead. I imagined myself doing things I couldn’t do – changing an enemy position, taking aim at another human being.

At some point in mid July I began thinking seriously about Canada. The border lay a few hundred miles north, an eight- hour drive. Both my conscience and my instincts were telling me to make a beak for it, just take off and run like hell and never stop. Then I’d think, Impossible. Then a second later I’d think, Run.

It was a kind of schizophrenia. A moral split. I couldn’t make up my mind. I feared the war, yes but I also feared exile. I was afraid of walking away from my own life, my friends and my family, my whole story, everything that mattered to me. I feared losing the respect of my parents. I feared the law. I feared ridicule and censure.

Most of this I’ve told before, or at least hinted at, but what I have never told is the full truth. How I cracked. How at work, one morning, standing on the pig line, I felt something break open in my chest. I don’t know what it was. I’ll never know. Quickly, almost without thought, I took off my apron and walked out of the plant and drove home. It was midmorning, I remember, and the house was empty. […] I remember taking a hot shower. I remember packing a suitcase and carrying it out the kitchen, standing very still for a few minutes, looking carefully at the familiar objects all around on the kitchen table. The old chrome toaster, the telephone, the pink and white Formica on the kitchen counters. The room was full of bright sunshine. Everything sparkled. My house, I thought. My life. I’m not sure how long I stood here, but later I scribbled out a short note to my parents.

What I said, exactly, I don’t recall now. Something vague. Taking off, will call, love Tim.

I drove North.

2) Answer the following questions.

a) General comprehension.

1) What is the nature of the text?

This text is an extract from "The Thin Theys Carried" by Tim O'Brien.

2) Sum up the text in some 50 words.

This text refers to an American man who works in a meat factory. He had a normal life until the day he received his call in the army to go to war in Vietnam. He did not know what to do, he would not die. And one day he had a realization. He left his job, went home, prepared his bags, then left.

3) Find the English for the following words :

Il y a deux mots que je n’ai pas trouvés ici…

Mettre en joue : to take aim at (ligne 2)

la frontière : The border lay.

seulement ficher le camp : run like hell just take off (ligne 4)

un déchirement : A moral split

avoir de l’importance : to matter (ligne 7 ...everything that mattered to me)

b) First paragraph

4) What is the narrator’s opinion of the Vietnam war ?

The narrator thinks that the Vietnam War is a wrong war.

5) What does he fear? Quote the text to justify your anwer.

He is afraid of dying. “I did not want to die.”

c) Second paragraph and third paragraph.

6) Explain what the narrator means by “ I began thinking seriously about Canada”.

It means that the narrator does not go to war, it is not a good citizen, and the country would not be "proud" of him. Cela ne répond pas à la question posée :>> explique ce que veut dire l'auteur par "Je me mis à penser sérieusement au Canada".

7) What does the narrator means by “ A moral split’. Answer in your own words then quote the expressions showing how he would like to escape then the expressions showing what he fears.

The narrator mean By "A moral split" the narrator means that it's a torture to his conscience. It He does not know what to do and it affects moral.

Quote : “I feared the war, yes but I also feared exile.”

“I feared the law. I feared ridicule and censure.”

“Both my conscience and my instincts were telling me to make a beak for it, just take off and run like hell and never stop.”

d) Fourth paragraph and the end.

8) True or false? Justify by quoting from the text.

a) Tim has told the whole truth before.

False : Most of this I’ve told before, or at least hinted at, but what I have never told is the full truth.

b) He suddenly couldn’t bear his dilemma any longer.

True : How I cracked. How at work, one morning, standing on the pig line, I felt something break open in my chest.

c) His home struck him as beautiful.

False : “and the house was empty.”

d) Leaving home was painful.

Right : “Everything sparkled. My house, I thought. My life.”