Questions / Texte

[sushy73]

Bonjour,

J'essaye de m'entrainer, pouvez vous me corriger? Il y a des choses que j'ai eu du mal à trouver...

Shortly after the riots, like many other white Detroiters, my parents began looking for a house in the suburbs. The suburb they had their sights on was the affluent lakefront district of the auto magnates : Grosse Pointe. It was much harder than they ever expected. In the Cadillac, scouting the five Grosse Pointe (the Park, the City, the Farms, the Woods, the Shores), my parents saw FOR SALE signs on many lawns. But when they stopped in at the realty offices and filled out applications, they found that the houses suddenly went off the market, or were sold, or doubled in price. After two months of searching, Milton was down to his last real estate agent, a Miss Jane Marsh of Great Lakes Realty. He had growing suspicions.

"This property is rather eccentric," Miss Marsh is telling Milton one September afternoon as she leads him up the driveway.

"It takes a buyer with a little vision." She opens the front door and leads him inside.

"But it does have quite a pedigree. It was designed by Hudson Clark.

" She waits for recognition.

"Of the Prairie School".

Milton nods, dubiously. He swivels his head, looking over the place. He hadn't much cared for the picture Miss Marsh had shown him over at the office. Too boxy-looking. Too modern.

"I'm not sure my wife would go for this kind of thing, Miss Marsh."

"I'm afraid we don't have anything more traditional to show at the moment."

She leads him along a spare white hallway and down a small flight of open stairs. And now, as they step into the sunken living room, Miss Marsh's head begins to swivel, too. Smiling a polite smile that reveals a rabbity expanse of upper gum, she examines Milton's complexion, his hair, his shoes. She glances at his real estate application again.

"Stephanides. What kind of name is that?"

"It's Greek."

"Greek. How interesting."

More upper gum flashes as Miss Marsh makes a notation on her pad. Then she resumes the tour :

"Sunken living room. Greenhouse adjoining the dining area. And, as you can see, the house is well supplied with windows."

"It pretty much is a window, Miss Marsh." Milton moves closer to the glass and examines the backyard. Meanwhile, a few feet behind, Miss Marsh examines Milton.

"May l ask what business you're in, Mr. Stephanides?"

"The restaurant business."

Another mark of pen on pad.

"Can I tell you what churches we have in the area? What denomination are you?"

"I don't go in for that sort of thing. My wife takes the kids to the Greek church."

"She's a Grecian, too?"

"She's a Detroiter. We're both East Siders."

"And you need space for your two children, is that right?"

"Yes, ma'am. Plus we have my folks living with us, too."

"Oh, I see." And now pink gums disappear as Miss Marsh begins to add it all up. Let's see.

Southern Mediterranean. One point. Not in one of the professions. One point. Religion? Greek church. That's some kind of Catholic, isn't it? So there's another point there. And he has his parents living with him! Two more points! Which makes - five! Oh, that won't do. That won't do at all. Discreetly, Miss Marsh now draws a tiny "5" next to "Stephanides" and circles it. As she does

so, however, she feels something. A kind of regret. The point system isn't her idea, after all. It was in place long before she came to Grosse Pointe.

"Tell me more about this Hudson Clark fella," he now asks.

"Clark? Well, to be honest, he's a minor figure."

"Prairie School, eh?"

"Hudson Clark was no Frank Lloyd Wright, if that's what you mean."

"What are these outbuildings I see here?"

"I wouldn't call them outbuildings, Mr. Stephanides. That's making it a bit grand. One's a bathhouse. Rather decrepit, I'm afraid. I'm not sure it even works. Behind that is the guest house. Which also needs a lot of work."

"Bathhouse? That's different. You don't have to show me any more. Decrepit outbuildings or not, I'll take it."

There is a pause. Miss Marsh smiles with her double-decker gums.

"That's wonderful, Mr. Stephanides," she says without enthusiasm. "Of course, it's all contingent on (4) the approval of the

loan."

But now it is Milton's turn to smile.

"You don't have to bother with that," my father said, relishing the moment. "I'll pay cash."

Over the barrier of the Point System, my father managed to get us a house in Grosse Pointe.

1.a. In what country and what region does the story take place?

The story takes place in the north-east of the USA in the Great Lakes area.

b. What sort of people live there.

Grosse Pointe is located in the suburbs of Detroit, near one of the lakes. It is inhabited by wealthy people, especially captains of the car industry.

c. What is the name of the narrator's father?

His name is Milton Stephanides.

d- What is the origin of the narrator’s father?

He is a Detroiter.

2.a. Why do the narrator's parents want to live in Grosse Pointe?

They want to buy a house.

b. Quote the phrase explaining why the narrator’s father is becoming suspicious of estate agents.

He suspects his search may be fruitless as all the houses he has applied for have been either too expensive, unavailable or already sold.

Read from line 6 to line 36

3. Explain what Miss Marsh's job consists in.

She is a real estate agent. She shows potential buyers houses for sale.

4- Pick out two adjectives which show that Milton is not impressed by the house she is showing him.

Je n’ai pas trouvé.

5. Line 10 : “ It wad designed by Hudson Clark”. What effect does she think that name will have on Milton?

She expects him to be impressed and thrilled to become the owner designed by such an architect.

6. Focus on Milton's answers to Miss Marsh's questions.

What exactly do we learn about Milton and his family? (origin, religion, job, household).

(30-40 words)

Milton is of Greek origin, his wife probably too. She and their children attend a Greek (orthodox) church. He must be a restaurant owner or in the food industry. he lives with his wife, his two children and his parents.

7-.Lines 35"Oh, that won't do. That won't do at all." Explain what Miss Marsh means.

It means that she becomes aware that this family won't fit the criteria, that she can't possibly sell them a house in such a neighbourhood.

Read from line 37 to the end.

8- In your own words, explain how the "Point System" works. (30-40 words)

Depending on their origin, occupation, religion and household, prospective buyers are given points or not by the real estate agent. The lower the score is, the likelier you are to be accepted in the neighbourhood. (35 words)

9- Explain what Miss Marsh's goal has become.

Having realized he couldn't fit in, Miss Marsh intends to dissuade Milton from buying the house.

Read the whole text again.

10. Focus on the expressions on Miss Marsh's face (lines 16-21;33;45). How can these expressions be interpreted? (30-40 words)

At first, she grins out of politeness. Then she has to force herself to smile when she learns about his origin.

Eventually, she stops pretending and remains tight-lipped, as he is not the right buyer for this house. (39 words)

11- Line 47 "But now it is Milton's turn to smile". Explain this sentence. (30-40 words)

He smiles because he knows he has won this little match. Her final argument concerned money but this is no obstacle as he won't need a loan to buy the house right away. (34 words)

Translate into french from line 8 (« this property ») to line 12 (“too modern”).

Traduction

"Cette propriété est plutôt excentrique," explique Miss Marsh à Milton, un après-midi de septembre tandis qu'elle lui fait remonter l'allée. "Il lui faut un acheteur un peu visionnaire". Elle ouvre la porte d'entrée et le conduit à l'intérieur. "Mais elle a vraiment un certain pedigree Elle fut conçue par Hudson Clark". Elle attend un signe d'intelligence. "De l'Ecole de la Prairie".

Milton acquiesce, dubitatif. Il examine l'endroit, tournant la tête dans tous les sens. Il ne s'était pas vraiment intéressé à la photo que Miss Marsh lui avait montrée, là-bas au bureau. Trop l'air d'une boîte. Trop moderne.

[Jean B]

Bonsoir,

Sans grand risque de me tromper, ce sujet a également été traité ici.

Fais une recherche sur le forum.avec son titre.

[sushy73]

Je vais essayer de trouver

[Jean B]

Bon, j’ignore si la fonction Recherche aboutira mais comme tu as bien compris le texte et répondu correctement à la plupart des questions, je te donne d’ores et déjà ma contribution sur 2 d'entre elles.

La traduction est correcte elle aussi.

4- Pick out two adjectives which show that Milton is not impressed by the house she is showing him.

=>Too boxy-looking. Too modern.

5. Line 10 : “ It wad designed by Hudson Clark”. What effect does she think that name will have on Milton?

=>> She expects him to be impressed and thrilled to become the owner of a house designed by such an architect.

[sushy73]

Je ne l'ai pas retrouvé, je vois grossièrement mes erreurs.

Merci