Sujet BAC anglais

Bonjour à tous ! Voilà un sujet BAC d'anglais que j'ai en partie à faire pour demain, et j'ai quelques doutes sur les question en gras. Si quelqu'un pouvait m'éclaircir...


Dr Kamel had been a great man for a glass of lemonade. She was surprised at herself remembering him now, as
she stood over the sink. He had asked her out many times and even though he didn’t mind her drinking, he was
very strict with himself. His religion didn’t allow alcohol, so he sat in the bars with her, his black face shining
and sober, over a glass of lemonade. It was his manners that she liked. He always stood up when she came into
the room, walked to the outside on the pavement, lit her cigarettes
for her even though she sat at the far side of
the room. He opened doors for her, held her hand coming down steps and a thousand other gestures that made
her feel nice. John had been a bit like that before they were married but it was all gone now. He barged into
rooms in front of her, had forgotten even to introduce her to new people, the few times they’d gone out together
lately. At week-ends he refused to shave and would slop about in his oldest clothes and what she hated most was
when he lay in bed, his hair tousled, almost till mid-day. Saturdays and Sundays he was more of a hindrance than
a help because her whole routine was spoiled when she couldn’t get the beds made in the morning. Whether
there was anything wrong with it or not, week-ends he would work at the car and come in leaving oily marks in
the sink and on the towels. Once she even had to clean the bar of soap after he’d washed his hands. With Kamel
it would have been different.
The baby came crawling out to the kitchen and pulled at her leg to be lifted. She wiped his snuffly nose with the
tail of her apron and carried him back into the front room, scolding the elder ones for letting him out. She stirred
the murky water looking for the half-peeled potato. With Kamel it all might have been different.
The one and only time he had been to her home was the night he had proposed to her. Her mother had come in
startled from the door and said that it must be somebody for her. Nan had gone in to the front room and Kamel
was there, springing nervously to his feet. He had asked her to marry him, she had laughed, but then, when she
saw how much this hurt him she became serious. He said that he was going back to the Sudan in a month’s time
and that he could wait a week for her answer. The gulf between their cultural backgrounds, he said, would be the
main obstacle but that it would be an adventure for her to try and cross this gulf. To live in a new country, a
place where it was sometimes so hot that it was necessary to soak one’s clothes to keep cool−to sit and eat with
her fingers out of the same bowl as the rest of his family. She could learn Arabic which he himself would delight
to teach her. On Sundays it was necessary to wear the Jalabis, a long white garment similar to a night gown.
Would not all this be an adventure ? Although she already knew it, she said she would give him her answer by
the end of the week. That night, as she lay tucked in behind John’s back, Kamel’s black face kept appearing,
pleading, pointing to the deserts and the pyramids.
Bernard Mac Laverty, Secrets and Other Stories, 1977.


COMPRÉHENSION

1. The setting.
Where precisely is the scene set ? Justify by quoting from the text. Indicate the line(s).
1. At the beginning of the text : …

2. At the end : …

2. The characters.
1. Which characters are actually present in the passage ? 1 LIGNE…

2. What is the main character’s relationship to :
− Kamel ?
− John ?

3. What is Dr Kamel’s
− country of origin ?
− colour of skin ?
− mother-language ?

4. What or who do the following pronouns refer to ?
1. with it : …
2. the elder ones : …

3. it all : …
4. for her : …
5. knew it : …
5. Find synonyms for the following words in the text. Indicate the lines.
1st paragraph :
1. recently : … (l. …)
2. to be in the way : … (l. …)
3. ruined : … (l. …)
2nd paragraph :
4. reprimanding : … (l. …)
3rd paragraph :
5. asked her to marry him : … (l. …)
6. bridge the gap : … (l. …)
7. to wet : … (l. …)
6. Say whether the following statements are true (T) or false (F). Tick the appropriate box and justify with
a quotation from the text. Indicate the line.
1. Nan’s mother had been surprised
By their unexpected visitor. ...
2. Kamel wanted an answer to his proposal
On his return from the Sudan. ...
3. Nan keeps wondering whether
She made the right choice. ...
4. Kamel considers the shock of cultures
As a positive experience. ...
5. Nan needed quite a long time to consider
Kamel’s proposal. ...
7. Compare and contrast Dr Kamel and John as seen through Nan’s eyes. Choose from the following
adjectives and justify your answers in the two columns by quoting from the text. Indicate the lines.
tolerant • rude • lazy • considerate • educated • untidy
Dr Kamel John
… …
… …
… …