TSMS 2
DC type bac p1/2
NATIONAL, JUIN 2000
, STT STI STL SMS
24/03/03
Nom :
When I got back to the reservation, my family wasn't surprised to see me. They'd been expecting me
back since the day I left for Seattle. There's an old Indian poet who said that Indians can reside in the city,
but they can never live there. That's as close to truth as any of us can get.
Mostly I watched television. For weeks I flipped through channels, searched for answers in the game
shows and soap operas. My mother would circle the want ads in red and hand the paper to me.
"What are you going to do with the rest of your life?" she asked.
"Don't know," I said, and normally, for almost any other Indian in the country, that would have been a
perfectly fine answer. But I was special, a former college student, a smart kid. I was one of those Indians
who was supposed to make it, to rise above the rest of the reservation like a fucking eagle or something. I
was the new kind of warrior.
For a few months I didn't even look at the want ads my mother circled, just left the newspaper where
she had set it down. After a while, though, I got tired of television and started to play basketball again. I'd
been a good player in high school, nearly great, and almost played at the college I attended for a couple
years. But I'd been too out of shape from drinking and sadness to ever be good again. Still, I liked the way
the ball felt in my hands and the way my feet felt inside my shoes.
At first I just shot baskets by myself. It was selfish, and I also wanted to learn the game again before I
played against anybody else. Since I had been good before and embarrassed fellow tribal members, I knew
they would want to take revenge on me. Forget about the cowboys versus Indians business. The most
intense competition on any reservation is Indians versus Indians.
Alexie SHERMAN, The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven, 1994.
COMPRÉHENSION
General comprehension
Fill in the blanks in the following summary with words from the text.
(one blank = one word)
The narrator is a young ........................... who returned to live on his ....................... after a few years in a ....................
First, he was unable to do anything, then he started to ....................... ....................... again, which he .....…................
very much.
Detailed comprehension
1. True or False?
Tick the correct answer and justify it with a brief quotation.
a. The narrator's family had always thought that he would not enjoy life in the city.
True

False

b. The narrator was very passive for some time.


c. His mother observed him and did not worry about his future.


d. The narrator had never been to university.


e. He was impatient to find a job.


f. After a while, TV stopped interesting him.


g. The narrator was a beginner at basketball.


h. Basketball gave him pleasant sensations.


i. For the narrator there is great solidarity between Indians.


TSMS 2
DC type bac p2/2
NATIONAL, JUIN 2000
, STT STI STL SMS
24/03/03
Nom :
2. Tick the narrator's reasons for playing basketball alone.
 He had no friends.
 He was afraid of the others.
 He was not as good as he used to be.
 He had stopped playing for some time.
 He did not like playing in a team.
 He preferred to train before playing with others.
 The others refused to play with him.
3. Pick out two passages showing that there was pressure on the narrator from the tribe.
1) ___________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
2) ___________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
4. Tick the correct answer.
a. "Indians can reside in the city, but they can never live there" means that:
 Indians are not allowed to live in the city.
 Indians can never really adapt to city life.
 Indians only work in the city but go home to the reservation every night.
 Indians need special permission to go to the city.
b. "I was the new kind of warrior" means that:
 The narrator was a soldier.
 The narrator wanted to fight against non-Indians.
 The narrator was a symbol for the others on the reservation.
 The narrator was at war with other Indians.
c. "I' d been too out of shape from drinking and sadness" means that:
 The narrator was in poor physical condition after drinking too much because he was depressed.
 The narrator had been depressed and had started to drink after losing his physical condition.
 The narrator had been too sad to drink anything.
 The narrator always felt sad when he drank too much.
5. Vocabulary: find in the text equivalents of these words.
a. zapped (in 2 words) :
b. job offers (in 2 words) :
c. intelligent :
d. to succeed (in 2 words) :
e. a moment :
f. alone (in 2 words) :
g. egoistic :
h. against :
EXPRESSION
Les deux sujets doivent être traités. Indiquez le nombre de mots utilisés.
1. Imagine a conversation between the narrator and his mother about his attitude. Use expressions of
advice and reproach. (80 words)
2. In your opinion, what benefits can sports bring to people's lives? Give examples from your own
experience. (120 words)
CORRIGÉ
Le lexique
Le passage donne l'occasion de revoir les expressions compléments circonstantiels de temps . - "For
weeks" (1. 5) / "For a few months" (1. 14) + PRÉTÉRIT : « pendant des semaines » / « pendant quelques
mois » ; à ne pas confondre avec "for weeks" + PRESENT PERFECT : « depuis des semaines » . - "after a
while" (1. 15) : « après un moment » .
- "at first" (1. 21) : « au début ». L'expression annonce un contraste à venir. Lorsque vous voulez dire «
premièrement » (pour ordonner une argumentation), choisissez "first" ou "firstly". - Attention aux deux sens
de "still" : "still" (1. 19) signifie « pourtant » ; mais dans un énoncé comme "he is still watching television", il
prend le sens de « encore » / « toujours » . - "since" (1. 22) a un sens causatif et signifie « puisque » . II
peut aussi avoir le sens de « depuis » , quand il introduit un complément circonstanciel de temps dans une
phrase au PRESENT PERFECT : "He has been in town SINCE last year".
General comprehension
Indian; reservation; city; play; basketball; liked.
Detailed comprehension
1. a. True : "my family wasn't surprised to see me" (1. 1-2).
b. True : "Mostly I watched television" (1. 5).
c. False : "What are you going to do with the rest of your life?" (1. 8).
d. False : "a former college student" (1. 11).
e. False : "For a few months I didn't even look at the want ads" (1. 14).
f. True : "I got tired of television" (1. 15-16).
g. False : "I'd been a good player in high school" (l. 16-17).
h. True : "I liked the way the ball felt in my hands" (1. 19).
i. False : "The most intense competition on any reservation is Indians
versus Indians" (1. 25-26).
2. 0 He was afraid of the others.
He was not as good as he used to be.
He had stopped playing for some time.
He preferred to train before playing with others.
3. - Lines I1 to 12 : "I was one of those Indians who was supposed to
make it, to rise above the rest of the reservation."
- Lines 25 to 26 : "The most intense competition on any reservation is
Indians versus Indians."
4. a. Indians can never really adapt to city life.
b. 0 The narrator was a symbol for the others on the reservation.
c. 0 The narrator was in poor physical condition after drinking too much because he was depressed.
5. a. "flipped through" (1. 5).
b."want ads" (l. 7).
c. "smart" (1. 11).
d."to make it" (1. 12).
e. "a while" (1. 15).
£ "by myself' (1. 21).
g. "selfish" (1. 21).
h."versus" (1. 26).
PONDICHÉRY, AVRIL 2000
The Chinese restaurant where Daddy took them for dinner that night was just over the line in Maryland.
Most of the time when they ate out they went to a Hot Shoppe a few blocks away from their house. But
Daddy said the owners of this restaurant were always real nice whenever he went to
s the carryout window, so they would give it a try.
The four of them climbed out of the Buick dressed in their Sunday best, and walked through the double
glass doors. In the lobby, Daddy and Mama walked up ahead to the host, a Chinese man dressed in a
black suit who hurried forward as soon as he saw them. Naomi and Joshua kind of
10 lagged behind, arguing in whispers about which movie they would see after dinner. She wanted My Fair
Lady, Joshua preferred Goldfinger. Not that she didn't like James Bond, but they'd just seen From Russia
with Love at the drive-in a month ago, and she wanted something different this time. Daddy and Mama
came back toward them, and the looks on their faces
15 made Naomi and Joshua stop arguing.
"Let's go," Daddy said, putting his arm around her shoulder.
"What's wrong?" Joshua asked.
"Nothing," Mama said. "Come on."
"We're not eating here?" Naomi asked, looking up at Daddy.
20 "No," he said in a tone that meant, No more questions, just get moving.
He stared straight ahead, pulling Naomi along. She glanced back as they
walked toward the door. The Chinese host stood in the doorway to the
dining room watching them. He blocked most of the view, but she could
see some people seated at tables covered with white cloths. A few of their
as faces were looking that way.
"OK," Joshua said once they were outside. "What was that all about?" Daddy was about to say something,
but Mama gave him a look and his lips tightened.
"They were too crowded," Mama said.
Naomi and Joshua looked at Mama doubtfully and Mama smiled, kind
30 of embarrassed. Mama could have gotten away with' that at one time, but she and Joshua were wiser
now and Mama knew it.
"You want to spare their feelings," Daddy said, "but they're old enough now to know what's going on.
They're going to have to learn about these things so they'll know how to handle them."
3s
"You're right," Mama said.
"I already know about' em," Joshua said, shoving his hands in his coat
pockets.
"Me too," Naomi said. "They turned us out' cause we're colored, right?"
Daddy nodded.
Connie BRISCOE, Big Girls Don't Cry, 1996.
1. To get away with: s'en tirer.
COMPRÉHENSION
General comprehension
1. Tick the right statement(s).
0 The action takes place in a Chinese-speaking country.
1:1 The action takes place in the 1920s.
El The action takes place in the evening.
El A black family is involved.
El The family enjoyed the meal at the restaurant.
2. A. Among the following titles, only two are acceptable. Circle them.
a. From China with love
b. No colored
c. A pleasant outing
d. Welcome to Maryland
e. Unspoken racism
B. Quote the sentence which justifies your choice.
Detailed comprehension
1. True or False? Tick the right box and justify by quoting from the text.
Indicate the lines.
True False
a. The family usually went to their local restaurant. 1-:1
b. Daddy thought they would get a warm welcome
at the Chinese restaurant.
0
c. They walked all the way to the restaurant.
0
d. They were wearing their nicest clothes.
0
e. Joshua isn't keen on James Bond films.
0
f. The children stopped arguing because their parents
told them to.
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
g. The children no longer believed all their mother told them. 0 0
2. Find in the text an equivalent for each of the following words or phrases.
1.1-15
a. a place where you can buy food to take home
b. followed at a distance
c. a place where you can watch a movie without leaving your car
1.16-39
d. aware, better-informed
e. gave a sign of agreement
3. Tick the right box.
a. "his lips tightened" (1. 27) means: 0 he started speaking. El he went on speaking. El he refrained from
speaking.
b. "You want to spare their feelings" (1. 32) means: 0 you want to hurt them. El you don't want them to be
hurt. 0 you dont want them to hurt you.
c. "they' 11 know how to handle them" (1. 34) means: El they won't know what to do. 0 they will be able to
cope. El they will be unable to face the facts of life.
EXPRESSION
Les deux sujets doivent être traités.
1. Imagine the conversation that took place that night between the Chinese host and the parents when they
walked into the restaurant. (80 words)
2. Do you believe that adults should always tell children the truth? Illustrate your point of view with
examples. (120 words)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------Le lexique
Attention aux structures verbales complexes rencontrées au fil du texte - They ate out: ils sortirent dîner, ils
allèrent dîner en ville. - They climbed out of the Buick : ils sortirent / s'extirpèrent de la Buick. - They walked
through the doors : ils passèrent la porte (« en marchant > n'est bien sûr pas nécessaire, en français). - He
hurried forward : il s'avança avec précipitation. - They came back :ils revinrent. - She glanced back : elle
jeta un regard derrière elle. - They turned us out: ils nous ont jetés dehors.
General comprehension 1. 0 The action takes place in the evening. A black family is involved.
2. A. b. e. B. "They turned us out' cause we're colored, right?" (1. 38).
Detailed comprehension
1. a. True: "Most of the time when they ate out they went to a Hot Shoppe" (1. 2-3). b. True: "Daddy said
the owners of this restaurant were always real nice" (1. 34). c. False: "The four of them climbed out of the
Buick" (1. 6). d. True: "Dressed in their Sunday best" (1. 6). e. False: "Joshua preferred Goldfinger" (1. 11).
f. False: "the looks on their faces made Naomi and Joshua stop arguing" (1. 14-15). g. True: "Naomi and
Joshua looked at Mama doubtfully" (1. 29).
2. a. the carryout window (1. 5). b. lagged behind (l. 10). c. a drive-in (1. 13). d. wiser (1. 31). e. nodded (1.
39).
3. a. 0 he refrained from speaking. b. you don't want them to be hurt.
c.
they will be able to cope.