le cinéma américain

Transcription

le cinéma américain
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IGHT
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Thème : le cinéma américain
Hommage au septième art, voyage dans son berceau mythique, rencontre avec des personnages de légende, des
stars et des hommes.
Aspects du thème
Documents du manuel
manuel
Workbook guide
• Hollywood, ses murs peints,
ses lieux d’hommage aux vedettes
Hollywood mural
This is Hollywood!
37
38-39
23
60
62
• vie publique, vie privée,
que cache la légende ?
Behind the Legend
(Robert Fulghum, All I
really need to know…)
Sean Connery, biography
40-41
23-24
67
43
25
71
• histoire d’un succès qui dure depuis
40 ans
James Bond
44
26-27
72
• les types de film que l’on préfère
Have your say – What type of
film do you prefer?
45
28
76
• comment parler d’un film ?
Panic Room, dossier
Jodie Foster and Panic Room
46
47
29
77
79
• la magie des décors
Quiet, please: we’re shooting
(Nathanael West, The Day of the
Locust)
48
30-31
82
• Los Angeles et ses villes-satellites
immortalisées par le cinéma ou la
télévision
Research Project: L.A., Ca,
U.S.A.
51
Objectifs majeurs
58
■ lexique
le cinéma, la description physique, l’anatomie
■ grammaire
le prétérit : Grammar Essentials
le gérondif, have to, le passif : Grammar & Meaning
pronoms relatifs
prépositions et particules
suffixe -ly
■ communication
l’appréciation
suggestions et préférences
■ culture
Hollywood, le monde du cinéma
Research Project: Los Angeles et les plages mythiques
les sept merveilles du monde
■ méthodologie
écrire une biographie : How to… write a biography
rédiger une définition
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Key words, p. 36
Pistes proposées
Annoncer aux élèves une activité de brainstorming, en rappeler les principes, si nécessaire : travail personnel
écrit en temps limité à une minute, on écrit tous les mots ou expressions qui viennent spontanément à l’esprit
à propos du sujet donné, langue française acceptée, pas de phrases, pas d’auto-censure.
Écrire au tableau ou rétroprojeter le titre de l’unité : In the Spotlight et laisser les élèves noter sur leur feuille,
en une minute, tous les mots que cette expression leur inspire. Au bout d’une minute, demander aux élèves de
traduire sur leur feuille ceux des mots qu’ils ont notés spontanément en français.
Mise en commun : noter au tableau (ou rétroprojeter) les six rubriques qui figurent dans l’activité 1 A du
Workbook, page 22. Demander aux élèves de répartir leurs mots, au crayon, dans ces six rubriques de leur
Workbook et procéder à une mise en commun des trouvailles. Faire rechercher par le groupe-classe la traduc-
tion des mots français non encore traduits, mais ne pas la donner si aucun élève ne la produit, l’activité suivante va sans doute permettre d’y remédier. Puis remplir les cases au tableau à partir des propositions des
élèves.
Chaque élève complète ses listes de mots en répartissant ceux des mots de la liste lexicale, page 36 du livre,
qu’ils n’auraient pas déjà mentionnés.
Correction : faire écouter et répéter les mots de la page 36 (piste 11), les cocher s’ils figurent déjà au tableau,
ou les ajouter. Les mots ne pouvant figurer dans les rubriques du tableau seront répartis devant les définitions
fournies dans l’activité 1 B, page 22.
Activity
1
p. 22
A.
jobs linked with the cinema
actor, actress (act, play)
film director (shoot)
producer
stuntman
screenwriter
usherette
movie theater and performances
(movie) theater
audience
moviegoer
interval
screen
roles
cast
lead role
supporting actor
part
hero(ine)
villain
script
screenplay
plot
flashback
new release
remake
types of film
cartoon
comedy
detective film
documentary film
drama
horror film
thriller
success and failure
box office
film award
flop
blockbuster
B. a frame: a single photo in a film.
a set: a place where a part of a film is performed.
zoom: increase or decrease the size of what is being photographed.
a rehearsal: a practice performance of a scene from a film, a play, an opera…
L’activité 1 C, travail d’expression personnelle, sera proposée en devoir à la maison.
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Double page – Hollywood mural, p. 37
Introduction
Hollywood regorge de peintures murales mettant à l’honneur des vedettes de cinéma ou
du music-hall (voir dépliant page 38 du manuel), la plus récente extension de cette mode
étant le portrait en noir et blanc de sa vedette préférée peint sur la porte de son garage ou
du volet roulant de son magasin. L’image de la page 37 est une partie d’une grande peinture murale de la rue Wilcox consacrée aux stars de cinéma, soit dans des costumes qui
évoquent un rôle en particulier (ex. Clark Gable dans Gone with the Wind), soit dans une
tenue stéréotypée qui rappelle quel était le « genre » habituellement incarné par cet
acteur (Charlie Chaplin, James Dean, Marilyn Monroe, etc.).
Objectifs
■ lexique
description physique
■ grammaire
l’évocation du passé → prétérit
■ communication les gap-fillers dans un dialogue
■ culture
évocation de célèbres vedettes de cinéma
■ méthodologie
entraînement à la description d’une image
Background
Direct access to this document in its environment, on the Internet :
http://www.baldmtpress.com/hollywood/picture_pages/murals_hollywood_wilcox.htm
Pistes proposées
A. Observation de l’image.
Réponses possibles
1. This document looks to me like a painting, as the characters all strongly resemble famous actors and
actresses without bearing a photographic similarity. I suppose this illustration could be found as an
original painting somewhere, maybe in a museum dedicated to the history of American cinema.
It could also be a poster for a cinema conference or a postcard for an invitation to a film premiere.
In fact, it is a giant mural painting which can be seen in a Hollywood street. The parking meter in the
lower left-hand corner does not belong to the picture, but is located on the pavement, in front of the
mural painting.
2. All these people are famous Hollywood actors: Charles Chaplin, Marilyn Monroe, Shirley Temple,
James Dean, Clark Gable, Woody Allen, Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy, Sydney Poitier, Gregory Peck,
Ingrid Bergman, Judy Garland, Anthony Quinn, etc. It’s definitely a tribute to America’s favourite stars.
Most of them are dead now and have become legends.
3. Because of the dark background, I think they’re supposed to be sitting in a cinema, watching a movie.
They are all facing what could be a screen. However, their eyes are not all looking in the same direction so they might be sitting in an audience, looking at some show or attending some cinema awards
ceremony.
In fact, I think the artist was creating from memory a vision of these famous stars. He’s showing them all
together but with different expressions and postures, probably those most reminiscent of the stars themselves. Marilyn, Clark Gable and Woody Allen are all dressed in clothes typical of their most famous films.
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So, the artist may be evoking some of the great Hollywood moments in cinema through the portrayal
of these characters. He also wants to pay homage to some of the most famous figures of the silver
screen.
Document sonore
B. Écoute de l’enregistrement, piste 12, première partie.
ALICE: Ted, have you seen the photos that I took in Hollywood last fall ?
TED: Oh, yes. I remember one, particularly : the picture of the mural painting with all those stars sitting
in a movie theater, as if they were expecting to get an Oscar!
ALICE: Hmm, you mean this one? But you know, many of them wouldn’t be able to get on the stage…
simply because they have passed away…
Faire repérer dans l’enregistrement ce qui confirme les premières hypothèses : stars sitting in a movie theater,
expecting to get an Oscar, many of them […] have passed away.
C. Écoute de l’enregistrement, piste 12, deuxième partie.
TED: Sure : Marilyn, James Dean, Clark Gable… Well, I’m not certain I could recognize all of them. For
instance, who is this guy in the first row, with the top-hat and the white gloves?
ALICE: You must be kidding!... Maybe you’re too young… That’s W.C. Fields. He was a famous American
comic actor, well-known for his large nose and his humorous remarks. The characters he played often
drank a lot of alcohol and hated children and dogs.
TED: Ah! That’s funny: that’s why they gave him a little girl and a dog for company, then?
ALICE: The little girl is Shirley Temple, the most popular child star in the history of Hollywood. She was
known for her curly hair and the dimples in her cheeks, and she acted in many movies during the 30s.
Forty years later, she became a US representative to the United Nations, and an ambassador in several
countries.
TED: Politics through stardom! Ronald Reagan is a former actor, too. And Clint Eastwood was for quite
a while the mayor of Carmel, that jewel of a seaside resort in California. Great destinies, then…
Now I remember the name of the dog. It’s Lassie, a very clever dog that rescued people from danger.
The films and TV series in which she appeared date back to World War 2 and entertained all the children
of the post-war period.
4.
names mentioned
characteristics
– Marilyn Monroe, James Dean, Clark Gable
(none)
– W.C. Fields
– comic actor, large nose, humorous remarks,
roles of alcoholics, of men hating children and
dogs.
– Shirley Temple
– curly hair, dimples ; most popular Hollywood child
star of the 30s, later US representative to the U.N.
and ambassador.
– Ronald Reagan
– a former actor turned politician.
– Clint Eastwood
– the mayor of Carmel, Ca, for some time.
– Lassie
– clever rescue dog ; during WW2 and after.
D. Écoute de l’enregistrement, piste 12, troisième partie.
ALICE: Do you recognize any other movie stars?
TED: Sure, the funny ones, especially… and those actresses on the right; but they aren’t American!
ALICE: They’re Italian, for sure, but world-famous all the same…
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On fera réécouter le dialogue complet, en demandant aux élèves de repérer les termes spécifiques de la communication orale : “Hmm, you mean…?; But, you know…; sure; well; you must be kidding; ah! that’s funny; for
sure.”
Demander aux élèves de nommer les deux actrices italiennes évoquées à la fin du dialogue (Gina Lollobrigida
et Sophia Loren) en utilisant la question du texte : Do you recognize any other movie stars?
Faire alors préparer la question 5, après avoir révisé le vocabulaire requis dans l’activité 2, page 23 du
Workbook. Ces deux dernières activités seront de préférence proposées en travail à la maison. Les élèves pourront utiliser leurs connaissances personnelles, des encyclopédies du cinéma, ou un moteur de recherche sur
Internet (Google, Lycos, Yahoo, etc.). Les élèves qui ne maîtrisent pas encore la recherche sur Internet feront
appel à l’aide du documentaliste au CDI.
Activity 2
p. 23
Hair
Dress
frizzy
V-necked
straight
high-collared
in a mess
low-necked
curly
short-sleeved
Face
Hat
moustache
top-hat
goatie
bowler
beard
stetson
whiskers
fancy hat
La mise en commun des productions répondant à la question 5 pourrait se faire de manière ludique : l’élève
qui présente son personnage ne le nomme pas, le nom devant être deviné par les camarades, grâce à la description physique, aux éléments de carrière évoqués et à l’emplacement dans l’image, ce qui permettra de
rebrasser les expressions présentées dans Ready to deal with pictures?, page 8. Par exemple :
5. This young woman who is sitting in the background, on the right-hand side, has medium-length, dark,
wavy hair. She seems to be leaning forward, just like her gentleman-friend under whose arm she’s
tucked her own arm. They both seem to be trying to see something above them. She’s wearing a
white V-necked sweater or maybe it’s a dress. She looks very young and pretty.
She rose from childhood stardom in films such as The Wizard of Oz to fame in her great adult movies
like A Star is Born. Her personal life was certainly one of great drama and, being unable to cope with
the pressures of stardom, she disappeared at a very early age. She was Lisa Minelli’s mother.
Do you know who she is? She’s Judy Garland.
This is Hollywood! – Hollywood leaflet, p. 38
Introduction
Ce document est un dépliant distribué aux touristes qui visitent Hollywood. Il présente
des lieux aux noms mythiques dans un montage photographique destiné à piloter leur
choix de visites. Ce choix faisant toujours l’objet de négociation entre touristes d’un
même groupe ou d’une même famille, il nous a paru opportun de proposer un pair-work
permettant de rebrasser l’expression de la suggestion et de la préférence.
Objectifs
■ communication exprimer suggestions et préférences
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■ culture
les lieux mythiques de Hollywood
■ méthodologie
rechercher de l’information sur Internet
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Background
Information about the places mentioned in the leaflet:
The Pantages: a historic movie theater on Hollywood Boulevard.
Hollywood Forever Cemetery, on Santa Monica Blvd: the final resting place of many
of Hollywood’s pioneers and legendary celebrities, including Cecil B. DeMille,
Rudolph Valentino and Tyrone Power.
Hollywood Wax Museum: amazing wax artistry and special effects bring visitors
face-to-face with their favourite stars.
The Autry Museum of Western Heritage: this museum pays homage to the American
West – from its Native American roots to its pioneering past and the romance created
by Hollywood.
Griffith Park Observatory: for a unique view of Los Angeles.
The Farmers’ Market: one of Los Angeles’ most popular attractions, this oasis has
attracted locals and tourists to its 120 grocer’s shops and restaurants since 1934.
Universal Studios Hollywood: world’s largest working studio and Los Angeles’
favourite attraction spotlights its newest adventure ride Jurassic Park and the incomparable Waterworld, Back to the future and Earthquake.
Mural art: the mural portrait of actress Delores Del Rio (top) is available through
http://www.baldmtpress.com/hollywood/picture_pages/mural_delores_del_rio_
hollywood_hudson.htm
and the jazz mural (top-right) through
http://www.baldmtpress.com/hollywood/picture_pages/mural_jazz_capitol_records.htm
Pistes proposées
A. Premier contact avec le document.
Description spontanée (a collage / patchwork of colourful photos representing people and places and evoking
the cinema), puis définition de la nature et de la fonction du document.
1. The very faint line down the middle of this document helps me to identify it as something that was
originally folded in two. So, I think it’s probably a leaflet or a brochure about Hollywood. It is a montage of several photos showing famous places or activities in Hollywood; it is aimed at visitors who
are going to go on tour (real or virtual on the Internet) of this famous cinema town.
B. Repérage :
– des personnages connus : Elvis Presley, Julia Roberts, Tyrannosaurus Rex, the Lion King, etc.,
– des noms de lieux célèbres : Walk of Fame, Universal Studios, Capitol Records, Hollywood Forever Cemetery,
Hollywood Wax Museum, etc.,
– des activités qui sont proposées, la plupart du temps à l’aide d’un verbe à l’impératif : see, touch, watch,
tour, share, try, explore… comme si toutes ces propositions étaient des “must”.
2. Réponses possibles
excitement
fantasy
culture
see live productions
touch the world of the stars
the Autry Museum of Western Heritage
watch for film crews on the streets
of Hollywood especially at night
explore Hollywood’s hills
hot rock, cool jazz and magnificent
symphonies
tour celebrity names
see over 180 stars at the Hollywood
wax museum
share family fun with everyone
Capitol Records
dine at the Farmers’ Market
Hollywood Forever cemetery
try great shops
Hollywood Wax Museum
great shops
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C. Travail en binôme pour s’approprier ces noms et ces activités, avec l’occasion de formuler suggestions et
préférences.
3. Réponses possibles
suggestions
preferences
Let’s try to find some film crews on the streets
tonight, shall we?
What I’d like best tonight is to go and listen to a
concert somewhere. What’s on at the moment?
Well, we could always do both, you know. How
would you feel about having a meal at the Grove,
then looking at some filming and finally, listening to
a jazz concert?
I’d prefer not to have to listen to more jazz. We did
that last week. I’d rather go to a rock concert, if
you don’t mind.
On demandera à deux binômes volontaires de jouer leur mini-dialogue devant la classe, puis on invitera deux
autres binômes à faire de même en utilisant des variantes qui n’auraient pas encore été utilisées.
Travail à la maison : afin de préparer le prochain cours, on pourra proposer aux élèves de trouver sur Internet
des informations supplémentaires, notamment sur :
– The Walk of Fame, dont le site officiel est : www.hollywoodcoc.org, mais aussi sur www.walkoffame/
directoryframeset.htm, ou www.seeing-stars.com, qui indiquent le nom des stars et l’emplacement de leurs
étoiles.
– le tour de Hollywood Boulevard et ses centres d’intérêt : www.hollywoodusa.co.uk/hollywood-boulevard.htm.
– The Chinese Theater, soit à partir du site www.seeing-stars.com, soit en utilisant les mots-clés “hollywood +
chinesetheater” dans un moteur de recherche (entre guillemets, avec le signe + collé aux deux mots qui
l’entourent, de façon à mieux cibler).
Les informations recueillies aideront à répondre aux questions de la page 39, à propos du document This is
Hollywood!
This is Hollywood!, p. 39
Introduction
Deux phares de Hollywood : the Chinese Theater et the Walk of Fame sont évoqués ici.
Dans la cour du Chinese Theater, à l’accès gratuit, on peut observer, dans des carrés de
béton, les empreintes de mains et de pieds ou de chaussures ainsi que les signatures de
stars du show-business (photos 1 et 2).
Le Walk of Fame est un itinéraire sur plusieurs rues de Hollywood marqué par des
mosaïques (terrazzo) d’étoiles de granit rose encadré de bronze, enchassées dans du granit gris. Au centre de l’étoile figure un dessin codé indiquant quel art est concerné
(théatre, cinéma, musique, radio, etc.) et entre deux branches de l’étoile figure le nom en
bronze de la vedette mise à l’honneur. Au bas de la page 39, on peut voir Steven
Spielberg au cours de la cérémonie lui décernant son étoile, en janvier 2003.
Objectifs
■ grammaire
■ culture
le prétérit (biographie, ou événement spécifique), les modaux
The Chinese Theater, the Walk of Fame, Marilyn Monroe, Jane
Russell, Tom Hanks, Steven Spielberg
■ méthodologie
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sélectionner des informations spécifiques dans un corpus abondant
comprendre les dates à l’américaine
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Background
Marilyn Monroe (1926-1962), a US actress who became Hollywood’s most famous
sex symbol, though she was often unhappy. She married three times (at the age of
16, 28 and 30; her last husband was the writer Arthur Miller) and was supposed to
have had love affairs with President J. F. Kennedy and his brother Robert.
She died, perhaps accidentally, after taking too many sleeping pills.
Elton John tells her story in the original version of his song: “Candle In The Wind”.
Some of her most famous films: Niagara (1952), Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953),
The Seven Year Itch (1954), Bus Stop (1956), Some Like It Hot (1959), The Misfits
(1961).
More information and photos on her official website: http://www.marilynmonroe.com
Jane Russell (1921- ), a US film actress who became a sex symbol thanks to her
38-inch bustline which dominated her talent at the beginning of her career. She was
discovered by Howard Hughes, who made her a star in The Outlaw (1941). She
co-starred with Marilyn Monroe in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953). She married
three times and still lives in Arizona.
She is a dedicated advocate for homeless kids, with the result of adoptive placements of 38,000 children through her organization, WAIF.
More information and photos on http://www.vic.org/bio/jrussell.htm
or http://www.angelfire.com/stars/janerussell
Grauman’s Chinese Theater, 6925 Hollywood Boulevard, Hollywood, Ca.
It is a spectacular movie palace with a unique history. It opened over 70 years ago
and has, since then, been the site of more gala Hollywood movie premieres than any
other theater. It was built by Sid Grauman, a legendary showman who came up with
the idea of paving the forecourt with blocks of cement imprinted with the names,
handprints or footprints of Hollywood celebrities.
Steven Spielberg (1946- ), a US film director and producer. Most of his films have
been successful financially. They include Jaws (1975), E.T., the Indiana Jones films,
The Colour Purple (1985), Jurassic Park (1993), Schindler’s List and Saving Private
Ryan (1998).
He has six children (including 2 adopted children) and can’t say three things in an
interview without slipping his children into the conversation.
More information and photos on http://www.scruffles.net/spielberg/biography.html
Pistes proposées
A. Si possible, rétroprojeter la photo en noir et blanc, et laisser les élèves s’exprimer sur les deux stars. Pour
Marilyn, il s’agira de recycler les informations issues de la séance sur la peinture murale. Il est possible que
Jane Russell ne soit connue que des cinéphiles avertis, ce qui n’empêche pas, au moins, de la décrire, avec
des marqueurs de comparaison (pour la position, le maquillage, les rondeurs opulentes) et de contraste
(couleur des cheveux, type blonde / brunette). On acceptera le présent tant qu’il s’agira de décrire les deux
femmes sur le plan physique, mais pour leur biographie on exigera le prétérit, que l’on fera justifier. Si
nécessaire, on « révisera » le prétérit à l’aide de la fiche Grammar Essentials, page 42.
1. See Background.
2. Permet une révision de la valeur des modaux.
As their position would not allow them to start running, they can’t be getting ready for a race. They
could be advertising for bras or make-up, since they are gorgeous women, but in this case, why would
they be lying on the ground? So, they must be printing their hands into soft cement, as the question
suggests. And this must have taken place in Grauman’s Chinese Theater, whose forecourt displays a
lot of famous movie stars’ handprints or footprints.
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B. Collecter les informations des élèves sur Grauman’s Chinese Theater, faire lire le paragraphe correspondant
du manuel, page 39 ; faire repérer qu’il s’agit bien d’un cinéma : beaucoup d’Américains disent seulement
theater pour movie theater. Les documents sur le Chinese Theater contiennent beaucoup d’informations. Il
faudra demander aux élèves de sélectionner celles qui sont en rapport avec le document étudié, en dégageant l’essentiel de l’accessoire.Voir rubrique Background.
On décrira l’image centrale du manuel, en réponse à la question 3. Cette image vient du site www.seeingstars.com/imagePages/ChineseForecourtPhoto.shtm, qui permet de visionner toutes les empreintes des
vedettes, avec leur signature, et parfois, leurs commentaires.
On fera également remarquer la manière américaine de mentionner les dates : c’est toujours le mois qui figure en premier. Ainsi quand on parle de “9/11”, il s’agit bien des événements du 11 septembre 2001 et non pas
du 9 novembre.
3. On July 23rd, 1998 (the twenty-third, nineteen ninety-eight), the famous actor Tom Hanks printed both
his hands and feet in the soft cement of Grauman’s Chinese Theater forecourt, joining the club of
movie stars immortalized the same way in this famous place located on Hollywood Boulevard and
open free of charge 24 hours a day.
C. Faire décrire la photo du bas de la page, en focalisant d’abord sur l’homme et son œuvre, puis sur la cérémonie qui lui rend hommage :
4. See Background.
5. In the picture, he is showing a replica of the star mentioning his name which has just been embedded
in the pavement of the boulevard. Spotting the stars is one of the most popular tourist attractions in
Hollywood.
6. The bronze and stone stars are a tribute to over 2,000 artists who have made significant contributions
to films, radio, television, live theater and the recording industries. Each of these categories has a
special pictogram engraved in bronze right in the middle of the star.
7. On pourrait importer et agrandir un plan des lieux sur un panneau d’exposition. Chaque élève indiquerait
où se trouve l’étoile de sa vedette préférée, en collant une fiche de format carte postale sur laquelle il aurait
écrit sa biographie, en suivant les conseils proposés dans How to… write a biography (student’s book, p. 43)
et le modèle proposé dans le Workbook (Activity 9, p. 25).
D. Suggestion d’activité complémentaire : ces documents donnent une image bien stéréotypée de la belle vie
hollywoodienne. Si l’on veut s’écarter un peu du mythe, on peut faire étudier aux élèves la chanson des
Doors intitulée “L.A. Woman”. Nous n’avons pas obtenu les droits de reproduction pour le manuel, mais
rien n’empêche d’utiliser ses C.D. personnels en classe.
Nous vous proposons de faire situer le groupe et son lead singer, Jim Morrison, auteur de la chanson, puis
de poser les questions suivantes :
What city is mentioned? How are the two contrasting images of the city expressed in the song?
The city mentioned is Los Angeles. The two contrasting images are conveyed by the expressions, “City
of Light” and “City of Night”. On the one hand, the narrator refers to “the lucky little lady in the city of
light” or the “little girls in their Hollywood bungalows” probably meaning those who have done well in
L.A. or Hollywood, those (girls) who have managed to be successful as actresses, film stars, singers,
models... On the other hand, of the thousands who arrive in L.A. looking for “the bright lights” or “the
big break” that will make them famous, the singer seems to emphasize “just another lost angel” who
lives by night, probably scraping a living as a waitress or a dancer in a “topless bar” which may
frequently be raided by “cops in cars”. Indeed, the seedier side of life is portrayed through these expressions, the “city of night” does not conjure up ideas of happiness and success, but rather, depression,
sadness : “Sunday afternoon... drive through your suburbs... into your blues.”
What is the situation in the story? What possible end can you imagine?
The narrator seems to be addressing a woman whom he has met, probably rather casually, on his way
through L.A. He is not here to stay, he is just passing through. He’s impressed by the loneliness of this
woman, despite all the glamour and glitter that apparently surround life in Hollywood. We feel that he’ll
probably leave or has already left this girl even though he has loved her for a while. “If they say I never
loved you / you know they are a liar.” But the overriding sentiment expressed is one of pity, compassion.
The two characters probably won’t meet again.
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Behind the legend, p. 40
Introduction
Ce texte est un extrait de l’ouvrage de Robert Fulghum All I Really Need To Know I
Learned In Kindergarten. Voir la biographie de Robert Fulghum page 168 du manuel.
Il s’agit d’une sorte de texte à tiroir, où le narrateur rend hommage à son épouse à travers l’histoire du couple Boyer, à la fin doublement tragique. Le mélo n’est pas cultivé
pour lui-même, mais pour donner plus de force à la déclaration d’amour du dernier paragraphe.
Objectifs
■ grammaire
formes verbales associées aux dates et à la durée ; emploi du prétérit ; prononciation du suffixe -ed ; lexique des parties du corps
■ culture
stars du milieu du XXe siècle
■ méthodologie
les différentes sortes d’inférence
Background
Charles Boyer (1897-1978), a French actor who made himself a reputation in
Hollywood by playing the role of the “Latin lover” in many major films, though he did
not speak English perfectly and was aware of it. He settled in Hollywood in 1940 and
took American nationality.
He starred in scores of films, co-acting with the most famous female film-stars. Most
of them have now been released in VHS videos and DVDs. For example: The Garden
of Allah (1936, with Marlene Dietrich – bottom-left picture on page 40), Conquest
(1937, with Greta Garbo – bottom-right picture on page 40), All This And Heaven Too
(1940, with Bette Davis), Gaslight (1944, with Ingrid Bergman), How To Steal A Million
(1966, with Audrey Hepburn), etc.
There are numerous websites about Charles Boyer. Start with www.themave.com/Boyer
and www.rottentomatoes.com
Pistes proposées
A. Faire observer les quatre images de la page 40 sans s’occuper du texte (ou, mieux, ne rétroprojeter que les
images). La photo du dessus de la page est le portrait d’un homme que l’on retrouve dans les trois couples
des autres images. C’est donc sur lui que va se porter l’attention. Les élèves cinéphiles reconnaîtront Ingrid
Bergman, Marlene Dietrich et Greta Garbo, trois des plus grandes stars d’après-guerre. On en déduira que
cet homme est soit un grand séducteur, soit un acteur de cinéma. Cette dernière hypothèse sera vérifiée
page 41, où on le voit sur une affiche de cinéma. Reste à trouver son nom. À ce stade, il peut s’appeler soit
Joseph Cotten, soit Charles Boyer.
on your marks...
1. The three couples are composed of the same man plus a very famous post-war movie star: Ingrid
Bergman, Marlene Dietrich and Greta Garbo. The film-poster on page 41 displays two male names,
so the man is either Joseph Cotten, or Charles Boyer.
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B. Lecture des trois premiers énoncés, confirmation des hypothèses et anticipation du contenu grâce au titre.
get set...
2. The first sentence allows us to select his name and learn about his reputation: “Remember Charles
Boyer? Suave, dapper, handsome, graceful. Lover of the most famous and beautiful ladies of the
silver screen.”
The first three sentences are echoed in the character portrayed in the pictures around the text which
are either stills from movies or posters to advertise the films. We see a very elegant, sophisticated man
who is obviously romantically involved with each of the beautiful women in the pictures.
3. The title suggests that by reading the text, we will learn the truth “behind the legend” of this Latin
lover of the silver screen. So, we may expect to read something which will be quite different from the
public image of this film star.
C. Découverte de la construction et du sens de ce texte.
go...
4. The text can be divided into two parts. The first deals with the true story of Charles Boyer and the
second with the author’s reaction to this story. We are given a short biography of the actor, and a very
poignant account of his tragic story. The narrator then writes in the first person singular using “I” and
“me” to describe his reaction and his feelings concerning this anecdote.
In your opinion, what is the narrator’s purpose:
• to glorify the actor through his films?
• to give a lesson to Hollywood movie stars?
• to express his opinion about Boyer’s tragic decision?
• to analyse his own feelings through the actor’s experience? (correct option)
La question 5 peut être traitée en compréhension globale. Si l’on désire une réponse plus affinée, on entrera
dans la compréhension détaillée par l’analyse des adjectifs du texte :
Activity
3
transparent
suave
real
famous
inevitable
touched
apparent
similar
possible
p. 23
derived or compound
handsome
graceful
beautiful
life-long
comforted
daily
clear in the context: explain why
dead : Patricia died in his arms.
“Two days later, Charles was also
dead.”
dapper: adj. surrounded by
adjectives expressing physical
qualities ➝ must indicate
another physical quality.
5. Patricia was the only woman that Charles Boyer had ever been married to and they were together for
forty-four years, almost a record in Hollywood terms. When she became ill and developed cancer of
the liver, her husband hadn’t got the heart / courage to tell her. So, he kept the truth from her but
nursed her day and night for the six months that she had left to live. He was so distraught when she
died that he took his own life / committed suicide, saying that he did not wish to live without her. So,
the true story of Charles Boyer is far more dramatic than any role he played on screen.
In his professional career, he had many lovers, several women, whereas in real life, he remained
married to the same woman, whom he adored for forty-four years.
On the other hand, we can see a certain similarity between the actor who encompassed the romantic notion “her love was life to me” and the real story of the man behind the actor. It was in fact love
which kept him alive.
6. The narrator is singing the praises of one of the rare Hollywood stars who managed to survive the
trappings of glitz, glamour and fame in order to preserve the very rich quality of his private life. He
also seems to evoke the fact that this unique feeling between two people is accessible to everyone
provided they meet the right person. He does this by imagining how he would react in the same situa-
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tion. Finally, there emerges a deep admiration for the man behind the legend, someone he would like
to be as strong as in real life. But he also takes advantage of this story to pay homage to his wife and
to express his love for her.
D. La récapitulation de l’histoire du couple Boyer permet de travailler le prétérit et le Past Perfect, en association avec des dates (précédées de since) et des durées (précédées de for).
Activity
4
p. 24
1. Charles and Patricia got married in 1934.
2. Charles and Patricia got married approximately 70 years ago.
3. They were married for 44 years.
4. Patricia was ill for six months.
5. Patricia had been ill for six months when she died.
6. She had been dead for two days when he committed suicide.
E. On reviendra sur la biographie de Charles Boyer, en devoir à la maison, pour fixer la mémorisation des événements et rebrasser le prétérit (Workbook, Activity 6 p. 24). La mise en commun orale nécessitera un entraînement à la prononciation du suffixe -ed du prétérit régulier (Activity 7 p. 25 et corrigé p. 94 du Workbook).
Activity
6
p. 24
Charles Boyer was born more than a century ago. He possessed all the requisite physical attractiveness
and intellectual skills. His career started in Paris. When he was a student of Philosophy at the Sorbonne in
Paris he also studied music and drama. He debuted on the stage, and his great success in films was due
to his theatrical skills… Soon called upon to appear in front of the cameras, the smart, good-looking actor
became a well-known film-star in the middle of the thirties. He soon fell for Hollywood and decided to stay
there and to take his chance in American films too. Apart from a few words, he did not speak English, so
he had to learn the language. In his films he conquered the hearts of many great stars. In real life, he had
a happy marriage with his British wife Pat Paterson from 1934. Two days after his wife’s death he committed
suicide.
Objectifs : s’approprier la forme du texte en l’utilisant dans un nouveau
contexte ; s’entraîner à la recherche biographique en dégageant l’essentiel de
l’accessoire.
Critères d’évaluation proposés :
• Pertinence du choix du personnage
• Informations retenues significatives d’une destinée hors du commun
• Imitation soignée du texte de référence
• Maîtrise du prétérit, du Past Perfect (notamment en association avec des dates et des durées)
F.
G. Approfondissement lexical interdisciplinaire.
“Then Patricia developed cancer of the liver”: on désignera cet organe sur le dessin de l’exercice 5 page 24 du
Workbook. On placera également les autres noms proposés, ainsi que d’autres termes qui seraient connus des
élèves (heart, lungs, etc.). On demandera aux élèves de faire valider leurs définitions par leur professeur de
Science de la Vie et de la Terre.
Activity
5
p. 24
1. Brain: the organ of the body inside the head that controls thought, memory and feeling.
2. Stomach: a bag-shaped organ into which food passes when swallowed and in which the first part of digestion occurs.
3. Intestine: a long tube in the body which helps to process food and carries the solid waste from the stomach out of the body.
4. Bladder: a part of the body shaped like a hollow bag, where urine is held before being passed out.
5. Liver: a large organ in the body that produces bile and cleans the blood.
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On pourra faire compléter avec d’autres organes :
6. Heart: the organ inside the chest which controls the flow of blood by making it circulate around the body.
7. Lungs: the two parts of the body inside the chest which fill with air when you breathe.
Grammar Essentials, p. 42
Mode d’emploi
Cette révision du prétérit peut avoir lieu en amont de l’étude du texte Behind the Legend ou juste après, pour
faire le point sur ce que l’on aura déjà rebrassé.
• Procéder d’abord à une auto-évaluation, à l’aide de l’exercice du haut de la page.
Je teste mes connaissances
There was nothing interesting on television last night. As I did not want to stay at home, I followed
your advice, I went and saw Panic Room… Did you know that Jodie Foster got the role quite by chance
and that she speaks / spoke fluent French? I wish we had more actresses like her.
• Faire commenter librement le corrigé, afin de faire émerger les connaissances bien fixées, d’une part, et les
représentations erronées, d’autre part.
• Organiser cette révision à l’aide des schémas de la page 42 (rétroprojetés, de préférence, afin que tout le
monde se concentre sur les mêmes éléments), avec les commentaires suivants :
A. La rubrique Comment ? aide à faire une révision des formes :
1. La forme affirmative annonce le lien entre le sujet et le prédicat (symbolisé par les anneaux imbriqués),
dit que « c’est le cas » : on dit que la relation sujet-prédicat est validée. Dans ce cas c’est le verbe luimême qui est porteur de la marque du prétérit (suffixe -ed pour les verbes réguliers – voir les variantes de
prononciation dans l’activité 7 page 25 du Workbook, et forme spécifique pour les verbes irréguliers – voir
liste en troisième de couverture).
2. La forme interrogative est une mise en cause du lien entre le sujet et le prédicat : l’énonciateur cherche à
savoir si « c’est le cas » ou pas. Le prédicat reste « à l’état brut », c’est-à-dire sous forme d’infinitif, et c’est
l’auxiliaire do qui porte la marque du prétérit, sous sa forme did. Le sujet est placé « en sandwich » entre
l’auxiliaire et le verbe.
3. La forme négative sert à nier la relation sujet-prédicat. L’énonciateur affirme que « ce n’est pas le cas ».
C’est encore l’auxiliaire do qui porte toutes les marques (celle du prétérit + celle de la négation ➝ did not),
devant l’infinitif (comme un domestique porterait les paquets, en ouvrant le passage à son employeur).
B. La rubrique Quand ? se penche sur les différents emplois du prétérit :
1. Valeur temporelle (“They married in 1975”, “Night and day, he sat by her bedside”, etc.) ;
2. Valeur modale (“he wondered if love existed”).
On trouvera un approfondissement de ces points, ainsi que des exercices d’application dans la Grammar File 8,
page 201.
• Terminer par une nouvelle auto-évaluation : rubrique « Je m’entraîne » en bas de la page 42. On conseillera
aux élèves de faire l’exercice sans avoir recours à la leçon, pour mieux mesurer ce qu’ils ont intégré.
Je m’entraîne
He left France twelve years ago, when he was eighteen. Where did he go? Why, to America, of course.
He did not get a job immediately but then he found one as an actor, and he soon became famous.
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How to… write a biography, p. 43
Objectifs
■ grammaire
prétérit vs Present Perfect et Past Perfect
prépositions de temps et mots de liaison
■ méthodologie
prendre, trier, organiser de l’information et en rendre compte
Préparation
Si les élèves vont chercher des informations sur Internet pour écrire la biographie d’un personnage de leur
choix, en introduisant le nom du personnage dans un moteur de recherche, ils vont se trouver confrontés à un
corpus très volumineux, qu’ils auront sans doute du mal à gérer. Deux possibilités :
1. On les laisse importer et imprimer tout ce qui leur paraît intéressant, dans un dossier papier qui pourra ultérieurement être mis à la disposition de la classe (et qui évitera que l’on fasse tous les ans les mêmes
recherches). À partir de photocopies de ce dossier, l’élève fera en marge du texte des traits verticaux de couleurs différentes selon qu’il s’agira d’éléments d’identité, d’éléments de la vie privée, du déroulement de la
carrière, des projets, etc.
2. On leur demande de faire ce même rangement, mais au fil de la lecture des documents sur Internet, et de
n’importer, dans un dossier informatique, que les éléments retenus, en les répartissant immédiatement dans
les différentes rubriques.
Rédaction
On ne se contentera pas de juxtaposer des prélèvements d’Internet pour rendre compte de ses recherches : les
élèves devront rédiger la biographie, en tenant compte des impératifs linguistiques (choix du vocabulaire,
formes verbales, marqueurs temporels, mots de liaison, etc) et, éventuellement, en donnant un ton personnel
(admiratif, humoristique, etc). Voir les conseils donnés page 43.
Compte-rendu
On invitera deux ou trois élèves à présenter leur biographie à l’oral, mais on demandera à tous les élèves de
constituer un petit dossier (biographie + images du personnage, de sa ville, de sa famille, de son œuvre, etc.),
dont on pourra faire une exposition qui profitera à tout le lycée.
Exemple d’une production d’élève (légèrement modifiée par le professeur) :
Sean Connery, whose real name was Thomas Connery, was born on August 25th, 1930, in the Scottish
city of Edinburgh. He came from a poor social background and he had to leave school at the age of thirteen in order to find work. He joined the Royal Navy in 1945 at the age of 15 but he was released from
service soon after due to illness. He worked in all sorts of odd jobs and finally got his break when he
was elected Mr. Universe in 1950. It was at this time that he changed his first name to Sean. His Mr.
Universe title helped him to obtain several roles in BBC television programmes over the next few years
but he was quite inexperienced as an actor when he was chosen for the first James Bond film, Dr. No,
in 1962. More Bond films followed and he became one of the most famous actors in the world as a
result of the box office success each of them enjoyed. He married a French artist in 1975 and has
remained married to the same woman ever since, another example of quite a different reality behind the
legendary cinema character. All in all, he has acted in sixty films, and since leaving James Bond behind,
has revealed himself to be a very versatile actor, performing very different roles. An extremely popular
figure, he was recently voted “the sexiest man ever” in a woman’s magazine and was granted a knighthood by the Queen in 2000. His favourite hobby is golf, a passion he shares with his wife of 28 years
and he is also an outspoken supporter of Scottish nationalism which means that he would like to see
Scotland enjoying more independence and political autonomy within the United Kingdom. He is a generous donor to many charities but he does live in the very glamorous home of the stars, Beverly Hills!
On pourrait utiliser ce texte comme évaluation de la révision du prétérit, en remplaçant tous les verbes par
des blancs, que l’élève remplirait. Une fois rempli et corrigé, ce texte servirait de modèle à la rédaction des
biographies.
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James Bond 007, p. 44
Introduction
Vingt films, quarante ans à l’écran, le personnage de James Bond, “the spy licensed to
kill” est devenu un véritable mythe, construit à la fois par l’auteur des romans et par ses
différents interprètes. Histoire d’un héros immortel.
Objectifs
■ grammaire
prépositions et particules ; le suffixe -ly
■ culture
historique du mythe et coup de projecteur sur trois de ses plus
célèbres interprètes
■ méthodologie
l’apport des informations chiffrées dans un document de type
magazine
Background
Ian Fleming: biography on page 168 of the student’s book.
James Bond: The main character in a series of novels by Ian Fleming. James Bond
is a daring and attractive British secret agent, also known as “007”. The first James
Bond book was Casino Royale (1953). Many of the books have been made into
exciting and often humorous adventure films.
Pistes proposées
A. Livres fermés, écrire au tableau “007”, demander aux élèves quel personnage est évoqué par ce nombre.
Faire éventuellement dessiner l’ajout au 7 qui en fait un revolver.
on your marks...
1. Réponses possibles
Yes, I’m a great fan of James Bond and have seen each and every one of his films. Although I am more
familiar with the recent Bond films starring Pierce Brosnan, I’ve also seen all the others with Sean
Connery and Roger Moore. The films are always based on the same theme, some threat by a hostile
country or power to the governement of Her Majesty the Queen and in general, to the idea
of peace and prosperity in the Western world. James is a spy for the British Secret Service and he
always has to execute an extremely difficult mission in order to “save the world”. So, they are always
adventure films with an incredible amount of action, using the latest technological and scientific
discoveries. Great entertainment!
Or: No, I absolutely detest James Bond films! What a bore! They are always completely predictable
and stereotyped, with an action man hero defeating all odds to achieve his mission. I really don’t see
why they don’t just make him die out in one of the more recent films. It’s become totally outdated,
pathetic!
B. Faire écouter le premier paragraphe de l’enregistrement et repérer la définition de James Bond.
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get set...
2. “the spy licensed to kill”
A spy* is a person whose job is to find out secret information about another country, business or
organization, by becoming involved in their work without them realizing. If people are licensed to do
something, they have official permission from a government or other authority to do it. So, James
Bond is allowed to kill people when it is necessary for the sake of his missions.
* On retrouvera cette définition, simplifiée, dans l’exercice 11 du Workbook. On pourra décider de ne la développer qu’en corrigeant cette activité.
C. Faire lire le texte à la recherche des nombres, qui vont permettre une clarification des informations. On
commencera par l’activité du Workbook, que l’on récapitulera avec la question 3 du manuel.
Activity 10
p. 26
10
ten
Pierce Brosnan saw Goldfinger when he was ten years old.
007
o, o, seven
007 is the professional number associated with James Bond.
1952
nineteen, fifty-two
In 1952, Ian Fleming published his first novel about James Bond’s adventures as a professional spy.
1962
nineteen, sixty-two
In 1962, James Bond first appeared in a film which was entitled Dr. No.
1999
nineteen, ninety-nine
In an interview given in 1999, Pierce Brosnan explained that he developed a taste for the cinema
thanks to the James Bond movies, but that he never identified with James Bond.
2002
two thousand and two
The film Die Another Day, with Pierce Brosnan as James Bond, was released in 2002.
20th
twentieth
Die Another Day is the 20th film of the James Bond series.
40th
fortieth
“Bond celebrates his 40th anniversary” doesn’t mean that the hero turns 40 in the film, but that
the first Bond film was released 40 years ago.
go...
3. In chronological order, the first James Bond was the author of a book about birds. Then, Bond was
the character in the novels by Ian Fleming whose first story was published in 1952. The first cinema
Bond was Sean Connery in 1962, followed by Roger Moore and finally, Pierce Brosnan in the
present-day movies.
D. Nouvelle lecture et évaluation de la compréhension de détail, grâce à l’exercice 11 du Workbook. On
demandera aux élèves de n’écrire que des mots-clés dans la colonne « justifications » et de se préparer à
les développer oralement, lors de la mise en commun.
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Activity 11
p. 26
statements
R
W
justifications
1. The ornithologist James Bond was born in 1952.
✔
The hero James Bond appeared in 1952.
2. The ornithologist James Bond had already
named someone “007” before Ian Fleming did.
✔
Ian Fleming named he spy after him: he borrowed
the name of the ornithologist for his hero.
3. Cary Grant and James Mason refused the
role of James Bond, because they were too
old.
✔
They wouldn’t commit to making such
an ordinary film. They thought they were too
famous to play in it.
4. The film Dr. No attracted numerous audiences.
✔
5. A spy is a person who tries to get secret
information for a firm, a political organization
or a nation.
✔
6. James Bond is allowed to kill people if it is
necessary for the success of his mission.
✔
7. James Bond celebrates his birthday in the
film Die Another Day.
8. Die Another Day is less typical of the Bond
stories than the other films of the series.
“It became a box-office hit.”
(see question 2, p. 44 of the student’s book)
He is called “the spy licensed to kill”.
✔
Die Another Day was released 40 years after
the creation of the hero.
✔
“The 20th Bond film gives more of what the
world has come to expect from the spy
licensed to kill.”
E. L’analyse des caractéristiques du personnage James Bond (question 4) va permettre une activité de réflexion
sur la langue (Activity 12 du Workbook), puis on reviendra à la comparaison entre trois des plus célèbres
avatars de James Bond (Activity 13 du Workbook et question 5).
4. The producers wanted an actor who could “punch his way out of a fight” and “charm his way into
any woman’s bed”. This means they wanted someone who was dynamic, aggressive, strongly-built,
adventurous but also handsome, very attractive and irresistible to women. A hero of the silver screen!
Activity 12
p. 27
1. “… punch his way out of a fight” means
a. start a fight
b. stop fighting
✔
2. “… charm his way into any woman’s bed” means
a. leave a woman
b. start a relationship with a woman ✔
Circle the word in the quotation which justifies your Circle the word in the quotation which justifies your
choice.
choice.
c. use violent methods ✔
c. use his seduction
✔
d. make peace
d. make peace
Underline the word in the quotation which justifies Underline the word in the quotation which justifies
your choice.
your choice.
Les mots que j’ai entourés sont des prépositions . Ils servent à indiquer l’événement , l’issue de l’action .
Les mots que j’ai soulignés sont des verbes / prédicats. Ils servent à indiquer la manière d’y parvenir.
Activity 13
p. 27
A.
actors’ names
Sean Connery
Roger Moore
Pierce Brosnan
74
origins
Scottish
English
Irish
characteristics
diamond-in-the-rough – cool – charismatic – handsome
gentlemanly – refined – Eton-educated – bad puns
audacity – playboy’s ways
42634_DIDIER_Guide_ped_U.2 5/09/03 11:55 Page 75
B. Sean Connery is from Scotland.
Roger Moore is from England.
Pierce Brosnan is from Ireland.
C. His audacity evokes the “diamond-in-the-rough” and his playboy’s way’s remind us of Moore’s “refined”
manners.
5. Sean Connery did not start life as an actor and indeed came from a rather poor, Scottish background.
He was not very well-known when he acted in his first Bond movie but it is thanks to him that the
series really took off as the first film, Dr. No, enjoyed huge box office success. He is described in the
text as being a “diamond-in-the-rough”, a precious find, a fine actor under rather harsh and aggressive appearances.
Moore was the opposite of Connery as he came from a well-to-do background having been educated at the famous public school Eton. He resembled the hero of Fleming’s novels in his very gentlemanly and more “refined” portrayal of the character.
Pierce Brosnan is an Irish actor, which may seem a surprising choice for a Bond character! However,
he was already quite famous before taking on this role and had gained a reputation as a smoothtalking seducer in films like Mrs. Doubtfire.
F. Quelques suggestions complémentaires :
• On pourra proposer aux élèves de parcourir et résumer l’article de TIME Magazine du 11 Novembre 2002
intitulé Oh, James! qui fait un historique des différents films de James Bond, avec leur succès au box office.
On pourrait aussi prélever et développer les titres et citations suivants, tirés de l’article :
– “[in Die Another Day] Bond feels the pain usually reserved for the bad guys.”
– “Bond, the global policeman, saves the world for Queen and Country.”
– “I really had to do very little: a little standing, a little swimming, a little running. People said I was incredible,
but I looked and I can’t see what they see. I was just being myself” (Ursula Andress as Honey Ryder in Dr.
No, 1962).
– “Jinx is a cool, modern version of what a Bond Girl has always been. She is very 2002, very what’s-happening-now. If there were a female Bond, it could be Jinx – unshaken, unstirred” (Halle Berry as Jinx in Die
Another Day, 2002).
• Un groupe d’élèves volontaires pourrait écrire un résumé du film Die Another Day et un autre groupe faire
des recherches d’images du film. Le tout serait agencé en panneau d’exposition dans la classe ou dans une
salle spécialisée d’anglais.
• Enfin, on saisira l’occasion offerte par ce texte de travailler sur la représentation qu’ont les élèves du suffixe
–ly.
Activity 14
p. 27
A. Des adverbes : quickly, firmly, beautifully.
B. Trois mots de ce texte se terminent en -ly : deadly, gentlemanly, originally.
C. Le suffixe -ly, seul suffixe permettant de fabriquer des adverbes, peut aussi fabriquer des adjectifs.
Autres exemples d’adjectifs : “lovely”, “stately”, “homely”, etc. et citer ceux qui peuvent être les deux.
• Recommander aux élèves de faire en devoir à la maison le travail de phonologie proposé dans l’exercice 15
de leur Workbook et qui leur permettra de bien maîtriser les phonèmes et accents lexicaux des mots du texte.
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Have your say – What type of film do you prefer?, p. 45
Introduction
Nous avons posé la question “What type of film do you prefer?” à de nombreux jeunes,
et nous avons retenu six réponses, sélectionnées pour leur variété. Ainsi, chaque élève
pourra reconnaître des éléments qui correspondent à sa propre opinion, ce qui développera son intérêt pour l’activité.
La présence des photos est une aide à la concentration et à la mémorisation pour les
élèves visuels (et, généralement, un plaisir pour tous les élèves). Si possible, rétroprojetez un transparent de la page du manuel, sur lequel vous aurez occulté les textes des interviews par des petits morceaux de papier. Quand le travail de compréhension orale aura
été jugé suffisant, on pourra travailler à texte découvert.
Objectifs
■ lexique
expressions spécifiques à l’oral
lexique de la typologie filmique ; expression de l’appréciation
■ méthodologie
repérages guidés
Pistes proposées
On peut piloter le travail sur ce support oral de deux façons différentes, selon le niveau de compétence de la
classe et sa spontanéité à participer :
• Avec une classe active à l’oral, il serait bon de commencer par poser aux élèves la question “What type of
film do you prefer?” et de les laisser réagir de manière spontanée, en n’intervenant que si la discussion dérape. On pourrait ensuite faire écouter les enregistrements en demandant aux élèves de repérer l’interview la
plus proche de sa propre opinion, de façon à pouvoir en rendre compte oralement (en mentionnant le nom
de la personne interviewée, les ressemblances et différences avec l’opinion de l’élève, émise auparavant).
• Avec une classe timorée à l’oral, il vaudrait mieux rassurer les élèves en leur donnant un cadre (Activity 16
du Workbook), en leur demandant de repérer une seule chose à la fois : première écoute de toutes les interviews permettant de repérer et noter tous les types de films mentionnés, deuxième écoute pour valider et
compléter, troisième écoute pour repérer et noter toutes les expressions de l’appréciation, quatrième écoute pour valider et compléter, puis dernière double écoute à la recherche des expressions familières ou spécifiques à l’oral. On n’hésitera pas à faire répéter les mots des trois colonnes ci-dessous, qui s’avéreront
utiles pour la production orale.
Activity 16
cinema
science fiction
thrillers
spy stories
stuntmen
romantic comedies
romantic dramas
love stories
76
p. 28
appreciation
my best choice
love
enjoyable
favourite
hate
I do appreciate
I just love
informal speech
definitely
type of thing
you know
I’m just like kids
goose pimples
it’s fun
a good cry
42634_DIDIER_Guide_ped_U.2 5/09/03 11:55 Page 77
On récapitulera / reformulera la première colonne ci-dessus en réponse à la question 1 du manuel.
1. The different types of films mentioned are science fiction, thrillers, spy films, action movies, comedies, historical dramas, romantic comedies and dramas.
2. David prefers science-fiction films because they are usually stories built around the possible consequences of present-day scientific research.
Ari likes thrillers as she likes to feel scared, she enjoys the thrill of breaking out in goose pimples
because of the suspense in a story!
Julian is a spy story fan but there must be plenty of action and stunts, with all the latest gadgets.
Anthony is far less fussy when it comes to the plot of a film as opposed to a novel. What really counts
for him is that he can have a good laugh!
Yann thinks that historical dramas are a good way of showing how real life is or was itself made of
many incredible facts.
Finally, Ann is a romantic, she likes a good love story with a happy ending but there must be some
drama as she likes to feel moved to tears when she watches a film. For her, a good cry is the sign of
a good movie!
3. Réponses personnelles
One example: I think I tend to identify most with Ari and Anthony. Indeed, I really enjoy a film that helps
me to take my mind off the problems of everyday life. When we watch the news on TV it’s often quite
depressing, so I really enjoy having a good laugh, or else, feeling completely caught up in the suspense of a quality thriller. It helps us to find life “more enjoyable then”.
Panic Room, p. 46
Introduction
Cette double page est un dossier sur le film Panic Room, qui met en jeu les quatre compétences de base, et qui peut servir de modèle pour la confection par les élèves de
dossiers sur leurs films favoris.
On peut désormais très facilement obtenir des informations thématiques, techniques et
commerciales sur un film via Internet. Il suffit, la plupart du temps, de taper le titre du
film, entre guillemets, comme mot-clé dans un moteur de recherche. On peut compléter
la recherche avec le nom du metteur en scène et celui des acteurs principaux.
On peut trouver des informations intéressantes sur le film via http://www.bbc.co.uk/
wiltshire/entertainment/films/panicroom.shtm
Objectifs
■ lexique
lexique du cinéma ; expressions de l’appréciation
■ grammaire
le présent simple de narration
■ méthodologie
résumer un film ; monter un dossier sur un film
Pistes proposées
A. Si possible, démarrer, livres fermés, par la projection de l’affiche du film, qui se trouve à la page 47. Faire
dire la nature du document (a film poster), et diviser la classe en deux groupes : groupe A : ceux qui ont vu
le film, groupe B : ceux qui ne l’ont pas vu.
Faire des sous-groupes de trois à quatre élèves dans les groupes A et B et répartir les tâches :
– ceux des groupes A devront résumer le film, avec notes écrites ;
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– ceux des groupes B devront imaginer la situation d’après la photo de l’affiche, faire des hypothèses sur
l’histoire, plutôt sous forme de questions (Is the girl lying on the ground dead or alive? Is the man coming
into the room or going out? Is he a threat or a rescuer? etc.).
B. Lecture personnelle du résumé du film, page 46, et retour au travail de groupe, pour modifier ou compléter. Puis échange oral collectif, au cours duquel on donnera la parole d’abord aux groupes B, les élèves des
groupes A devant confirmer ou infirmer les hypothèses.
1. Exemple de réponse dans une classe qui a testé le document :
I haven’t seen the film, so I’m going to imagine the situation evoked in the poster. The plot outline
informs us that the star of the film is probably the character Meg, a woman who has just recently divorced. Thanks to this information, I suppose it’s Meg that we can see in the foreground. We are told that
she lives in a magnificent house in Manhattan but that she has just moved in. So, as she seems to be
lying down, we can imagine that the action revolves around her first night spent in her new home with
her daughter. The two of them are probably alone in the house when three burglars break in. In the poster, we see that Meg’s eyes are wide open. She might have just woken up after hearing a noise. The
figure in the background may not be visible to her but may well represent what she imagines to be in
the house. In any case, this man, dressed in dark clothes, looks threatening and dangerous. So we anticipate a conflict, a “stand-off” between the heroine and her aggressors. She has a panic room, which
means that she may be able to develop a strategy to defend herself and her child and perhaps to prevent the burglars from getting what they want from the hidden safe. In any case, there’s bound to be
plenty of suspense and hair-raising moments.
2. Le tableau proposé dans le Workbook (p. 29) aidera à mettre en évidence les différentes opinions.
Activity 17 p. 29
very enthusiastic
critical or reserved
mixed feelings
Cranky Critic: “perfect,
flawless... there’s no way you’ll
be able to turn your head away
from the screen.”
N.Y. Post: “especially if you’re
willing to check your brains at the
popcorn stand.”
Charlotte Observer: “Defies
logic... but... keeps us riveted to
our seats.”
BBC NEWS: “Hugely
accomplished slice of
Hitchcockian suspense.”
Apollo Guide: “skinny” plot,
sucking you in, making you
sweat.
N.Y. Post: “an acceptably
diverting Saturday night at the
movies...”
The Wolf: “especially fine”.
L.A. Times: the whole review
(moderately successful, not
completely satisfying, genteel and
unsurprising execution).
S.F. Observer: “It might
sometimes forget to make sense
but no matter, since ...”
New Times, L.A.: the whole
review (collage of clichés, dim
echo of allusions to other films).
À titre d’exemple, nous présentons ici le travail d’un élève, dans une classe où ce
document a été testé.
“Die Another Day”
Genre: Action/Adventure/Spy
Directed by Lee Tamahori
Distributor: MGM
Starring: Pierce Brosnan, Halle Berry, Judi Dench, John Cleese, Rosamund Pike
Release Date: November 22, 2002
Rating: PG -13 for action, violence
Runtime: 120 mn
Plot outline:
James Bond returns with the twentieth instalment in the superspy series of adventures. From Hong Kong to
Cuba to London. Bond circles the world in his quest to unmask a traitor and prevent a catastrophic war. On
his way, he crosses paths with Jinx (Berry) and Miranda Frost (Pike), who will play vital roles in the adventure.
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* Have you been to see this movie? What did you think of it? Did you enjoy it or
not? Do you think Pierce Brosnan is a good James Bond? Why? Why not? What
did you think of the special effects? Do you think there is enough suspense /
enough stunts / enough technological gadgets?
*Some of my classmates, especially the boys, think that the film is really good. They enjoyed all the stunts and
special effects which created lots of suspense. In fact they admitted to being “riveted to their seats” and not
able “to turn their heads away from the screen.” Most of them thought that this movie was spectacular, funny
and sexy, a great “Saturday night at the movies.”
On the other hand, other students (mostly girls) found that the latest Bond movie was just another “collage of
clichés” with the usual, predictable stunts and outcome. They thought you definitely had to be “willing to check
your brains at the popcorn stand” to watch this film whose plot was very much “on the skinny side” and whose
“execution” “turns out to be” “completely” “unsurprising”.
Finally, several students had rather mixed feelings but admitted that although it “sometimes forgets to make
sense, no matter, since it creates enough tension that the audience can hardly think anyway.” Many of us said
that although there was a lot that was familiar, there was a lot that was different too!
Jodie Foster and Panic Room, p. 47
Introduction
Conversation entre deux amies à propos d’une interview de Jodie Foster, où l’actrice
explique sa participation inattendue au film Panic Room et donne son opinion sur le
personnage et la situation du film.
Objectifs
■ culture
un film « vu de l’intérieur », par l’actrice principale
le phénomène Panic Room, ou le besoin de sécurité chez les
Américains fortunés
■ méthodologie
compréhension orale → production orale
Pistes proposées
On proposera une écoute fragmentée en quatre parties, chaque fragment étant d’abord écouté sans consigne,
puis une deuxième fois après avoir pris connaissance des questions liées à cette partie. On n’hésitera pas à
repasser plusieurs fois l’enregistrement.
Pour une classe en grande difficulté à l’oral, il serait peut-être judicieux de préparer une photocopie par élève
du script, duquel on aurait enlevé tous les mots simples, que les élèves peuvent retrouver, ce qui les rassurera.
Puis on écartera le script pour revenir à l’oral simple et aux questions posées sur l’enregistrement.
A. Faire écouter la première partie de la conversation et faire repérer :
– qu’il s’agit d’une conversation entre deux amies (Jenny connaît les goûts de Sandra), mais qui ne vivent pas
ensemble (Jenny ne sait pas ce qu’a fait Sandra hier soir) ;
– que la conversation tourne autour de Jodie Foster et du film Panic Room, puis faire répondre aux questions 1
et 2.
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Document sonore
JENNY: Sandra, did you hear the interview with your favourite film-star on BBC1 last night?
SANDRA: You mean Jodie Foster? Oh, no. I missed it. Did she speak about Panic Room?
JENNY: Of course she did! She explained that she replaced Nicole Kidman on the film, because Nicole
had damaged her knee…
SANDRA: Oh, really?
JENNY: Yeah, and that what is nice about jumping into a film is that many of the decisions are already
made. As she is a director herself, she knows how films are put together, so she doesn’t have to sit
through endless meetings and to do all the rehearsals. She gets bored when she over-prepares for a
film and finds it very important to stay passionate.
1. She replaced Nicole Kidman, who had just damaged her knee.
2. “You don’t get time to think, you don’t have to do all the rehearsals, many of the decisions are already
made before you arrive.” Foster is good at doing this as she’s a director herself and so she knows how
films are made.
B. Écoute de la deuxième partie et réponse aux questions 3 et 4.
SANDRA: So how did she feel about her character in Panic Room?
JENNY: She says that Meg, her character, has lost her self-confidence. She’s been lied to and betrayed.
She’s also lost her identity, and it doesn’t help that her daughter is at that stage where she spends her
whole day trying to make her look bad. Meg gets talked into buying this house that she doesn’t want,
and into having a “panic room” that she doesn’t want, which makes her feel uneasy. She doesn’t listen
to her instincts – and she gets stuck in this house. But, through the conflict, she learns to find her own
identity once again and to fight back.
3. She’s a woman who has lost her self-confidence as she’s been lied to and betrayed. Her daughter is
at a very difficult stage and spends her time criticizing her mother.
4. She feels that she’s a character who will develop through the ordeal she’s being put through. Through
the conflict, she will manage to retrieve her own identity and fight back. All of this in spite of the fact
that she finds herself in this new home against her own will.
C. Écoute de la troisième partie et réponse aux questions 5 et 6.
SANDRA: Did Jodie decide to have a “panic room” in her home after doing the film?
JENNY: Certainly not. She thinks that it’s a very bad idea, especially if it’s like the one in the film. A panic
room like that is pretty rare. She explains that usually when you get an alarm system, the first thing a
technician does when he comes in is to choose a place that would make a good panic room – but it’s
usually a closet. You have a phoneline that connects to the alarm company or the police department,
so if your line is cut, this particular line still functions. But she wouldn’t like one in her home. It would
make her feel uneasy.
SANDRA: Well, I can certainly understand that.
5. It’s a room used to hide from intruders, burglars. It’s usually a closet. You have a phoneline that
connects you to the alarm company or the police department, so if your phones are cut, this one
stays live (continues to work). The panic room in this movie is not very common as it is “pretty decked out” which means it contains lots of ultra-sophisticated equipment.
6. No, she thinks it’s a very bad idea and it’s the message she wants to convey through the movie. She
says it would make her feel uneasy – probably because it reminds you all the time that you are at risk
/ exposed / vulnerable.
D. Écoute de la quatrième partie et réponse à la question 7.
JENNY: She also explained the combination of circumstances that allowed her to accept the role. In
fact, she was making a film, entitled Flora Plum, when Russell Crowe was injured during rehearsals. So
her film shut down, and when Nicole Kidman hurt herself, Jodie happened to be free and replaced her.
She appreciated the irony of owing her role to a double accident.
SANDRA: Yes, well, it is a bit of a coincidence, isn’t it?
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7. Nicole Kidman and Russell Crowe both had to stand down / back out because of injury. Crowe had
been rehearsing for Foster’s film Flora Plum when he hurt himself. This turned out to be ironic as it
allowed Foster to replace Kidman.
E. Auto-évaluation et récapitulation.
L’exercice vrai-faux proposé dans le Workbook va permettre de revenir sur la compréhension de l’interview, et
de la résumer, en quelques lignes à l’écrit, qui seront lues, et à partir desquelles on pourra élaborer un résumé
oral collectif. Pour l’exercice 18 du Workbook, les élèves travaillent individuellement, en silence, puis on utilisera l’enregistrement pour le corrigé, les 9 propositions suivant l’ordre de l’interview. Bien préciser aux
élèves de ne cocher la case “right” ou “wrong” que lorsqu’ils sont sûrs de leur réponse. Si ce n’est pas le cas,
il vaut mieux cocher la case “?”.
Activity 18
p. 29
statements
1. Jodie was offered Nicole Kidman’s role.
R
✔
quotations
She liked it / She is a good
candidate for jumping into films.
✔
She’s a director herself, so she knows
how movies are made.
✔
If she over-prepares for a movie, she
gets very bored.
about, because she makes films herself.
4. She finds rehearsals boring.
?
She replaced N. K. on the film.
✔
2. Jodie hates jumping into films.
3. She understands quickly what a film is
W
5. She plays the part of an over-confident
✔
She’s lost her confidence and identity.
✔
She gets talked into buying… a panic
room that she didn’t want.
mother.
6. Meg, her character, had dreamt of buying
a house with a panic room.
7. The problem Meg has to face will have
✔
Through the conflict she learns to grab
back her own identity and fight back.
✔
Usually a closet + a phoneline that
connects to the alarm company or the
police department.
positive effects in the end.
8. Usually, a panic room is a very small room
with a special alarm phoneline.
9. Jodie had to give up making her own film
to act in Panic Room.
✔
Her own film shut down because the
actor, Russell Crowe, hurt himself
during rehearsals.
F. Expression orale et échange.
L’étude de ce document pourrait s’ouvrir sur un débat, à propos des deux points suivants :
1. Do you think people can develop through conflicts, misfortunes and ordeals?
2. In your opinion, why do people want “panic rooms” in their houses? If you could afford it, would you
equip your house with a “panic room”?
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“Quiet, please, we’re shooting”, p. 48
Introduction
Texte très légèrement allégé de The Day of the Locust, de Nathanael West, qui nous
emmène dans une étrange promenade où le côtoiement des sites est invraisemblable, ce
qui conduit à penser qu’on évolue entre des décors de cinéma. C’est le côté matériel et
l’aspect factice de la création d’un film qui est envisagé ici : fausse neige, carton-pâte,
etc. L’ambiance de ce texte écrit en 1939 correspond tout-à-fait à ce que ressent le touriste d’aujourd’hui quand il visite les studios Universal, où l’on a conservé les décors
célèbres et hétéroclites et où l’on montre des trucages qui, grâce aux moyens informatiques, sont de plus en plus sophistiqués.
La raison pour laquelle le personnage évolue dans ce lieu n’est pas évoquée dans ce
passage, ce qui est une bonne occasion pour faire imaginer un contexte, une histoire, et
laisser les élèves exprimer leur créativité.
Objectifs
■ lexique
afférent aux différents décors et à leurs matériaux (canvas, papiermâché, fiber, cardboard, cellophane)
lexique de l’authentique et de l’inauthentique
■ grammaire
pronoms relatifs
must / have to et le passif suivi de l’agent (Grammar & Meaning)
■ phonologie
les différentes graphies de la diphtongue [əυ], qui est récurrente
dans ce texte ; l’accentuation des phrasal verbs
■ culture
les sept merveilles du monde
■ méthodologie
inférer à partir d’un mot polysémique (shoot)
rédiger des définitions
Background
Biography of Nathanael West (see page 169 of the student’s book).
It is also to be noted that, for several years before he wrote The Day of the Locust
Nathanael West had been a scriptwriter for Republic Studios, and then for R.K.O. and
Universal. No wonder then that his novel “is a grotesque depiction in surrealistic style
of the sham of the city and the pathological misfits who inhabit it.”
The Day of the Locust (1939)
Tod Hackett, a recent Yale graduate in the 1930s, moves to Hollywood to make set
and costume designs for a film studio while also pursuing his own painting career.
There he meets Faye Greener and her father, Harry, a down-and-out actor reduced to
selling homemade silver polish door-to-door. One of his customers, Homer Simpson,
a bland 40-year-old bookkeeper, becomes enamoured of Faye and in a “business
arrangement” offers her lodging in his cottage just to aid her. She in turn houses a
cowboy from Arizona and a young Mexican with whom she goes to bed.
Disillusioned, Homer walks to the railroad station to return to Utah, but on the way is
attacked by a pesky boy and knocks him down. Then Homer is attacked by a swarming crowd of people who had gathered to see the arrival of stars at a premiere and
out of boredom were seeking any excitement they might find. In a frenzied scene,
reminiscent of Tod’s surrealistic painting, The Burning of Los Angeles, the mob overwhelms Homer and Tod loses his own self-control.
(The Oxford Companion to American Literature)
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Pistes proposées
A. Anticipation
Livres fermés, on écrit au tableau l’expression Quiet, please! et on demande aux élèves de trouver tous les
contextes vraisemblables où on pourrait l’entendre (in a classroom, a hospital, a library, at home when someone is ill or sleeping, etc.). Si un élève dit “while a film is being made”, accepter cette réponse au même titre
que les autres et y revenir plus tard pour la valider.
Écrire maintenant le titre entier du passage au tableau en demandant “Who could say ‘We are shooting’?”,
ce qui amènera à vérifier dans un dictionnaire la polysémie du verbe shoot, que nous simplifions ici :
to shoot:
1. to try to score by suddenly sending a ball towards the goal, in a game of football, hockey, etc.
2. to fire a bullet from a gun, or an arrow from a bow.
3. to kill a person or an animal with a gun.
4. to hunt birds or animals as a recreation (Br. Engl.)
5. (in a particular direction): to move there quickly and suddenly.
6. (something somewhere): to send or move it there quickly and suddenly.
7. (a look at something or someone): to look at them quickly and briefly.
8. (a film): to make a film with film cameras.
9. (of a plant) to begin to grow, to put forth buds and shoots.
Livres toujours fermés, le professeur écrit la liste de mots proposée dans le manuel, en reposant la question
Who could say “We are shooting”?, et l’on remplira le tableau ci-dessous. Ensuite on donnera le titre entier,
et l’on étudiera comment Quiet, please modifie les réponses du tableau.
on your marks...
1.
possible
definition n°
a hunter
4
a soldier, an archer, a sniper
2
a football-player
1
a film-maker
8
impossible
a gardener (if his plants could
speak, they might say “we’re
shooting”, but he can’t say it).
Well, a hunter might say “we’re hunting” in order to make other people keep quiet, but hardly “we’re
shooting” which sounds quite contradictory with the noise of gunshot. A soldier would hardly tell others
to keep quiet if he’s shooting, as I imagine the enemy would not be within earshot. It’s possible that an
archer in competition might tell the audience or the crowd to keep quiet for better concentration as he
gets ready to shoot his arrow. A gardener plants shoots but never shoots plants! A football player
would never tell his supporters to keep quiet unless it’s for a penalty kick. In such a case, it’s not up to
the player to make a remark to the crowd but to the referee of the match. A film-maker would be very
likely to tell people to keep quiet while shooting a film but a sniper works in hiding, in secret, so, theoretically, he wouldn’t speak to anyone while “on the job”.
So, it looks as if the only two plausible answers are “archer” and “film-maker”.
Pour fixer ces mots, on donnera l’activité 19 du Workbook en devoir à la maison, après avoir analysé l’exemple
donné. On proposera qu’une définition consiste en un mot générique (ici : a person) suivie d’une proposition
relative (sujet, complément ou génitive).
Activity 19
p. 30
1. A soldier is a person who is in the army, but who is not an officer.
2. An archer is a person whose activity consists of using a bow and arrows, as a sport or in a battle.
3. A footballer is a person whom you can see on a football ground playing football as an amateur or as a professional.
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4. A film-maker is a person who directs films for television or the cinema.
5. A sniper is a person whom you cannot see because he is using his weapon from a hiding-place, so as to
harm or kill people unawares.
What do all these people have in common? The use of the verb “shoot” to speak of their activities.
B. Faire ouvrir les manuels à la page 49 et décrire le dépliant d’Universal Studios, puis suivre le découpage de
lecture proposé dans les questions.
2. The leaflet on page 49 looks like the first page of a brochure advertising Universal Film Studios in
Hollywood. Under the title, logo and subtitle we have a caption which refers to the three pictures
below “Only in Hollywood” (can we find, encounter, witness, see... such scenes). The scenes described are coming across a film crew shooting on the streets of the town, witnessing the shooting of
a scene from Spiderman, or having an exciting ride on the roller-coaster at Universal Studios. If we
establish a link with the title, it would most probably be through the first two images as people don’t
usually keep quiet on a roller-coaster! But, if by chance, you came across a film crew while wandering around the town, I think it would be quite normal for them to ask you to keep quiet while watching
the scene being shot.
So, judging from the illustrations, I think we’re dealing with the cinema and the person who says
“Quiet, please, we’re shooting” must be a film-maker.
get set...
3. “The sun was very hot. The only bit of shade he could find was under an ocean-liner made of
painted canvas with real life-boats.”
First of all, the protagonist is a man or male (“he”). He is outside somewhere where the weather is
extremely hot as he wants to get out of the sun and into the shade. However, the situation becomes
surreal when we read the ocean-liner is made of painted canvas! Consequently, we suppose he may
be in artificial surroundings which contrast with the “real” life-boats. He must be on the set of either
an outdoor play or a movie.
go...
4. Yes, it does and it also helps me to choose between theatre and cinema. The fact that there are such
lavish props being used for the sets, that the whole operation takes up so much space with “trucks
dumping white sand” suggests that we are on location for a movie: “papier maché sphinx”, “cross a
desert”, “a man with a megaphone”...
5. The man manages to move very quickly and on foot from a desert to a Western street with a
saloon (why not?). Suddenly, from his rocking chair on the porch, he sees a jungle compound and
snow falling on malamute dogs all in the space of a few seconds. This would be impossible in real
life so we are definitely accompanying him from one movie set to another. Once through the
saloon, he leaves at the other end and walks out onto a Parisian street, then a Romanesque courtyard and finally people in riding clothes having a (cardboard) picnic at the foot of a (cellophane)
waterfall. This means that he’s in a part of the movie studios which houses sets for several
different films.
6.
authentic
life-boats, megaphone
false
ocean liner, sphinx, desert, water-buffalo, saloon, lawn, food,
waterfall
On en profitera pour mettre au point le lexique de l’authentique (true, real, authentic, genuine, actual, original,
etc.) et de l’inauthentique (false, artificial, counterfeit, faked, forged, sham, etc.), dans des énoncés reprenant les
différents éléments du tableau.
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À titre d’exemple, voici le dialogue proposé par deux élèves (légèrement modifié
par le professeur), dans une classe qui a testé ce document :
TOM: Stacy! You’ll never guess where I went yesterday afternoon. I had a half-day off work and as my
office is right down the block from Universal Studios, I thought I’d have a look round.
STACY: Hey, that’s cool! Did you get to see any of the stars?
TOM: No, or if I did, they weren’t very recognizable. I found myself in the part of the studios that makes
and houses sets, props, all that stuff. It was unbelievable, weird! I guess I got through three different
climate zones in about five minutes. Those guys really deserve to be called Universal! First of all, I
started off standing beside this huge ocean liner as if I were at sea, and then suddenly, I found myself
in the desert. From there, I wandered through a saloon, down a street in Paris to find myself out in the
country with these guys all dressed up in riding gear having a picnic! Hey, I almost forgot! I had a cigarette outside the saloon, you know, I had to do the Western thing just to get into the mood. While I was
standing on the porch, I saw a water-buffalo in a tropical downpour in the jungle right next to a couple
of hounds running around in a snowstorm!
STACY: Are you sure that was just a cigarette you were smoking, Tom? That sounds wacky!
TOM: Stacy, I promise! I’ll have to take you back there real soon. This place is something else.
STACY: Well, I was wondering when you would ask... Thought you’d run into Nicole Kidman in the
tropical downpour. O.K. That’s a date... When can we go???
Grammar & Meaning, p. 50
LE GÉRONDIF
1. Moore gave his personal touch by firing off as many bad puns as bullets.
2. After receiving the knighthood, he...
Les mots by et after sont des prépositions, qui d’ordinaire introduisent un groupe nominal. On peut effectivement remplacer les gérondifs ici par les noms comme pursuit ou reception ou le pronom personnel it appelé
pro-forme par les puristes, car il est clair que it ne reprend pas un nom.
Commentaire
Il ne faudrait pas en déduire que le gérondif est l’équivalent d’un nom. On fera la différence au niveau du sens
entre from pursuing his charted stardom et the pursuit of his charted stardom. La forme en -ing a une fonction
nominale sur le plan de l’organisation syntaxique, mais le gérondif garde par ailleurs ses propriétés verbales,
car il est issu d’un verbe. Les gérondifs pursuing et receiving renvoient donc à des activités en soi, alors que
les noms pursuit et reception sont les contreparties nominales dérivées des prédicats pursue et receive qui définissent la nature des activités.
Il y a lieu par ailleurs de distinguer « gérondif » et « nom verbal » alors que ces deux mots sont souvent associés et utilisés plus ou moins indifféremment pour désigner la même chose. Il est exact que le gérondif conserve ses propriétés verbales de base, et qu’il a toutes les fonctions d’un nom puisqu’il en occupe la place d’un
groupe nominal à l’intérieur d’un énoncé simple. Nous pensons qu’il est préférable de garder seul le mot
« gérondif » dans ce cas et de parler de « prédicat nominalisé » et non pas de « nom verbal » lorsque l’on est
en présence d’une nominalisation complète, c’est-à-dire lorsque le mot en -ing est précédé et suivi de marques
de détermination nominale comme dans : the opening and closing of the elevator doors.
Si l’on traduit la seconde phrase, on constate que l’on est obligé d’introduire l’auxiliaire « avoir » suivi du
participe passé, afin d’introduire un rapport d’antériorité à l’événement mentionné dans la proposition principale. En anglais, l’emploi de la préposition after suffit à situer les événements dans le temps.
L’emploi de having suivi du participe passé est non seulement inutile, mais totalement inapproprié ; cela constituerait une faute sur le plan du sens : conformément à ce que l’on sait de la forme aspectuelle have V-en, son
emploi nous obligerait à considérer un état résultant du procès et non le procès lui-même. Or il est clair que
l’on s’intéresse dans les deux exemples considérés ici aux événements eux-mêmes, donc à l’activité représentée par le verbe.
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N.B. L’emploi du gérondif pose souvent des problèmes aux élèves, surtout lorsque ce gérondif doit suivre une
préposition comme to. Il leur suffit en fait de se souvenir qu’une préposition introduit un groupe nominal, donc
elle ne peut être suivie d’un verbe à l’infinitif !
Par ailleurs, à partir du moment où il sait que le gérondif a une fonction nominale, l’élève hésitant doit se
demander s’il lui est possible de compléter la phrase à l’aide d’un groupe nominal ou d’une forme pronominale comme it ou that.
Ainsi, partant de I’m looking forward to your next letter il devra aboutir à I’m looking forward to reading your
next letter.
Supposons maintenant que l’élève souhaite dire : « J’aime nager / la natation ». C’est sans doute en raison de
cette double possibilité que l’on a de s’exprimer en français que vient son embarras en anglais. En fait, il lui
suffira de passera par I like it pour se dire qu’il doit continuer par I like swimming.
Se pose malgré tout ici la possibilité d’emploi de to swim, que l’on rencontre souvent en anglais américain,
mais parfois également en anglais britannique, contrairement à ce que l’on croit. Il en est de même avec un
verbe comme begin qui n’est pas nécessairement suivi du gérondif. L’emploi de to, opérateur de visée, signifie que l’énonciateur se situe à la bifurcation entre plusieurs valeurs possibles et il en envisage (= la valeur
positive du prédicat considéré : ex. play the guitar) au détriment de tout autre valeur, alors que l’emploi du
gérondif pose une valeur en soi, sans prendre en compte d’autres valeurs possibles, d’où le fait qu’avec -ing
on considère l’activité en soi.
Corrigé de l’exercice
1. He left school after finding a job.
2. He became an actor after joining the Navy.
3. Women were enthusiastic about him after they had watched Dr No.
4. He became famous after playing in only one or two films.
5. He married in 1975 before becoming Sean Connery.
HAVE TO
■ [He] went on toward a great forty-foot papier-mâché sphinx in the distance. He had to cross a desert to
reach it.
Il ne peut s’agir d’une contrainte qu’il s’imposerait à lui-même (ce serait le cas si l’on avait eu le modal must)
mais d’une contrainte extérieure à lui-même, puisque uniquement liée à la situation dans laquelle il se trouve :
pour atteindre l’objectif qu’il s’est fixé (= le sphinx), il faut traverser le désert.
Commentaire
Les questions posées ici sur un exemple au présent ont pour but de faire comprendre à l’élève que had to n’est
pas le prétérit d’un must au présent. Have + to est un verbe qui s’emploie au présent comme au prétérit et sa
valeur est spécifique et différente de celle de must, qui rappelons-le, est un modal.
Dans l’exemple du texte, il doit être clair que l’emploi de had to prétérit de have to, répétons-le, est dû au fait
qu’il y a une contrainte objective simplement liée à la situation : pour atteindre ce sphinx, il est nécessaire de
traverser le désert. Cette contrainte est donc totalement extérieure à l’énonciateur, ce n’est pas lui qui impose
quoi que ce soit au sujet d’énoncé, comme ce serait le cas avec must.
N’oublions pas par ailleurs que le prétérit de must est must. On le rencontre au style indirect par exemple et il
est alors possible de retrouver l’énonciateur à l’origine de ce jugement.
Corrigé de l’exercice
1. “To reach the saloon, you have (’ve got) to cross the river: there’s no alternative”, a man told him.
2. A man ordered him off. He had to leave immediately.
3. Then another fired his pistol. So he said to himself: “Indeed I must be careful!”
4. They are shooting a film. He can’t stay where he is, he must hide behind a porch.
5. He was lost. “I must ask my way”, he thought.
LE PASSIF SUIVI DE L’AGENT
1. … a desert that was continually being made larger by a fleet of trucks dumping white sand.
2. He started… and was stopped by a man who scowled…
On s’intéresse non pas à l’agent à l’origine de l’événement mais à l’objet ou la personne qui a subi cet événement.
L’agent est ajouté ici car dans le premier exemple, on mentionne la cause, l’origine de l’augmentation de la
taille du désert.
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Commentaire
L’emploi ou non du complément d’agent n’a rien de facultatif comme semblent l’entendre les grammaires descriptives. Il y a lieu d’une part de bien faire comprendre quelles sont les raisons qui président à l’emploi de la
voix passive. Pour cela, on se reportera par exemple à la page Grammar Essentials page 106, et au texte “We’re
live in five, four, three, two…” page 104 d’où est tiré l’exemple : Dana Kirsten constitue depuis le début du
paragraphe le centre d’intérêt du discours.
Dans les deux passages qui nous intéressent ici, on fera donc constater que l’emploi de la voix passive est
normal car le désert constitue le centre d’intérêt du discours dans le premier cas, et dans le second, c’est
l’homme qui constitue l’objet du discours de l’énonciateur, d’où précisément le fait que l’on trouve ici le pronom he, marque d’une reprise.
L’ajout du complément d’agent est alors nécessaire dans ces contextes car il constitue l’élément d’information
nouveau, dont on ne peut se passer : en effet, il convient de préciser l’origine de l’accroissement de la taille du
désert, comme il convient de dire qui a arrêté l’homme en question. Pour que les élèves prennent d’eux-mêmes
conscience de la nécessité d’employer le complément d’agent, on pourrait leur demander de supprimer ce
complément et de voir si dans ces conditions, la phrase se suffit à elle-même.
Corrigé de l’exercice
1. The dust had been thrown up by horses.
2. He was shouted at by a man in black.
3. A cowboy riding a white horse was arrested by the police.
4. Tons of snow had been brought there by dozens of lorries.
D. Un peu de culture générale
Nous avons pris le prétexte du sphinx pour faire réviser comment s’énoncent les sept merveilles du monde en
anglais. Il sera intéressant d’observer l’affaiblissement du sens du verbe “wonder”, de « s’émerveiller » à simplement « se demander ». On peut aussi évoquer la « pile Wonder », considérée comme une merveille technologique selon sa publicité qui prétend qu’elle ne s’use que si l’on s’en sert (alors que, normalement, une pile
se décharge toujours progressivement, même si l’on ne s’en sert pas).
Activity 22
p. 31
A.
✔
The pyramids of Egypt
✔
The Colossus of Rhodes
✔
✔
The lighthouse of Alexandria
The Great Wall of China
✔
The Mausoleum of Halicarnasse
The Statue of Zeus in Olympia
✔
The Hanging Gardens of Babylon
The Eiffel Tower
✔
The Temple of Artemis in Ephesus
The Empire State Building
B. Après avoir éliminé les trois intrus, on répétera après l’enregistrement la prononciation correcte des sept
merveilles, et l’on répartira la classe en sept groupes, pour répondre à la question B : chaque groupe est
chargé de donner des informations sur l’une des merveilles, en un document rédigé d’une demi-page maximum, accompagné, si possible, d’images (importation Internet). Le tout sera affiché sur un panneau dans
la classe et pourra être visité par d’autres classes.
Pour la mise en commun orale, un élève sera tiré au sort dans chaque groupe et il devra parler en continu
pendant une minute sur la merveille que son groupe a étudiée.
C. If you could nominate an eighth Wonder of the World, what would you choose? Why? La réponse, qui
aura été préparée à la maison, pourrait faire l’objet d’une production écrite dans le devoir de fin d’unité.
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Research Project – Los Angeles, p. 51
Sur le site http://www.skylightweb.com/losangeles/freeimages.html, les élèves pourront importer des images
pour décorer les panneaux d’exposition ou illustrer leurs exposés.
Nous avons donné quelques noms de sites web, qui peuvent être utiles, mais on peut entrer chaque nom propre
recherché comme mot-clé dans un moteur de recherche, et sélectionner ensuite en fonction des projets des
élèves.
On peut également conseiller aux élèves, quelle que soit la ville du monde qui les intéresse, de passer par le
site http://www.virtualtourist.com, qui leur fournira des renseignements de type touristique et des photos.
About Los Angeles, somebody on the Internet wrote the interesting lines below:
Metropolitan Los Angeles lies in a smoggy bowl, bisected by the Santa Monica mountains. It is a seemingly endless vista of boulevards and strip malls, a surreal blend of porn shops and boutiques, a
smorgasbord of glitz and sleaze. It is a tense crucible of class and racial conflict, built in a sun-baked
tectonic popcorn popper, a L.A.-la land of wealth and broken dreams.
A few notes about famous names:
• Downtown L.A.
Many people might be surprised to find out Los Angeles has quite an interesting past behind its glamorous “show business” appearance.
Downtown L.A. is the birthplace of Los Angeles more than 200 years ago.
In 1542, Spain sent Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo to map the coast of California to look for a safe route to the
Atlantic, and later on, in 1777, the Pueblo de Los Angeles was established. After 40 years of Spanish rule,
Mexico broke with Spain, beginning 25 years of Mexican government. 1848 was the year when the pioneers of the gold rush hoisted the American flag over the pueblo of Los Angeles.
And yet, this metropolis gives the impression of being a huge jigsaw puzzle, where every piece is famous
and has its own characteristics, rather than a coherent structure.
• Beverly Hills offers fine restaurants, luxurious hotels, famous art galleries, architectural highlights, manicured parks and well-known museums. Due to its location in central Los Angeles, Beverly Hills provides
a great location for the leisure as well as the business traveler.
• The largest man-made harbor in the world was built in 1965.
Marina del Rey offers visitors whale-watching excursions, fishing, shops, restaurants, view piers and the
Fishermen’s Village.
• Melrose is not just another street in Los Angeles. The strip between Fairfax and La Brea features the most
colorful and interesting clothing stores where the cool and beautiful people of L.A. shop for the latest
fashion.
• Venice Beach is no doubt one of the most famous beaches in the world. Featured in many movies and
TV shows this place is known to attract tourists from all over the world.
Venice, California was a one man’s dream of a place to resemble Venice, Italy. In 1900 Abbot Kinney founded Venice, California. At first Venice was a romantic network of canals but Kinney’s idea never really
worked, and with the arrival of cars and freeways to L.A. the canals were abandoned. Most of the canals
were filled in and today the remaining canals are a part of a beautiful neighborhood.
In fact, Venice Beach is the kind of place which tends to write its own history. During the 60s it became
the home of the “flower children”. The “free spirit” feel of Venice had a major role on its history and a good
host to many love-and-pot parties as well as rock concerts. Famous people such as Jim Morrison and the
Doors made Venice Beach their home. One of the first things one notices about Venice Beach is the wide
open space of yellow sand and, of course, the palm trees. Taking a walk along the beach or on the fishermen’s pier would always make a good choice for spending time in Venice Beach. And of course bikeriding, roller-skating or surfing.
• The oldest and biggest resort in L.A. County, Santa Monica is located on the shores of the Pacific Ocean
between Venice Beach and LAX in the south and Malibu in the north.
From a wild beachfront in the past, Santa Monica grew into a sophisticated and a fun town which offers
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a variety of activities to everyone. Under one roof, Santa Monica is a beach town, offers 3.5 miles of sand
on the Pacific Ocean and Santa Monica’s city life at its shore. The City of Santa Monica was founded in
1875. The liveliest beach in L.A. county is 3.5 miles of yellow sand and palm trees, great for a walk on the
beach, tanning, wind surfing or swimming. Santa Monica Beach offers beach volleyball, jogging, biking
and rollerblading along its popular 22-mile bike path.
• Further along Pacific Coast Highway is Malibu, where every few years expensive houses get washed
away in torrential storms. In the winter and early spring, whales can be spotted migrating to Baja
California. There aren’t any palm trees on this very long beach.
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