CORRECTION & BAREME - EVALUATION CE – B1/B2
« A Spot of Bother »
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It began when George was trying on a black suit in Allders the week before Bob Green’s funeral.
It was not the prospect of the funeral that had unsettled him. Nor Bob dying. To be honest he had always found
Bob’s locker-room bonhomie slightly tiring and he was secretly relieved that they would not be playing squash
again. Moreover, the manner in which Bob had died (a heart attack while watching the Boat Race on television)
was oddly reassuring. Susan had come back from her sister’s and found him lying on his back in the centre of the
room with one hand over his eyes, looking so peaceful she thought initially that he was taking a nap.
It would have been painful, obviously. But one could cope with pain. And the endorphins would have kicked in
soon enough, followed by that sensation of one’s life rushing before one’s eyes which George himself had
experienced several years ago when he had fallen from a stepladder, broken his elbow on the rockery and passed
out, a sensation which he remembered as being not unpleasant (a view from the Tamar Bridge in Plymouth had
figured prominently for some reason). The same probably went for that tunnel of bright light as the eyes died,
given the number of people who heard the angels calling them home and woke to find a junior doctor standing
over them with a defibrillator.
Then…nothing. It would have been over.
It was too early of course. Bob was sixty-one. And it was going to be hard for Susan and the boys, even if Susan
did blossom now that she was able to finish her own sentences.
But all in all it seemed a good way to go.
No, it was the lesion which had thrown him.
He had removed his trousers and was putting on the bottom half of the suite when he noticed a small oval of puffed
flesh on his hip, darker than the surrounding skin and flaking slightly. His stomach rose and he was forced to
swallow a small amount of vomit which appeared at the back of his mouth.
Cancer.
He had not felt like this since John Zinewski’s Fireball had capsized several years ago and he had found himself
trapped underwater with his ankle knotted in a loop of rope. But that had lasted for three or four seconds at most.
And this time there was no one to help him right the boat.
He would have to kill himself.
It was not a comforting thought but it was something he could do, and this make him feel a little more in control of
the situation.
The only question was how.
Jumping from a tall building was a terrifying idea, easing your centre of gravity out over the edge of the parapet,
the possibility that you might change your mind halfway down. And the last thing he needed at this point was more
fear.
Hanging needed equipment and he possessed no gun.
If he drank enough whisky he might be able to summon the courage to crash the car. There was a big stone
gateway on the A16 this side of Stamford. He could hit it doing 90 m.p.h. with no difficulty whatsoever.
But what if his nerve failed? What if he were too drunk to control the car? What if someone pulled out of the
drive? What if he killed them, paralysed himself and died of cancer in a wheelchair in prison?
‘Sir…? Would you mind accompanying me back into the store?’
A young man of eighteen or thereabouts was staring down at George. He had ginger sideburns and a navy-blue
uniform several sizes too large for him.
George realized that he was crouching on the tiled threshold outside the shop.
‘Sir…?’
George got to his feet. ‘I’m terribly sorry.’
‘Would you mind accompanying me…?’
George looked down and saw that he was still wearing the suit trousers with the fly undone. He buttoned it rapidly.
‘Of course.’
Isabelle DUCARROZ – Lycée L’Oiselet – Bourgoin Jallieu – Académie de GRENOBLE
NAME :
B1
Je peux repérer des informations
1. How did Bob Greene die?
spécifiques lorsqu'elles sont
Heart attack.
parfaitement explicites.
How old was he?
/10 points
/0.5
61
Je peux déduire la relation entre
2. Who is Susan?
des personnages lorsqu'elle est
His wife
/0.5
/0.5
assez évidente.
Je peux repérer une information
3. Was Bob alone when he died? Explain.
spécifique simple.
His wife was at her sister’s.
Je parviens à combler une lacune
4. Guess the meaning of "taking a nap".
lexicale lorsque le contexte est
Dormir/faire la sieste/se reposer etc
Yes
No
/2
/0.5
source d'indices clairs.
Je peux repérer des informations
5. What piece of information does George learn about himself that day?
spécifiques dans une langue
He learns that he has cancer.
/1
simple.
Je peux comprendre les
6. What does he decide to do about it?
intentions d'un personnage
He decides to kill himself.
lorsqu'elles sont explicites.
7. Name 3 different ways he mentions in order to achieve his goal.
Je peux analyser la structure
- jump from a tall building
d'un texte pour repérer une liste.
- shoot himself
/0.5
/1.5
- crash the car
Je peux déduire une information
8. Where does the scene take place? Be explicit.
grâce au contexte.
In a clothes shop (Allders)
Je peux repérer à travers quel
10. Whose point of view is it through this extract?
point de vue l’histoire est narrée.
George’s point of view.
/2
/1
B2
/20 points
Je peux suivre le déroulement
1. Classify the following events in a chronological order from the oldest to
d'un récit même si les indices ne
the newest event: Bob's death; the Fireball incident; the 18 year old man
sont pas évidents.
incident (l.39); the piece of news
/2
[tout juste ou tout faux]
1. the Fireball incident
2. Bob’s death
3. the piece of news
4. The 18 year old man incident
Isabelle DUCARROZ – Lycée L’Oiselet – Bourgoin Jallieu – Académie de GRENOBLE
Je peux comprendre l'expression
2. Define the relationship between George and Bob (20 words).
des sentiments dans des phrases
They saw each other but George didn’t really like Bob.
assez complexes.
3. "Susan did blossom now that she was able to finish her own sentences."
Je peux déduire les insinuations
What can we deduce about Bob's personality?
d'un énoncé.
He had a dominating personality. He didn’t let his wife express her
/2
opinions.
/2
Je peux comprendre des
4. "A young man of eighteen or thereabouts was staring down at George. "
événements même si la langue est
until the end : Who is this young man and what's going on in this passage? (30
relativement complexe.
words in French)
Un vigile vient voir George car il porte un pantalon du magasin et a
dépassé le portail antivol qui s’est mis à sonner. Le vigile croit qu’il
essaye de voler le pantalon.
/2
Je peux suivre l'enchaînement
5. "It would have been painful obviously." What does "it" refer to?
des pensées d'un personnage
Death by heart attack.
même si la langue et le domaine
6. Explain what George talks about in the paragraph from line 7 to line 14 (30
sont assez complexes.
words).
/1
He describes the feelings when dying of a heart attack and he compares
it to his own experience when he fainted and saw his life rushing before
his eyes.
Je peux comprendre la position
7. What is George's opinion about how Bob died?
d'un personnage même si elle est
He thinks it’s a good death: easy, little pain and quick.
/2
/1
implicite.
Je peux comprendre des
8. Explain the "fireball" incident in French and how it ends (30 words).
événements même si le lexique est
Il était sur un bateau qui s’est retourné.
assez spécifique à un domaine.
Son pied s’est pris dans une corde et il s’est retrouvé coincé sous l’eau
pendant plusieurs secondes.
/2
Je peux suivre l'enchaînement
9. Why does he remember this incident at that particular moment?
des pensées d'un personnage.
Because it’s the same feeling of panic.
Je peux déduire l'expression des
10. How does George react when learning the piece of news?
sentiments dans une langue
He is in a state of shock. Fear seizes him. He is devastated, shattered.
relativement complexe.
11. Should he react this way? Why? Why not? Justify. So, what can we
/1
/2
conclude about George? Explain in 30 words.
Je peux comprendre l'implicite
d'une situation.
No, he shouldn’t because he hasn’t got cancer. You cannot diagnose such
an illness after spotting a wound on one’s body. He’s a hypochondriac
/ ˌhaɪpəˈkɒndrɪæk/ : it means he is terrified of dying.
/3
Isabelle DUCARROZ – Lycée L’Oiselet – Bourgoin Jallieu – Académie de GRENOBLE