CORRIGE ANGLAIS 2015 SERIES

GENERALES

COMPREHENSION

DOCUMENT A

A. 2

B.

1) They are presented as tragic heroes.

2) They are presented as heroes because they « gave their lives in World War One » (l4) and

made « the ultimate sacrifice » (l18) when they died for their country.

C. Britain remembered them in several ways. First all the lights were switched off in London,

plunging the city into darkness. Then people lit up a candle to reflect about the fallen heroes. At

Piccadilly Circus, the usual advertisements were replaced by photos of the war. And finally a

beam of light was projected from Westminster.

D. This statement is false, as the article states that « respects were paid across the UK and

Europe » (ll17-18) to commemorate World War One.

DOCUMENT B

E. The scene takes place during the First World War. The narrator is in the British army.

Together with other soldiers he is leaving England to go to France by boat.

F. Yes there is a sense of danger during the crossing when the narrator mentions having to

« wear life-jackets in case of mines, or maybe submarines. » (ll9-10)

G. The narrator feels UNCERTAIN. We get this impression line 5 when he says « I wondered

how I should ever come back » and line 6 and 7 when he refers to his potential return trip

« maybe we'd come back (…), or maybe we wouldn't come back. »

H.

1) False « but no one said a word except about when we'd next have a brew » (l8)

2) False « The crossing was roughish » (l9)

3) True - « Being on that boat was something and nothing » (l12)

I. These few lines reveal that the narrator is caught between fear and immobility. He knows that

he is potentially in danger during the crossing, as we can see when he talks about mines and

submarines and about whether or not he will come back from France. But at the same time, he

has nothing to do during the crossing, because « the army doesn't fight on water » (ll12-13). To

him it feels like the quiet before a storm.

J. When he arrives in France the narrator is surprised at the local people's indifference and at

how « ordinary » (l16) life seems. His surprise probably comes from the contrast between the

knowledge that he has just arrived on the land where he is going to go to war and how common

everyday life is.

DOCUMENT C

K.

1) c

2) c

L. The men in the convoy can see all the destruction caused by war in the town they are

crossing : destroyed and abandoned buildings, vehicles and even human bodies.

M.

1) Turner's main concern about the situation is that the place is so completely destroyed that no

one would ever really know what happened to the town they are crossing (« who could ever

describe this confusion and come up with the village names and the dates for the history

books ? » ll2-3). He also worries that without this information no one will be able to « assign the

blame » (l4) for the destruction of the town, no one will be held responsible. And finally, Turner

is concerned that people who have never seen such destruction for themselves will never care

about the war (« Who would care ? » l2)

2) Turner copes with the situation by staying focused on his job (following « the man in front »

l11) and on his thoughts (« protectively folded in his own thoughts » l11) rather than the terrible

reality of his surroundings.

DOCUMENTS A, B AND C

N. From what we can see in these three texts, war heroes are at first just simple soldiers leaving

for war, like the narrator in document B who is scared and uncertain about his future. Once they

are caught in the war itself, like Turner in document C, they face such horrors that they focus

only on doing their jobs and not the bigger picture. They never think of themselves as heroes.

What turns them into heroes are the actions of those who remember their sacrifices, as we can

see in document A, and give meaning to their deaths.

O. As we can see in document A, soldiers are commemorated and remembered as fallen heroes,

young men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice by giving their lives to defend their

country. However, this idealized view is completely different from the way they saw themselves

at the time. In fact in documents B and C, both soldiers describe themselves as ordinary people,

not as heroic men eager to fight for a cause.

EXPRESSION

Non-LVA

A

REMEMBERING OUR FALLEN HEROES

Many people, particularly from the younger generations, wonder why it is so important to learn

about both World Wars. After all, didn't they happen in the last century ? Before mobile phones,

Erasmus and social networks turned Europe into one large border-less peaceful community ?

On the one hand they are right, Europe today is very different from what is was a century ago.

Certainly no European country would even think of going to war with its neighbours these days.

But these changes in mentality didn't happen overnight.

If Europeans now are so unwilling to go to war, it is because the entire continent and several

generations were traumatized by two horrific conflicts which killed hundreds of thousands and

showed how dangerous it was to preach hatred in politics.

So let us remember the sacrifices of all the victims, to avoid repeating the same mistakes.

B

Somewhere in France, August 1944

Dear Mother,

I know that it has been awhile since my last letter and I apologize if my silence worried you. It is

not easy finding the time to write since we spend most of our days on the road.

It is not easy finding the right words either. And to be honest, I am not even sure that I want to

share what I have seen here. Certainly not the details, as I don't want to give you nightmares.

I am fine, though. I keep thinking as we travel that some day this is all going to be in the history

books, but I have no idea how anyone is going to be able to make sense of the destruction that I

have seen. I wouldn't even know where to begin. But you know me, I was never a smart kid.

Look after yourself, and give my love to everyone at home.

Your loving son,

Danny

LVA

A Cf. ci-dessus

B

The last of the two World Wars ended in 1945, 70 years ago. To most young people today it

sounds like an eternity. Verdun, Churchill, Hitler, these names belong to another century.

Another millennium even. So why should they bother to learn anything about them at all, other

than being able to recognize them as vaguely familiar like William the Conqueror or Napoleon ?

Well, in my opinion, commemoration places people at a turning point between the past and the

future and that is why it is so important to never forget.

First commemoration is about honouring the past. Not only the unknown fallen heroes who

gave their lives but also the veterans and the survivors. Although, as time passes, there are

fewer and fewer of them who can share their experience of what life was like during one of the

World Wars, it is important that we recognize the importance of their testimony. It is also

important to remember that we owe them a debt. Without them, we wouldn't be here. Or we

might be, but the world would be a very different place. So we should be grateful.

At the same time, remembering the World Wars, their direct and indirect causes as well as the

decisions, big or small, which influenced the conflicts, is essential so that we do not repeat the

same mistakes. After all, nobody wants to see another global conflict where one side ends up

using a nuclear weapon.

Therefore we must not only remember the World Wars but also understand those conflicts and

try to apply this knowledge to today's world in order to avoid repeating historical mistakes