Author: Philippe Dudoué
Company: Education Nationale

Baccalauréat Technologique - Session 2003

ANGLAIS LV 1 - Séries STI, SMS, STL, STT (Comptabilité et Gestion) et LVI renforcée STT (Action et Communication Administratives Action et Communication Commerciales)
Pondichéry

(Durée 2 heures - Coefficient 2)

The thirteenth of May is the unluckiest day of the year. Things will be infinitely worse if it happens to fall on a Friday. That year, however, it was a Monday and quite bad enough, though Martin was scornful of superstition and would have engaged in any important enterprise on 13 May or gone up in a plane without a qualm.
In the morning he found a gun in the case his son took to school. They called it a satchel in his day but it was a briefcase now. The gun was among a jumble of textbooks, dog-eared exercise books, crumpled paper and a pair of football socks, and for a single frightening moment Martin thought it was real. For about fifteen seconds he thought Kevin was actually in possession of the largest revolver he had ever seen, though of a type quite beyond his ability to identify.
Recognizing it as a replica didn't stop him confiscating it.
`You can say goodbye to this weapon and that's a promise,' he said to his son.
The discovery was made in Martin's car just before nine on the morning of Monday 13 May on the way to Kingsmarkham Comprehensive. Kevin's briefcase, insecurely fastened, had fallen off the back seat and some of its contents had come out on to the floor. Kevin watched ruefully and in silence as the replica gun found its way into the pocket of his father's raincoat. At the school gates he left the car with a muttered goodbye and did not look back.(... )
Martin had come out early, not only to take his son to school but to have a new pair of windscreen wipers fitted to his car.( ... )
He got a promise of sorts that the job would be done by ten thirty.
He walked back along Queen Street. Most of the shops were not yet open. The people he passed were commuters on their way to the British Rail station. Martin could feel the gun in his pocket, its weight and its shape, the heaviness of it weighing him down on the right side. It was a big heavy gun with a four-inch barrel. If the British police were eventually armed, this was how it would feel. Every day, all day. Martin thought this might have its drawbacks as well as its advantages, but anyway he couldn't imagine such a measure getting through Parliament.
He wondered whether he should tell his wife about the gun, he seriously wondered if he should tell Chief Inspector Wexford. What does a boy of thirteen want with a replica of what was probably a Los Angeles policeman's weapon ? He was too old for a toy gun, certainly, but what could be the purpose of a replica except to threaten, to make others believe it was real ? And could this be for anything but criminal intent ?
There was nothing Martin could do about it at present. Tonight, of course, whatever else he decided on, he must have a serious talk with Kevin ...

Adapted from Kissing the Gunner's Daughter, Ruth RENDELL (1991)

Vocabulary :
•	Eventually = en fin de compte.

I - Compréhension

1 - Name the two characters and say how they are related to each other.

2 - When exactly does this scene take place ?

- Day of the week 
- Date
- Time of the day

3 - In what country does the story take place ? Justify by quoting from the text.

4 - Tick the right box and justify with a brief quotation.

In the passage from line 1 to line 16 ("The thirteenth of May ... and did not look back.") , Martin is :

☐at Kingsmarkham Comprehensive
☐in his car
☐at the station
☐on a plane 

In the passage from line 19 to the end (" Martin had come out early ... have a serious talk with Kevin ..."), Martin is :

☐at home
☐in the street
☐at the police station
☐in his car

5 - Who or what do the following words refer to ?

Line 5 : he found a gun
Lines 7-8 : it was real
Line 14 : its contents
Line 15 : he left the car

6 - Underline, then correct the 6 errors in the following summary

One day, as he was driving his 10 year old son to school, Martin discovered a real gun in his son's pocket. He didn't confiscate it and decided he would have a good talk with his wife on the following day.

7 - Line 24/25 : "Martin thought this might have its drawbacks as well as its advantages, but anyway he couldn't imagine such a measure getting through Parliament".

a - " this " and "such a measure" refer to the same thing. What is it ?

b - "He couldn't imagine such a measure getting through Parliament." means that (tick the right box) :
Martin thought :

☐Members of Parliament should be armed
☐such a measure would never be adopted in Parliament
☐Parliament is not empowered to take such a measure

  8 - Concentrate on lines 26 to 30 ("He wondered whether he should tell ... criminal intent ?")

a - How does Martin feel about the discovery. Circle the correct adjective :

- excited
- threatened
- worried 

b - Why ? Tick the correct answers.

☐He didn't know what his son would do with the gun
☐He was frightened his son might be caught with the gun
☐He was frightened his son might get injured
☐He was frightened his son might be a criminal

 9 - What do these expressions mean in the text ? Tick the correct box.
a - scornful of superstition (line 3)

☐He was extremely superstitious
☐His actions were influenced by superstition
☐He thought that superstition was ridiculous

b - without a qualm (line 4)
☐without hesitating
☐with no money
☐without a ticket

c - beyond his ability to identify (line 9)

☐He could easily identify this type of gun
☐He wasn't allowed to identify the gun
☐He was unable to identify the gun

d - insecurely fastened (line 13)

☐open
☐not firmly closed
☐firmly closed

e - with a muttered goodbye (line 16)

☐He shouted goodbye
☐He said goodbye in a low voice
☐He waved goodbye

II - Expression personnelle

Traitez la question 1 ainsi qu'une des deux questions 2 (a ou b).

1 - Imagine the "serious talk" Martin had with Kevin that night. (120 words)

2 - 
a - Do you think policemen should be armed or not ? Explain why. (80 words). 
b - Do you think some toys or games can influence young people's behaviour (80 words)