Voici le corrigé du sujet de bac d’anglais LV1 2016 proposé aux séries générales (S-ES-L). Le sujet est à retrouver également sur Up2School en cliquant ici.
Compréhension écrite du bac d’anglais LV1 2016
Avant toute chose, voici les repérages essentiels à faire avant de répondre aux différentes questions :
Document A du bac d’anglais LV1 2016
What is it? It is an excerpt from the novel The Museum of Extraordinary Things by Alice Hoffman, published in 2014.
N’oublie pas de répondre aux 4 WH- avec systématiquement les numéros de ligne associés à la citation choisie.
Who?
- “Eddie settled down with his rod” l.1-2
- “He’d left his studio” l.2
- “when he began to fish” l.2-3
- “Eddie spied Beck fishing farther down along the bank” l.10-11
- “the old man” l.11
- “the hermit” l.12
- “Audubon family” l.19
The main character in the story is Eddie, a fisherman. He encounters Beck, another fisherman.
When?
“the last Saturday of March” L.1
Where?
- “both sides of the Hudson” l.3
- “Harlem River” l.5
- “in Chelsea” l.8
- “along the bank” l.11
- “in Manhattan” l.16
- “north Manhattan“
La scène se passe à New York.
What?
Eddie is going fishing and encounters an old fisherman named Beck and he tries to avoid him.
Document B du bac d’anglais LV1 2016
What is it? An excerpt from the non-fiction book by Donald L. Miller, Supreme City: How Jazz Age Manhattan Gave Birth to Modern America, 2014
Who?
- “architects” l.13
- “some New Yorkers” l.16
- “residents of its upper stories” l.19
- “Emery Roth” l.21
- “the rich” l.22
- “they became city dwellers” l.22
Where?
- “along Park Avenue” l.1
- “the corner of 57th street and Park Avenue” l.3-4
- “in New York” l.6 + l.21
- “lower Manhattan” l.8 + l.18
- “Midtown Manhattan” l.18
When?
- “by 1927” l.1
- “it opened in October 1926” l.5
- “law of 1916” l.6
- “the Jazz Age” l.24-25
What?
On parle des premiers gratte-ciel des années 20 à New York et de comment ils furent perçus par leurs habitants fortunés.
Document C
What is it? An photoshopped image of what New York could be, by the “architecture group for Smart City Design, Ecological planning, and Art”
Who?
We see pedestrians in the poster.
When?
In the future: it is a fake picture, not a photograph.
Where?
In New York City.
What?
“How green could New York City be?”
The poster tries to image what could be done for New York to become greener.
Les questions du bac d’anglais LV1 2016
A. The story takes place in New York City (“Manhattan” l.16 + l.20, “Hudson” l.3)
B. Edie and Beck.
They are fishing.
C. a. At the beginning of the 20th century (“the constant building in Manhattan” l.20, “Manhattan was still dotted with small farms“)
On devine par élimination. Les gratte-ciel ne sont pas une nouveauté de nos jours (nowadays), ni dans les années 80.
D. 1. “bridges” (l.6), “subway” (l.18), “apartment buildings” (l.20) are three forms of construction that are mentioned.
2. The countryside disappearing and the wildlife is destroyed.
E.
Q1. : a. Eddie is critical (“it was overcrowded and overfished” l.5) and worried (“Eddie joined the hermit in his agitation over the constant building in Manhattan” l.19-20)
b. Beck is angry (“Beck was known to chase off intruders with a rifle” l.13)
Q2. : Both characters react strongly against this change and isolate themselves. However, if Beck acts violently because of it, Eddie seems more resigned and does not do anything about it.F. Overall, the text is nostalgic. Both characters witness a change that is not stoppable (“he knew it wouldn’t be long before the countryside disappeared.” l. 7-8). The words used to describe this change are mostly negative (“littered” l.6, “overcrowded” l.5) whereas the past seems positive (“pastoral village” l.17)
Any answer that is justified with the text would have worked!
DOCUMENT B
G. 1. The architect is Emery Roth (see answer to WHO)
2.The Ritz Tower opened in October 1926 (see answer to WHEN)
3.It is in Midtown Manhattan (see answer to WHERE)
H. Réponse B (“”wedding-cake” architecture” l.14-15)
I. It is compared with/to a wedding-cake (l.14) and a telescope (l.25)
J. The law was adopted in 1916 because the city authorities were “concerned about diminishing sunlight and fresh air” (l. 7)
K. 1. Architects had two choices:
b. Limit the height of new buildings (“the city placed a limit on the maximum height and bulk of tall buildings” l. 8-9)
OR
c. Adapt the shape of the buildings (“architects began constructing “set-back” skyscrapers, with sections of the buildings set back further and further as they rose from their bases” l.13-14)
- The Ritz Tower was exceptional at the time because it was the tallest building in the world (“the tallest inhabited building in the world” l.17-18)L. Rich people wanted to live in these buildings for at least two reasons. The first one is obviously the view offered by such buildings (“panoramas unexcelled in all New York” l.20-21). The second one is because it gave them a certain social status that no one else had (“higher than anyone had ever lived” l.23)M. The 1920s were a time when people wanted to realize their craziest dreams (“higher than anyone had ever lived” l. 23) and also a time where people were extravagant and wanted to show how rich they were (“it was a new way of living for the rich” l. 22)
DOCUMENT C
N. New York is represented as green, eco-friendly, as suggested by the gardens everywhere, the green walls covered with plants, and the absence of cars replaced by streetcars.
O. Unlike our current idea that urban landscapes go against the natural environment, this picture shows that the city landscape can be very green and nature is a dominant part of the scenery.
DOCUMENTS A, B and C.
P. In the first document, progress through urbanization is frowned upon (= vu d’un mauvais oeil) by Eddie and Beck. Progress is associated with the destruction of nature and overpopulation.
In the second document, progress needs to be contained through laws because it goes too far and laws are here to protect the way of life of New Yorkers. Progress thus becomes associated to creativity on the part of architects that both respect the scenery and create innovative buildings.
In the last document, progress is to return back to nature and to include it into the landscape instead of getting rid of it. It aims at solving the problems mentioned in the first two documents.
Expression écrite du bac d’anglais LV1 2016
E1. : Eddie finally decides to talk to Beck. Write their conversation about the future of Manhattan.
Attention aux spécificités du dialogue. En anglais, il n’y a pas de tirets mais des guillemets entre chaque réplique:
“Hello Beck”
“Hello, Eddie”
“How are you?” etc…
Be careful to remain close to the original text: both Eddie and Beck are pessimistic and nostalgic. Do not turn them into optimistic men that believe in the progress of Manhattan. Pay also attention to how both men are described in the original text. You could use the fact that Beck is described as a violent character.
As we saw in the answers to the question, the original text is overwhelmingly nostalgic. Try and use that nostalgia in your essay by relying on their memories of what it used to be but do not forget to mostly talk about their fear for the future, which is the core of the subject.
Mots clés utiles :
- overpopulation (= surpopulation)
- to remember (= se souvenir)
- a few years back/ago (= il y a quelques années)
- a shift (= un changement)
- at home (= chez soi)
- lonely (= solitaire)
- busy (= dans le contexte de la ville, bruyante, fréquentée)
- skyscraper (= gratte-ciel)
Mots de liaison utiles :
- exactly / completely / definitely = des adverbes qui montrent que les deux personnages sont d’accord
- I agree / I disagree (= je suis d’accord, je ne suis pas d’accord)
E2. : You are Emma/Phil Wilson, an environmental activist. A new holiday resort is going to be built in the middle of a nature reserve. You write an article for Green Living magazine to denounce the problems raised by these plans and to suggest a few solutions.
This is an essay with a clear argumentative goal. You have to first expose the problems related to such a project (destruction of the wildlife, excessive consumption of water with any touristic places, disrespectful tourists…) before offering solutions (to move the resort, to make it the first-ever eco-friendly resort).
Mots clés utiles :
- wildlife (= la faune)
- endanger (= mettre en péril/danger)
- a species (= une espèce animale)
- natural habitat (= milieu naturel)
- a resort (= un complexe hôtelier)
- littering (= le fait de jeter ses déchets partout, de polluer)
- renewable energy (= l’énergie renouvelable)
- the use of (= l’usage/la consommation de)
Mots de liaison utiles :
- indeed (= en effet)
- however (= cependant)
- since/because (= car)E3. : A group of architects is running a contest among students in architecture. You are Emma/Phil Wilson, one of these students. Write a speech in which you give your vision of the ideal city of the future, and try to convince the architects to build it.
Use document C to write this speech. Do not forget how specific a speech is compared to an essay or a dialogue. You have to address your fellow students and to raise awareness. You need arguments in favor of the building of such a city as much as you need to describe that very city.
Mots clés utiles
- a contestant (= un compétiteur, quelqu’un qui participe au ‘contest’)
- green (= adjectif synonyme d”eco-friendly’)
- metamorphosis (= la métamorphose)
- groundbreaking (= révolutionnaire, avant-gardiste)
- trailblazer (= pionnier, innovateur)
- to gather (= se rassembler)
- together (= ensemble)
Mots de liaison utiles :
- yet (= néanmoins)
- whereas (= alors que)
- especially (= surtout)
