Séquence 5 India : a member of the Commonwealth Sommaire Objectifs de la séquence 1. Get ready 2. Listen to develop your knowledge and vocabulary 3. Read to obtain information 4. Listen to enrich information 5. Read to obtain information 6. Practice expressing yourself orally 7. Read and enrich your knowledge
Dans cette séquence de cours, vous allez devoir écrire un rappport sur une ville en Inde. Pour cela, des documents variés (textes, images, audio) vous seront proposés pour vous informer et développer vos compétences en lecture, audition, expression orale et écrite.
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O bjectifs de la séquence Get Ready
E Vous
Listen to develop your knowledge and vocabulary
E Vous
Read to obtain information
E Vous
Listen to enrich your information Read to obtain information Practice expressing yourself orally
Read and enrich your knowledge
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allez développer vos connaissances sur le Commonwealth et vous appliquer à repérer et à identifier un certain nombre de pays sur une carte.
E Vous
allez vous entraîner oralement à la prononciation correcte des noms de pays.
allez lire des documents sur l’histoire de l’Inde depuis l’arrivée des Européens jusqu’à nos jours.
E Vous allez écouter un Britannique contemporain évoquant la vie de ses
prédécesseurs en Inde.
E Vous
allez voir comment un auteur moderne indien évoque la société d’autrefois dans son pays et quel est son positionnement.
E Vous vous entraînerez à
l’identification de documents iconographiques. E Vous vous exercerez à la prise de notes en temps limité. E Vous parlerez en continu à partir de vos notes.
E Vous
allez lire deux extraits, l’un présentant la vie religieuse dans une ville sacrée de l’Inde, l’autre montrant les effets de la technologie moderne sur la vie des individus.
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allez travailler sur l’historique du Commonwealth.
1 Get ready Let’s start with a little geography! Which are the countries belonging to the Commonwealth? Where are they? You don’t know? Don’t panic! The maps and lists below will help you locate them.
Activity 1
1 Identify the following countries on each map provided: let’s begin with those which have the largest land area and of course the U.K.
ARTIC OCEAN
2 NORTH PACIFIC
NORTH
1
PACIFIC
OCEAN
NORTH
OCEAN
ATLANTIC OCEAN
3 INDIAN OCEAN
SOUTH SOUTH
ATLANTIC
PACIFIC
OCEAN
4
OCEAN
United Kingdom Canada India South Africa E Check your
answers
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2 More difficult: the Caribbean countries. Can you spot them?
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Jamaica Dominican republic Bahamas Trinidad and Tobago
2
Barbados Guyana
1
5 4 6
E Check your
answers
3 A lot of Commonwealth countries are in Africa. You have already iden-
tified South Africa on the first map. What about the rest?
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3 8
2 10
Botswana
Nigeria
Cameroon
Tanzania
Ghana
Uganda
Kenya
Sierra Leone
Lesotho
South Africa
Mozambique
Swaziland
Namibia
Zambia
4
9
14
6
1 7 13 5 12
E Check your
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CD 2 Enr.3
4 Listen to get information.
All members did not join at the same time. Listen to the recording and complete the grid below. Country
Date it joined the Commonwealth
Canada Australia India Cyprus Singapore Malta Mauritius Belize Sri Lanka Vanuatu
Can you place some of these countries not mentioned in 1. on the maps? Which countries are in Europe? E Check your
CD 2 Enr.4
answers.
5 Oral practice.
Repeat the names of the countries and say where they are located. Example: Malta. Malta is in Europe.
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2 Activity 2 CD 2 Enr.5
Listen to develop your knowledge and vocabulary Here is an interview entitled “The Commonwealth in 10 Questions”. Read the questions below before you start the recording. Listen right through once, then listen again, making pauses to note your answers. Finally, listen once more right through. 1 Answer the following questions:
a) How many countries are there in the Commonwealth? …………………..………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….....
b) What have most of them in common? …………………..………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….....
c) Who symbolizes the Commonwealth? …………………..………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….....
d) Name 3 aims of this organisation. …………………..…………………………………………………… …………………..…………………………………………………… …………………..……………………………………………………
e) Name 5 conditions necessary for a country to become a member. …………………..…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..... …………………..…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..... …………………..…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..... …………………..…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..... …………………..………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….....
f) What happens to members not respecting these conditions? …………………..………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….....
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g) Name 3 countries that have applied for membership. …………………..………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….....
h) What are the functions of the Secretariat? …………………..………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….....
i) Who is the present Secretary? …………………..………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….....
j) Where are the Commonwealth headquarters? …………………..………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….....
k) Name 4 things uniting the Commonwealth countries. …………………..………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….....
l) What is the Booker Prize? …………………..…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..... E Check your
CD 2
answers
2 Listen again to the recording and complete the grid below. Tick the
boxes. Enr.5
Samoa
India
New Zealand
Brunei
Joined the Commonwealth at the creation when they became independent Their link with the Commonwealth They were “dominions”. They were colonies. They have a link with another country already in the Commonwealth. Their form of government They are a republic. They are a monarchy. They recognize Queen Elizabeth II as their monarch.
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3 The Commonwealth today: a few figures
Complete the statements in the summary below, choosing from the alternatives given in brackets.
Population: The Commonwealth represents nearly 2 billion people, …………………………. of the world population ( half / one third / one quarter). The smallest member is …………………………. with 11,000 people. (Vanuatu / New Zealand / Gambia) The largest member by population is (Pakistan / India / Bangladesh) ………………………………. with ……………………………………. (1.2 / 1 / 1.5 billion) inhabitants. Land area: The Commonwealth covers (10% / 20% / 30%) …………………………. of the world land area. Economy: The 3 largest economies are ……………………………………., ……………………….………. and …………………………………………. . E Check your
answers
4 Now we are going to concentrate on India as one example of a Com-
monwealth member. Go over the Commonwealth information you have been given so far and write below what specifically concerns India in the form of notes. …………………..…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..... …………………..…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..... …………………..…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..... …………………..…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..... …………………..…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..... …………………..………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….....
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3 Activity 3
Read to obtain information ead the information given below on the history of India from the arrival R of Europeans to the present day. General Comprehension: Read the text, answer the questions. The colonial era In 1498 the Portuguese Vasco de Gama discovered a new sea route to India and thus paved the way for direct Indo-European commerce. The Portuguese soon set up trading posts in Goa, Daman, Diu and Bombay. The next to arrive were the Dutch, the British and the French. The internal conflicts among Indian kingdoms gave opportunities to the European traders to gradually establish political influence and to appropriate lands. Although these European powers were to control various regions of southern and eastern India during the ensuing century, they eventually lost all their territories to the British, with the exception of the French outposts of Pondicherry and Chandernagore, the Dutch port of Travancore and the Portuguese colonies of Goa, Daman and Diu. The British Raj The British East India Company had been given permission by the Mughal emperor in 1617 to trade in India. Gradually they obtained permission to establish duty-free trade in Bengal in 1717. The ruler of Bengal opposed this and this led to the Battle of Plassey in 1757 in which the British, with Robert Clive, defeated the local ruler’s forces. Subsequently, Robert Clive was appointed first Governor of Bengal in 1757. The East India Company extended its rights and monopolized the trade with Bengal. By the 1850s it controlled most of the Indian sub-continent which included Pakistan and Bangladesh. Their policy was sometimes summed up as “Divide and Rule” as they took advantage of fights between local princes and religious groups. The first major movement against the British was the “Sepoy Mutiny” or First War of Independence in 1857. The British overcame the rebellion and all power was transferred from the East India Company to the British Crown, which began to administer most of India as a colony. In 1876 Queen Victoria took the title of Empress of India. During the British Raj, famines in India were some of the worst ever recorded, including the Great Famine of 1876-1878 in which 6 to 10 million people died and the Indian Famine of 1899-1900 when millions of people died.
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The Indian Independence movement The first step towards Indian independence was the appointment of Indian councillors to advise the British viceroy. From 1920, leaders like Gandhi began mass movements to campaign against the British Raj. Revolutionary activities also took place against British rule and these movements succeeded in bringing independence in 1947. Along with the desire for independence, tensions between Hindus and Muslims had also been developing. This eventually led to the creation of Pakistan and one of the largest mass migrations recorded in modern history with 12 million people moving between India and Pakistan. Gandhi, the Mahatma (Great Soul) Gandhi had a profound impact on India and his ability to gain independence through a totally non-violent mass movement made him one of the most remarkable leaders the world has ever known. He came to the scene in 1915, calling for unity between Hindus and Moslems. Later on, he led by example, wearing homespun clothes to weaken the British textile industry and orchestrating a march to the sea where demonstrators proceeded to make their own salt to protest against British monopoly. He was assassinated in 1948. 1 The Colonial era:
a) Find words in the text corresponding to: to prepare the way : …………………………. to create, to organise : …………………………. un comptoir : …………………………. to give a chance, an occasion : …………………………. to take and make your own : …………………………. next, following : …………………………. b) Circle the countries in the list below that set up trading posts in India.
France Spain Portugal Italy Holland Britain
2 The British Raj:
a) Find the words or expressions in the text meaning: to be allowed : ………………………….
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Denmark
without tax : …………………………. to beat in a war : …………………………. to be given a position : …………………………. a dispute : …………………………. an Indian soldier in the service of the British : …………………………. to get the better in a conflict : …………………………. b) Complete the grid with the missing dates or the events (événements) that took place at the time mentioned : Date
Event Trade agreement between the British East India Company and the Mughal Emperor
1717 1757 Robert Clive appointed as First Governor of Bengal Control of the Indian subcontinent by the British completed 1857 The Great famine Victoria Empress of India 1899-1900 Start of Independence movement against British rule
3 Independence and Partition:
a) Vocabulary : Find words in the text corresponding to the meanings given below: un pas : …………………………. un vice-roi : …………………………. un conseiller : …………………………. faire campagne : ………………………….
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b) Complete the notes below with appropriate words from the text: There were tensions between ............................. and ............................. . Gandhi created a ......................................... movement. He took to wearing only ......................................................... He organized a march to the sea against British ........................ monopoly. Independence was granted in ................................... . Following the creation of .............................. and ................................., the largest mass ............................................. ever recorded took place. E Check your
answers
c) Oral practice CD 2 Enr.6
Describe the picture given below. Record yourself on your MP3 or your computer. Then compare your work with the recorded description given on your CD.
Queen Victoria, the Munshi and Sir Arthur Bigge. © Ann Ronan Picture Library /Photo 12/AFP.
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Listen to enrich information You are going to study some descriptions of life in India in the past.
Activity 4 CD 2 Enr.7
ou are going to hear part of a radio programme dealing with life in the Y Indian Civil Service. Listen to the whole document once, without stopping the recording. Circle the correct alternative as you go along: John is talking about
his grandparents
His grandfather went to India as servant.
boat.
The children were educated in
India
The family
Activity 5 CD 2 Enr.7
a missionary
plane
He travelled by
his children.
stayed in India
a civil
England.
came back to England.
Listen again to the recording, stopping when necessary. Read the statements below and decide if they are true or false. Justify your answers by element from the recording.
T F
a) John’s grandfather went to India in 1914.
T F
b) He was the first in the family to go abroad.
T F
b) He persuaded his wife to go with him.
T F
d) They had three children.
T F
e) The boys did not see their parents very often when they reached school age.
T F
f) They went to the mountains to practice skiing.
T F
g) Both grandparents got sick.
T F
h) Cricket was a popular game in India.
T F
i) Grandfather came to realize that India was very different from England.
T F
j) The grandparents were glad to return to England. E Check your
answers
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Activity 6 CD 2
Listen again to the first part of the recording and complete the information missing below after learning the vocabulary given.
Enr.8
a) Note two elements showing that the grandfather wanted to live outside England: Vocabulary help to graduate: to get a degree at university to get an appointment: to get a position, a job a civil servant: un fonctionnaire
1. …………………..……………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………….....
2. …………………..……………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………….....
b) Who had already gone abroad in the family? To what purpose?
…………………..………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….....
c) What attracted Grandfather to the Indian Civil Service? …………………..………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….....
d) Why does John say his grandfather was something of an idealist? …………………..…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..... E Check your
answers
Activity 7 CD 2 Enr.9
Listen to the second part of the recording and complete the questions below. a) How long was the journey to India in those days? .............................................. .............................................. .............................................. .......................
Vocabulary help an upheaval: a big move boarding-school: a school where you stay all term a resort: a place where you go for holidays or recreation to nurse: to look after a sick person a scale: a level
b) Why did children return to England? .............................................................................................................. c) What aspect of the climate was difficult for the English to bear? ..............................................................................................................
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d) What aspects of life in India did the grandmother particularly enjoy? .............................................................................................................. E Check your
answers
Activity 8 CD 2 Enr.10
Listen to the last part of the recording and answer the questions : a) What did Grandfather realize when he was in India? ..............................................................................................................
Vocabulary help removed from: distant from steadily: regularly to grow: to increase
b) What political elements made the position of the English difficult in the 1930s and 1940s. ...................................................................................... ...................................................................................... c) Why were the grandparents shocked when they returned to England? ...................................................................................... ...................................................................................... E Check your
Activity 9
answers
Now you should be able to understand the whole recording. If possible, listen to it once more. Before you move on, make sure you have learnt the vocabulary. Here is a little grid to fill in to check your knowledge! FRENCH
ENGLISH
Obtenir une licence universitaire Demander un poste Un fonctionnaire La paix Une traversée Un pensionnat Soigner Station de montagne Des domestiques Augmenter E Check your
answers
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5 Read to obtain information Indian society is influenced by the system of castes, which has a religious origin. Four castes are defined: - the Brahmins (priests : les prêtres) - the warriors, (les guerriers) - the traders (les commerçants) - and the craftsmen (les artisans) Those who do not belong to a caste are the Pariahs or Untouchables. The British were not able to have an influence on the caste system. It was only after Independence that the government declared unconstitutional the principle of untouchability. In an attempt to make society move forward, a percentage of jobs, places at University etc... were reserved for Untouchables. In spite of efforts, the system still marks modern society and for example marriages are still arranged with people from the same caste. In this extract from Arundhati Roy’s novel “The God of Small Things” the fate of the Untouchables is depicted.
Activity 10
Read the extract Velutha wasn’t supposed to be a carpenter. He was called Velutha - which means white in Malayalam* - because he was so black. His father, Vellya Paapen, was a Paravan (...) As a young boy, Velutha would come with Vellya Paapen to the back entrance of the Ayemenem House to deliver the coconuts they had plucked from the trees in the compound*. Pappachi would not allow Paravans into the house. Nobody would. They were not allowed to touch anything that Touchables touched. Caste Hindus and Caste Christians. Mammachi told Esha and Rahel that she could remember a time in her girlhood, when Paravans were expected to crawl backwards with a broom, sweeping away their footprints so that Brahmins or Syrian Christians would not defile themselves* by accidentally stepping into a Paravan’s footprint. In Mammachi’s time, Paravans, like other Untouchables, were not allowed to walk on public roads, not allowed to cover their upper bodies, not allowed to carry umbrellas. They had to put their hands over their mouths when they spoke, to divert their polluted breath away from those whom they addressed.
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When the British came to Malabar, a number of Paravans, Pelayas and Pulayas (among them Velutha’s grandfather, Kelan) converted to Christianity and joined the Anglican Church to escape the scourge* of Untouchability. As added incentive*, they were given a little food and money. They were known as the Rice-Christians. It didn’t take them long to realize that they had jumped from the frying pan into the fire*. They were made to have separate churches , with separate services, and separate priests. As a special favour they were even given their own separate Pariah* Bishop*. After Independence, they found they were not entitled to any Government benefits like job reservations or bank loans at low interest rates, because officially, on paper, they were Christians, and therefore casteless. It was a little like having to sweep away your footprints without a broom. Or worse, not being allowed to leave footprints at all. It was Mammachi, on vacation from Delhi and Imperial Entomology, who first noticed little Velutha’s remarkable facility with his hands.(...) Mammachi persuaded Vellya Paapen to send him to the Untouchables’ School that her father-in-law, Punnyan Kunju, had founded. Velutha was fourteen when Johann Klein, a carpenter from a carpenters’ guild in Bavaria , came to Kottayam and spent three years with the Christian Mission Society, conducting a workshop* with local carpenters. Every afternoon, after school, Velutha caught a bus to Kottayam where he worked with Klein till dusk. By the time he was sixteen, Velutha had finished high school and was an accomplished carpenter. He had his own set of carpentry tools and a distinct German design sensibility. Reprinted by permission of HarperCollins Publishers Ltd. © Arundhati Roy, 2009.
Information about the characters: Pappachi and Mammachi are the grandparents in the story. They are Syrian Christians and own a house in Ayemenem in Kerala.
Activity 11
1 Cherchez les noms propres
Vocabulary help
correspondant aux éléments suivants:
Malayalam: language spoken in Kerala
a) Le personnage principal :
the compound: a part of the property for servants
b) Son père : c) Les grands-parents : d) Le nom de la propriété : e) La caste des Intouchables dans cette région : f) Une grande ville de l’Inde : g) Le beau-père de la grand-mère : h) Le professeur venu enseigner le travail du bois :
to defile oneself: to make oneself dirty a scourge: un fléau an incentive: a motivating element, a bonus to jump from the frying pan into the fire: to go from bad to worse Pariah: a member of a low caste a bishop: un évêque a workshop: un atelier
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i) Le lieu d’origine du professeur : j) La ville indienne où il donnait ses cours : 2 Trouvez dans le texte des mots synonymes des définitions données
ci-dessous : a) To pick fruit on a tree: b) The door for servants: c) To make the marks of your feet disappear by using a broom: d) To put one’s foot down: e) Air coming out of your mouth: f) To talk to someone: g) To go from bad to worse: h) A sum of money you borrow from a bank: i) To open a school: j) To be very good at something: 3 Trouvez dans le texte des mots correspondants à la traduction propo-
sée : a) accidentellement:........................................... (suffixe......................) b) sans caste :..................................................... (suffixe.....................) E
Vérifiez vos réponses
Detailed comprehension This passage can be read at two levels: 1. The fate of the Untouchables 2. Velutha’s personal story. Read the statements and decide if they are true or false and justify your answer by quoting the text. 1T he fate of the Untouchables T F
a) The Paravans could do as they liked. .................................................. ..........................................................
T F
b) They converted to Christianity for religious reasons. ........................... .........................................................
T F
c) They didn’t stand a chance of receiving an education. ......................... ........................................................... 2 Velutha’s story
T F
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a) Velutha decided to become a carpenter. ............................................. ..........................................................
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T F
b) Mammachi was more progressive than Pappachi. ............................... ........................................................
T F
c) Johann Klein had a strong influence on Velutha. ................................. .......................................................... E Check your answers
Exprimer l’interdiction, l’obligation La vie des Intouchables était marquée par une série d’interdictions et d’obligations. Voici un rappel de différentes manières d’exprimer ces notions : Interdiction Le modal “can” à la forme négative sert à exprimer l’interdiction : You can’t smoke here. Vous ne pouvez pas fumer ici. Au passé, “can” se transforme en “could”. De même “may not” exprime l’interdiction : You may not smoke here : Vous n’avez pas le droit de fumer ici. On emploie “be allowed to” pour une autorisation à caractère officiel et donc sa forme négative pour une interdiction émanant d’une autorité : You are not allowed to smoke here. Vous n’avez pas le droit de fumer ici (c’est le règlement) . Au passé “is / are not allowed” devient “was / were not allowed to”. Obligation Le modal “must” exprime ce que l’on est obligé de faire. Cette forme s’emploie au présent. On emploie “have to” lorsque les circonstances extérieures sont contraignantes. I have to take the bus because my car has been stolen. Au passé on emploie “had to”. He had to do the cooking when he came back home.
3 Life as a Paravan in the past:
Make a list of forbidden things mentioned in the text. Be careful, the story is told in the past tense. a) They (interdiction) ..................................... b) They were (interdiction) ............................... c) They (obligation) ........................................ d) They (interdiction) ..................................... e) They (interdiction) ................................................
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f) They (interdiction) ..................................... g) When speaking they (obligation) ................................................so as not to ......................................... 4H ow did these rules affect the Paravans’ daily life?
a) In terms of discomfort: ...................................................................... b) In terms of inconvenience: ................................................................ c) In terms of humiliation: ...................................................................... 5L ook at the following phrases describing the fate of the Paravans:
They were expected to .......................... (on attendait d’eux qu’ils...) They were not allowed to ................................ They were made to ......................................... (ils étaient forcés de ...) a) What do you notice about the verbal forms? What do they reveal? .............................................................................................................. b) What does the Paravans’ conversion to Christianity show? .............................................................................................................. c) Did the Anglican Church treat them any better? .............................................................................................................. d) Why can it be said that in fact it was worse? .............................................................................................................. 6 Velutha’s own story
a) Comment on the choice of his name. .............................................................................................................. b) What was his job as a boy? .............................................................................................................. c) Did his father have any ambitions for him? Why or why not? .............................................................................................................. d) What lucky circumstances served him? ..............................................................................................................
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e) Why do you think it was a foreigner who taught him carpentry? .............................................................................................................. f) According to you, what could be the positive and the negative sides of Veluha’s rising from his position? .............................................................................................................. E Check your
answers
Grammar and language Activity 12
1 Relisez la phrase suivante:
“As a young boy, Velutha would come to the back entrance...” a) Quand emploie-t-on « would » en général? ........................................ ...... b) Est-ce qu’une condition à la visite de Velutha est exprimée ici ? ............... c) Quelle est la valeur de « would » ici ? ..................................................
WOULD WOULD peut exprimer la répétition fréquente d’une action dans le passé, une action généralement prévisible, peu surprenante.
2 Complétez les phrases suivantes en utilisant « would »:
a) The Paravans were expected to crawl backwards, so they ................... ....................................... b) They were not allowed to walk on public roads, so they ...................... ......................... on the fields. c) They were not allowed to carry umbrellas, so they ............................... .................wet when it rained. d) They were not allowed to breathe in front of other people, so they ....... .................................. their mouths with their hand when speaking.
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WOULD employé à la forme négative Par exemple: “Pappachi would not allow them to enter the house.” Cette forme négative implique la volonté du sujet et correspond à “Il refusait de les laisser entrer dans la maison”. Donc, on ne peut pas dire “The Paravans would not walk on public roads” car ce ne sont pas les Intouchables qui refusaient d’y marcher, mais les autres castes qui les en empêchaient!
3 Lisez les phrases suivantes et rayez celles qui ne conviennent pas:
a) Velutha would not wear a shirt. b) Pappachi would not shake hands with Velutha. c) Mammachi would not accept Velutha’s lack of education. d) The Paravans would not enter other people’s houses. E Check your
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answers
6 Activity 13
Practice expressing yourself orally Describe the two pictures, comparing and contrasting them. Record yourself when you are ready.
Franz Xavier Winerhalter, Duleep Singh, Maharajah of Lahore. Lithographed by R.J. Lane. Private collection. © Bridgeman Giraudon.
Mahatma Gandhi in England, 1931. © Akg-images. Toolbox Clothes Verb : wear + ING a turban a coat a tunic trousers sandals a cloth (tissu, étoffe)
Accessories glasses jewels (jewellery) (bijoux) a ring (bague) diamonds gold pearls a sabre [seib´]
Pour comparer, contraster
Activity 14
unlike … contrary to … whereas …
contrairement à … tandis que …
The body the face, the eyes the fingers the neck the waist (la taille) a mustache a beard bald [bO:ld] (chauve) to be balding (devenir chauve) fat well-built thin (mince) naked [‘neikid](nu)
CD 2
Listen to the suggested version given on CD 2. Enr.11
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Read and enrich your knowledge Modern India is a mix of traditions often linked to its religious heritage and a desire to step into the world of modernity. Here are two texts bearing testimony to these aspects.
Activity 15 Read this extract from an article published in “The National Geographic” in which a visitor to India recalls her first impressions of the holy city of Varanasi, on the river Ganges. The first excursion any visitor to Varanasi, the older, less familiar, but now official name for Benares, is urged to make is a boat ride at dawn along the great three-mile, eastward-facing curve of the Ganges. It is excellent advice. At 5.30 in the morning an eerie mist hovers on the river, but as it clears you see, high above the bank, the splendid cornice of maharajas’ palaces, ashrams, temples of a dozen different religions and sects, the minarets of mosques, and, leading down to the water from them, the wide flights of steps and platforms, the famous ghats. Every morning, thousands of Hindus - pilgrims and residents of Benaras - stand on the ghats, some immersed to their shoulders in this holy river, some allowing the water to lap only at their feet. Some of the women are in vivid-colored saris, some in widows’ white; some men wear only the briefest loincloths, some are fully clothed. All of them face the rising sun with folded hands, murmuring prayers. As the sun clears the horizon, they make their offerings of flowers or food, throwing garlands of marigolds or pink lotuses or handfuls of grain into the Ganges; some float small oil-lamps on its surface. They take the ritual drink of Ganges water in cupped hands and then fill a container - a silver or brass jar, a bottle, a pottery bowl - to take with them to the temple for their puja, or religious observances. There is always the sound of chanting and hymns and bells from the temples. The Brahman priests sitting under their huge umbrellas help the pilgrims with the ritual of the devotions, muttering advice or singing prayers for their clients as they lead them to the water. By now the whole splendid facade of the city is washed with a golden light of incredible purity, and one can easily understand why Hindus still call Benaras by its ancient name, Kashi, the Luminous or Resplendent, the City of Light. © Santha Rau/National Geographic Image Collection.
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General Comprehension 1 The following words appear in the text. Use the context to identify
their meaning. dawn: .................................................................................................... a maharaja: ........................................................................................... the ghats: .............................................................................................. a sari: .................................................................................................... marigolds: ............................................................................................. puja: .................................................................................................... 2 Use a dictionary to give the translation of the following words. Don’t
forget to put the words in context. eerie: ........................................... to hover: .......................................... an ashram: ................................... a loin-cloth: ..................................... brass: ........................................... a jar: ................................................ to mutter: ..................................... Make sure you learn those words. 3 Read the document and pick out all the references to religion:
.............................................................................................................. .............................................................................................................. .............................................................................................................. ..............................................................................................................
Detailed Comprehension Answer the following questions: 1 List all references to the sun. Why is it so important in your opinion?
.............................................................................................................. .............................................................................................................. 2 Pick out the descriptive elements concerning clothing. What do these
show? .............................................................................................................. ..............................................................................................................
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.............................................................................................................. .............................................................................................................. 3 How do people pay homage to the Ganges?
.............................................................................................................. .............................................................................................................. .............................................................................................................. .............................................................................................................. 4 How do you recognize the priests (prêtre)? What is their function?
.............................................................................................................. .............................................................................................................. .............................................................................................................. .............................................................................................................. 5 Where do the pilgrims go after bathing in the river? What do they take
with them? .............................................................................................................. .............................................................................................................. .............................................................................................................. .............................................................................................................. E Check your
answers
Activity 16 This excerpt from “The God of Small Things” describes the arrival of modern technology in a traditional household. Read the text. Baby Kochamma had installed a dish antenna on the roof of the Ayemenem house. She presided over the World in her drawing room on satellite TV. The impossible excitement that this engendered in Baby Kochamma wasn’t hard to understand. It wasn’t something that happened gradually. It happened overnight. Blondes, wars, famines, football, sex, music, coups d’état - they all arrived on the same train. They unpacked together. They stayed at the same hotel. And in Ayemenem, where once the loudest sound had been a musical bus horn, now whole wars, famines, picturesque massacres and Bill Clinton could be summoned up like servants. And so, while her ornamental garden wilted and died, Baby Kochamma followed American NBA league games, one-day cricket and all the Grand Slam tennis tournaments. On weekdays she watched The Bold and The Beautiful and Santa Barbara, where brittle blondes with lipstick and hairstyles rigid with spray seduced androids and defended
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their sexual empires. Baby Kochamma loved their shiny clothes and the smart, bitchy repartee. During the day disconnected snatches of it came back to her and made her chuckle. Kochu Maria, the cook, still wore the thick gold earrings that had disfigured her earlobes for ever. She enjoyed the WWF Wrestling Mania shows, where Hulk Hogan and Mr Perfect, whose necks were wider than their heads, wore spangled Lycra leggings and beat each other up brutally. Kochu Maria’s laugh had that slightly cruel ring to it that young children’s sometimes have. All day they sat in the drawing room, Baby Kochamma on the long-armed planter’s chair or the chaise-longue (depending on the condition of her feet), Kochu Maria next to her on the floor (channel surfing when she could), locked together in a noisy Television silence. One’s hair snow white, the other’s dyed coal black. They entered all the contests, availed themselves of all the discounts that were advertised and had, on two occasions, won a T-shirt and a Thermos flask that Baby Kochamma kept locked away in her cupboard. Baby Kochamma loved the Ayemenem house and cherished the furniture that she had inherited by outliving everybody else (...) She was frightened by the BBC famines and Television wars that she encountered while she channel surfed. Her old fears of the Revolution and the MarxistLeninist menace had been rekindled by new television worries about the growing numbers of desperate and dispossessed people. She viewed ethnic cleansing, famine and genocide as direct threats to her furniture. Reprinted by permission of HarperCollins Publishers Ltd. © Arundhati Roy, 2009.
General comprehension 1 Who are the characters in this excerpt? Are they old or young? What is
their relationship? .............................................................................................................. .............................................................................................................. 2 Where is the scene set?
.............................................................................................................. .............................................................................................................. 3 Give a title to this extract
.............................................................................................................. ..............................................................................................................
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Detailed comprehension 1 Vocabulary: find the words in the text for:
une parabole: ..............................
un klaxon: ...................................
de la laque: (pour cheveux) ..........
zapper: ........................................
rallumer: ......................................
des menaces: ..............................
Learn those words 2 Can you guess the meaning of the following words using the context?
a) It wasn’t something that happened gradually. It happened overnight ..................................................... b) Her ornamental garden wilted and died .............................................. ......................................................... c) ... massacres and Bill Clinton could be summoned up like servants ............................................................. d) brittle blondes with lipstick and hairstyles rigid with spray ................. ......................................................... e) One’s hair snow white, the other’s dyed coal black ............................. ......................................................... 3 Answer the following questions:
a) TV events are personified as guests in the house. How is this effect created? .............................................................................................................. b) What shows that Baby Kochamma enjoyed the power she felt she had over world events? .............................................................................................................. c) Can you explain the description of the women “locked together in a noisy TV silence”? .............................................................................................................. d) Can you give an example of cumulative style? What effect is intended? ..............................................................................................................
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4 Complete the grid below, showing the contrast between life before
and after satellite TV: BEFORE
NOW
Baby Kochamma tended the garden Kochu Maria cooked, prepared food both women were physically active the two women chatted to each other there was no noise except the bus horn Baby Kochamma had been able to forget her old fears of Communism
Activity 17 CD 2
Oral practice: Use the grid to make sentences with “unlike”, “whereas”, “contrary to”... Record yourself on your MP3, then listen to the answers given on CD 2.
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Activity 18
Expressing your opinion in writing: Do you think that satellite TV was an improvement in the two women’s lives? (1 paragraph) Avant de vous lancer dans l’écriture, essayez de reprendre les arguments sous-jacents au texte. Explicitez (exprimez avec des mots) les idées sous- entendues. E
P ar exemple :
She presided : le choix du verbe donne une importance démesurée à Baby Kochamma, comme si elle était présidente: Technology gave baby Kochamma the impression that she was in charge of events, not just of the remote control. The World in her drawing room: suddenly Baby Kochamma gets information about events that take place in all the continents, not just local events. Her information becomes far more important and maybe she can reflect on what happens everywhere, get a global view of events.
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Ajoutez vos propres réflexions. Satellite TV: the pros
Satellite TV: the cons
The World in her drawing room: .........................
she presided: ................................................
locked together: ................................................
the excitement: ..............................................
availed themselves of all the discounts:
blondes, football, sex: .................................... picturesque massacres: ................................
.......................................................................... won: ..................................................................
Bill Clinton.... servants: .................................. garden.... died: .............................................. she followed.... on weekdays she watched...: ....................................................................... during the day.... snatches came back to her ....................................................................... laugh that had a.... cruel ring to it ....................................................................... all day they sat: .............................................. she was frightened: ........................................ new television worries: ................................... direct threat: ..................................................
E
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Check your work: read the suggested answer.
