Session2009

BACCALAURÉATC ÉI.IÉNEI

ANGLAIS

Languevivante1

Série L

Durée: 3 heures - Goefficient4

L'usagedu dictionnaireet des calculatricesest interdit.

Expression i
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Traduction 6 points i

Le sujetcomporte3 pagesnumérotées1/3à 3/3.

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 Salimcomesrunningthroughthe door and collapsesfacedown on the bed.
l a m a l a r m e d". S a l i m !. . . S a l i m l "l s h o u t . " W h a t ' sh a p p e n e dt o y o u ? H o w c o m e y o u a r e
backso early?"I turn him on his back.He is laughing.
"The most amazingthing has happenedtoday. This is the happiestday of my life," he
declares.
"Whatis it? Haveyou won the lottery?"
"No.Somethingeven betterthan winningthe lottery.I have seenArmaanAli."
Bit by breathless bit,the wholestorycomesout. How Salimcaughta glimpseof ArmaanAli
whiledoinghis dailyroundin Ghatkopar.The starwas alightingfrom his.Mercedes-Benz to entera
1 0 five-starhotel.Salim was travellingon a bus to deliverhis last tiffin' box to a customer.ïhe
momenthe spottedArmaan,he jumped down from the speedingvehicle,narrowlymissingbeing
run down by a car, and ran towardthe actor,who was passingthroughthe hotel'srevolvingdoor.
He was stoppedby the tall, strappinguniformedguard and preventedfrom enteringthe hotel.
"Armaan!"Salim called,trying desperatelyto catch the star's attention.Armaan heard the cry,
l 5 stoppedin his tracks,and turned around.His eyes made contactwith Salim's.He gave a faint
smile,a barelyperceptible nod of acknowledgement, and continuedwalkinginto the lobby.Salim
forgotall aboutthe tiffinand came racinghome to give me the news of his dream havingcome
true.A customerof GawliTiffinCarrierswent hungrythat afternoon.
"DoesArmaanlookdifferentfrom the way he appearsonscreen?"I ask.
20 "No. He is even better in real life," says Salim. "He is taller and more handsome.My
ambitionin lifeis to shakehis hand,at leastonce.I probablywon'twash it for a monthafterthat."
I reflecton how good it is to have simple,uncomplicated ambitions.Like shakinga film
s t a r ' sh a n d .[ . . . ]
"Your ambitionis to shake Armaan'shand," I say to Salim. "But what do you think is
2 5 Armaan'sambitionin life?He seemsto haveit all- face,fame,and fortune."
"Youare wrong,"Salimrepliessolemnly."He does not have Urvashi."
The papersare full of the Armaan-Urvashi breakup,aftera whirlwindromancelastingnine
months. There is speculation that Armaan is completelyheartbroken. That he has stoppedeating
and drinking.Thathe mightbe suicidal.UrvashiRandhawahas returnedto her modellingcareer.
JU I see Salimcrying.His eyes are red and wet with tears.He has not eatenall day. The heart-
shapedglassframe containinga pictureof Armaan and Urvashi,on which he had spent almost
halfhis meagersalary,lieson the ground,shatteredintoa hundredpieces.
"Look,Salim,you are beingchildish.Thereis nothingyou can do aboutit,"I tell him.
"lf onlyI couldmeetArmaan.I want to comfodhim.To hold his hand and let him cry on my
35 shoulder.Theysay cryingmakesthe heartlighter."
"Andwhatgoodwillthat do? Urvashiwillnot come backto Armaan."
SuddenlySalimlooksup. "Do you think I couldspeakto her? Maybe I could persuadeher
to come backto Armaan.Tell her that it was all a mistake.Tell her how sad and contritehe is."
I shake my head. I don't want Salim tramplingall over Mumbai2looking for Urvashi
40 Randhawa."lt's not a good idea to poke your nose into other people'saffairs,or make other
people'stroublesyour own,Salim.ArmaanAli is a matureman. He will deal with his troublesin his
own way."
"At leastI will send him a gift,"saysSalim.
He goesand buysa largebottleof Fevicolglue and sets aboutstickingthe shatteredpieces
45 of the head-shaped framebacktogetheragain.lt takeshim a week, but finallythe heartis whole,a
gridof crisscrossing blackstreaksthe onlyreminderof the faultlineson whichit broke.
"l will now send it to Armaan,"he says."lt is a symbolthat even a brokenheart can be put
togetheragain."
"WithFevicol?"I ask.
s0 "No.With loveand care."
Salimwrapsit up in clothand sendsit to ArmaanAli's home address.
I don't know whether it reachedArmaan or not. Whether it was broken by the postal
department,smashedby the securityguards,or trashedby Armaan'ssecretary.The important
thingis that Salimbelievesit reachedhis heroand helpedto heal his wound.

VikasSwarup,Q & A, 2006

' t l.Î^IÈm : i u n c n
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Mumbai: the othername for Bombay
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 C O M P R É H E N S t O_NE X P R E S S I O N

VoustraiterezlesquesfionsdansI'ordre,en indiquantclairementleurnuméro survotrecopie.

Lorsquela réponsedoitêtredéveloppée,le nombrede motsou d'élémentsde réponseestindiqué
dansla question.
En l'absence vousrépondrezbrièvementà la questionposée.
d'indications,

1. a) Thereare four maincharactersin this passage:the narrator,Salim,ArmaanAli and Urvashi

Randhawa.Say whetherthey are presentor only mentioned.
b) What are Salim's,ArmaanAli's and UrvashiRandhawa's jobs?
c ) W h a ti s A r m a a nA l i t o S a l i m ?

2. a) "Themostamazingthinghas happenedtoday."(line4)
What doesSalimreferto?
b) What happenedon that day was moreimportantthan his lifeand hisjob. Findtwo quotations
justifyingthis statement.

3. What elementsin Salim'sand Armaan'slivesshowthat they belongto two separateworlds?

Use you own words.(30 / 40 words)

4. a) Accordingto the narrator,Armaan"seemsto have it all - face,fame and fortune."(line25)

Whateventin Armaan'slife makesSalimthinkdifferently?
b) Quotethe lineshowinghow that eventaffectsSalim.

5. a) Whattwo thingsdoesSalimfirstconsiderdoingfor Armaan Ali?(20 / 30 words)

b) What doesthe narratorthinkof Salim'splans?What argumentdoes he giveto him? Use
yourown woros.
'story'of thisframe.What
sendsArmaana frame.In your own words,tell the
6. Salimeventually
doesthat storyrevealaboutSalim'svisionof Armaanand Urvashi'srelationship? (40 / 50 words)

7. a) Readthe wholetext againand describeSalim'spersonality.

b) Focuson the narrator.Describeand analysehis attitudetowardsSalimand his passion.
(3 elements- 40 / 50 words)

8. Chooseone of the followingsubjects.

(250wordsapproximately. Writedownthe numberof words.)

Subject 1
breakup".You are a journalistworkingfor a tabloid.
"The papersare full of the Armaan-Urvashi
Writethe article.

Subject2
More and more blogs on the lnternetare dedicatedto stars. How can you account for that
phenomenon?Say what you thinkaboutit.

TRADUCTION

TranslateintoFrenchfrom line33 (Look,Salim...)to line42 (...ownway.)

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