PART 1 : Focus on Part 1 and get ready to interact with your classmates and share your

information.
O Where does the story take place? Justify by quoting from the text . (Country
,Town, River, Area )
Country: mainly the USA (American side, l. 4) o!n " City: #ort Stoc$ton (l. 1%)
&i'er: &io (rande (l. 1) Area: )order " desert area
1 he story mainly ta$es *lace in e+as, in the USA , on the American side( l. 4) not ,ar ,rom #ort
Stoc$ton. he action is set )y"on the &io (rande &i'er on the US - .e+ican )order in a desert area.
O Who are the people present in the scene ? Find information about them and
classify them into two groups.
(rou* 1 (rou* %
/o! many 0
11 (men 2 !omen) 2 % other men
%
3ationality 0
.e+ican American
3ame !hen
4i'en 0
!et)ac$s /anson
O a - ead the first six lines again and list all the 'er)s
!as shallo! (&io (rande) 5 could !al$ across (.e+icans) 5 s!im (.e+icans) 5 had stationed
(Americans) 5 hel*ed (.e+icans)
b - ephrase what you ha!e understood and say what happens at the beginning of
the text.
he .e+icans had to 4o across the &io (rande &i'er )ut did not need to s!im (only *artly ,or the last le4 o, the
6ourney) as the !ater le'el !as 'ery lo!, due to the drou4ht. So, that *art o, the 6ourney !as not the harshest "
hardest. .oreo'er, t!o other .e+icans !ere there (on the other side) to hel* them, and in *articular, the !omen.
O ead from l.7 down to l.18 (started north). "ist all the words describing the
tra!elling conditions and classify them into % columns .
What do they travel in ? Conditions ?
truc$ 9 old " misera)le
2 ser'ed many times
2 )ouncin4 o'er the roads
.e+icans are *iled in
2 they mustn:t mo'e
uncom,orta)le tri*
O a - Find words related to money # 1 ,i,teen )uc$s (l. 11) 2 'eri,yin4 the *ayments (l. 1;-14)
b - $xplain who gets the money . What for ? 1 /anson 4ets the money ,rom each sin4le
candidate ,or ille4al immi4ration in order to dri'e them to #ort Stoc$ton and lea'e them on a sa,e road. (and <
*ut you on a )ac$
road to #ort Stoc$ton, l. 11-1%)
O a - What do the underlined words ha!e in common ? a man named Hanson
growled : .! as he drove, a "ohort rode ato# the "a$ o% the tru"&, &ee#ing a shotgun aimed at
the #assengers. '(on)t no one try to *um# o%%), he warned. (l.10-19)
hey are all 'er)s sho!in4 the Americans: attitude to!ards the .e+icans: they re'eal they are a44ressi'e,
threatenin4, e'en 'iolent. hey !ant to scare them in order to control them )etter.
b - What can we guess about the passengers% feelings then ? Why?
hey must ha'e had second thou4hts (= avoir des doutes / y rflchir 2 fois) , dou)ts a)out their 4uides
althou4h they did not ha'e any choice and had to rely on them to 4et to the US. hey must ha'e ,elt ill-at-ease,
!orried, e'en scared )ecause o, the !ay they !ere treated )y /anson and his accom*lices.
O Infer the meaning of the words you dont understand 1

a - &an you name each item ? Find the words in $nglish .
truc$ (l. 1) )) ca) (l. 1>) c) headli4hts (l. 1;)
b - 'se the context to guess the meaning of the underlined words and phrases.
a( They and other +e,i"ans have $een gathered together $y smugglers.
b( At this #la"e the Rio -rande was so shallow that the +e,i"ans "ould wal& almost
"om#letely a"ross, needing to swim only the last %ew yards to the Ameri"an side. (l.1-4)
c( .i%teen $u"&s, and / #ut you on a $a"& road to .ort 0to"&ton. (l.11) . He stood in the
shaded glare o% the headlights, veri%ying the #ayments, (l.12-14)
a) 4athered to4ether: ont t rassembls
)) shallo!: peu profond yards: quelques mtres (1yard = 0,9144 mtre, avec 1 square yard =
0,8361!36 mtre carr"
c) )uc$s: dollars (fam# $ %t&c'ets(" 4lare: lueur, lum&re jump off: sauter en marc)e
O )ick the title that best corresponds to this part#
E A dangerous *ourney E A way to heaven E A ride to the
Promised a!d E A #leasant tri#
O )ell the story with the help of the following words #
sneak across (1 #asser %urtivement #ar del2 ) ( uncomfortable conditions * greedy (1 gourmand)
* cash in on (1 tirer #ro%it de) * unscrupulous ( ill(treated +mistreated
he .e+icans !ant to mi4rate to the USA ille4ally " they are candidates ,or immi4ration )ut are undocumented
aliens tryin4 to snea$ across the )order, so they need the hel* o, 4uides. hey de*end entirely on them " their ,ate
is in their hands. he American 4uides are 4reedy smu44lers !ho ha'e made a deal !ith them and !ho are only
ta$in4 ad'anta4e o, " cashin4 in on the situation to ma$e a *ro,it. hey do not seem to ha'e any ?ualms o,
conscience " ha'e a 4uilty conscience. @hat:s more, the .e+icans are treated li$e cattle )y the 4uides, and
mani*ulated )y those unscru*ulous men. hey are mistreated " illtreated.
hey are tra'ellin4 in inhumane conditions and do not ha'e a say. " hey must res*ect the rules im*osed on them.
G ,ake guesses about what may happen next based on what you know now. !"A# $
WI%%$C&'%($"I)*T+
he smu44lers !ill *ro)a)ly hel* them cross the US )order. hey may lea'e them stranded in the middle o,
no!here. he .e+ican ille4al immi4rants could 4et arrested and sent )ac$ home.


PART , : Focus on Part % and get ready to interact with your classmates and share your
information.
O -kim through (#ar"ourir ra#idement ) Part % and make guesses about what hast
.ust happened . 1 !"A# $ "I)*T $ "'-T . *A/0 . /- Parti1i2e
Pass3+
he .e+icans may ha'e 6ust crossed the )order ille4ally !ith the hel* o, smu44lers. <lle4al .e+icans must ha'e
*aid dri'ers to hel* them cross the US )order ille4ally.
O ead the first paragraph . Where and when does the action take place? Justify
by quoting the text .
1 he story ta$es *lace in the USA (e+as) , 'ery li$ely on the US - .e+ican )order in the desert (a desert
area) at 4 in the mornin4 ( in the early mornin4) .
O a - Who are the people present in the scene ? Justify by quoting the text.
he .e+icans includin4 the (uAmans and the % An4los (l.%7) , one o,
them )ein4 the dri'er (l.%%).
b - Who are the /u0mans (full names ) ? 1ow are they related to each other ?
CBndido (uAman and .anuela (uAman. hey are )rother and sister. (stared madly at her )rother, l. ;7).

O a - 2ick out % !erbs showing that the truc$ has a problem # 1 cou4h (l. %;) 2 con$
out (l. %4)
b - the engine $egan to s#utter , "aught, and then #urred ni"ely . (l.2")
What does the word 3!icely 4 indicate about what is going on ? 1 he *ro)lem has
)een sol'ed. 1- 5n this
context6 can you guess the meaning of the word 3deli#ht 4 (l.2") (l.78) # 1 Pour leur $lus
#ra!de %oie
d( -ay in your own words what has .ust been done .
/anson *retends he has 6ust ,inished re*airin4 the truc$ and ma$es them hear the sound o, the en4ine startin4.
So they thin$ that the *ro)lem has 6ust )een sol'ed.
O a - -ay what the underlined word refer to #
3 (amnit, 'he "ried, ' we)we got to %i, this) . (l.24 )
1 he (l. %4) re,ers to /anson 2 this (l. %4) re,ers to the *ro)lem " the )rea$do!n.
( 4ut to their horror (l.2&-2" ) 1 their (l. %>) re,ers to the .e+icans.
b - )ick the correct answer . 1 )he incident was # E a tra$
1- -um up the incident in your own words .
#irst, /anson *retended the truc$ had a *ro)lem " some trou)le " that there !as a )rea$do!n. So he as$ed the
.e+icans to 4et o,, the truc$. /e made the .e+icans thin$ that he !as re*airin4 the truc$. Cut it turned out to )e
a tra*.
d) 1ow did the passengers feel at that moment ? .
@hen hearin4 the sound o, the en4ine a4ain, the .e+icans !ere ho*e,ul and thou4ht that they !ould )e a)le to
4et )ac$ on the truc$ and mo'e on. Cut, ,inally, the American 4uide )etrayed the .e+icans and le,t them stranded
in the middle o, no!here, in the desert. hey !ere ,ar ,rom the ri'er, hel*less, de,enceless, *o!erless. hey !ere
*anic-stric$en "horror-stric$en
O 2ick out at least ; sentences related to the climate .
the sun !as )laAin4 hi4h (l. %D-;E) the s$y !as an arch o, )lue (l. ;4)
in that dread,ul heat (l. ;>) (2 !hose s!ollen ton4ue ,illed his mouth, l. ;E-;1)
O a - What did they need most ? 9uote key words only . 1 ,ood " !ater " a 4uide " cacti
b - What are the consequences ? 1Se'eral .e+icans ha'e already died o, thirst.
1 4 Find the opposite of the word 3hea!en4 (: #aradise) 1 hell (l. %D)
O a - What happened to the /u0mans ? .
hey tried to !al$ out o, the deadly desert and to ,ind hel*, )ut !ith the other .e+icans, they endured the terri)le
*ain o, a scorchin4 sun. " they endured e+cruciatin4 *ains. .ost o, them slo!ly died o, thirst. hey had nothin4 to
?uench their thirst and no 4limmer o, ho*e. .anuela dies in her )rother:s arms. @e do not $no! at the end o, the
te+t !hat !ill ha**en to CBndido.
b - Fill in the chart and say what happened .
5 a6m 17 a6m noon ,26m late afternoon
;
st
day 1 7
nd

day
<<<<<<<<1<<<<<<<<<<1<<<<<<<<<<<1<<<<<<.
<<<<1<<<<<<<<<1<<<.<
(,a$e )rea$do!n) 1 .e+ican dies ; more dead less than 1 *eo*le death o, .anuela
> more )y 11 still ali'e
,i+: r$arer 5 An4los: Amricai!s, 'la!cs 5 !et)ac$s : .e+ican ille4al immi4rants
stranded: laisss e! $la!
smu##lers ( $asseurs a )i#ra( the *+ 'order Patrol
O $xplain this quotation with the following words # /t was a tri# into hell.(l.29)
=e lured into (: >tre attir? dans ) * decei!e (1trom#er) * easy prey (1#roie) * nightmare *
awful+appalling
he .e+icans !ere lured into the *ossi)ility o, 4ettin4 to the other side sa,ely, )ut !ere decei'ed. hey !ere easy
*reys !ho could not do anythin4 and !ould not denounce their $illers as they !ere undocumented aliens. heir
slo! descent into hell is that o, the end o, a dream. " he tri* to ,reedom has turned into a ni4htmare. Cut the
most a!,ul " a**allin4 thin4 o, all is that it is ,or some o, them the end o, a li,eF heir li'es are at sta$e and the
tra4edy is that their li'es are not !orth more than G%7EH @hat:s more, their death
!ill *ro)a)ly 4o unnoticed.
G Who does the narrator side with ( 1 se ranger du "5t6 de) ? Find clues in the text to
.ustify your answer. What are the narrator%s intentions ?
tragic plight (1 situation "riti7ue) ( frightful (16#ouvanta$le) ( betrayal (1 trahison ) (
betray (: trahir) ( inexperience * gullibility (: naivet68"r6dulit6)
.ichener sides !ith the .e+icans and ,ocuses on their tra4ic *li4ht. his is a ,ri4ht,ul narrati'e !hich raises the
?uestion o, )etrayal (di,,erent le'els). he *romises o, a )etter ,uture in the USA are )ro$en )y those !ho use
immi4ration ,or their o!n )ene,it. " hey lure .e+icans to the States to ta$e ad'anta4e o, their ine+*erience and
4ulli)ility. he author 4oes a little ,urther in this story and ma$es us !onder i, America is still a re,u4e ,or the
*oor and the o**ressed (,or the tired and huddled masses, c,. Imma JaAarus:s
*oem on the *edestal o, the Statue o, Ji)erty). <s the American Kream still !ithin reach o, those outside the US0