Written comprehension – Compréhension écrite (10 points)
Conseil

Le texte ci-dessous comportera souvent une syntaxe et des mots que vous ne connaîtrez pas. Sans nécessairement rechercher chaque mot inconnu, essayez plutôt de comprendre les idées principales afin de pouvoir répondre aux questions. Lorsque l'on communique dans une langue étrangère, il est rare en effet de comprendre chaque mot ou chaque expression prononcée de manière systématique. Comme l'apprentissage se fait avec le temps et la pratique, il est donc utile d'apprendre à gérer ces petits moments d'inconnu via ce type d'exercice. Good luck!

“Sorry seems to be the easiest word” – « Pardon semble être le mot le plus facile »
Chanson

Sorry seems to be the HARDEST word est le titre d’une chanson d’Elton John sortie en 1976.

Each nationality has its own (ses propres) stereotypes. The French are said to be impolite, the English are said to drink tea, the Germans are said to eat sausage and so on. What about the Canadians? When you travel to Canada, here is what strikes you most: they are extremely polite and apologetic! For instance, as you walk on the streets, you may take a turn to the right while looking at your phone. You might then run into (bousculer/percuter) someone. Well, no matter whose fault it is, the person in front of you will apologize to you and will offer you assistance.

On a trip to Canada, “sorry” will be a keyword if you want to fit in (s’intégrer). In fact, Canadians use this word so often that they even voted the “Apology Act” back in 2009 in Ontario. Indeed, people were apologizing so much for no reason, that some lawyers were using these apologies as confessions, to prove a person guilty of a crime. Since 2009, the law states that saying “sorry” to someone does not mean that you are actually responsible for what happened.

Only in Canada is such a thing possible. You might not see this happen in the streets of Paris!

On your next trip to Canada, rest assured that if you apologize like the locals you will not get into trouble!

Sorry
Sorry
Exercises – Exercices (10 points)
Answer the questions with sentences written in French. Répondez aux questions avec des phrases rédigées en français.

What does the writer say about English people? Que dit l’auteur à propos des Anglais ? 2 points

What will a Canadian do if you run into him in the street? Que fera un Canadien si vous le bousculez dans la rue ? 1 point

What happened in 2009? Where did it happen? Que s’est-il passé en 2009 ? Où cela s’est-il produit ? 2 points

Why did the government make this decision? Pourquoi le gouvernement a-t-il pris cette décision ? 3 points

What does the author mean when he says “You might not see this happen in the streets of Paris”? Que veut dire l’auteur lorsqu’il dit « You might not see this happen in the streets of Paris » ? 2 points