COMPREHENSION ECRITE: Meghan Markle and Prince Harry

Bonjour à tous, aujourd'hui une petite lecture consacrée à un évènement "récent", l'abandon par le Prince Harry et Meghan Markle de leurs fonctions dans la famille Royale et leur émigration au Canada. L'article s'intéresse aux raisons qui ont poussé le couple à prendre cette décision. Essayez de répondre aux questions en anglais. J'ai numéroté les paragraphes afin de vous faciliter la tâche. A rendre pour le vendredi 19 juin (par mail).

Farewell, Harry and Meghan, you realised that being a royal is no way to live

By Tanya Gold, 08/03/2020, The Telegraph

1.The Duke and Duchess of Sussex perform their final engagement as working members of the royal family on Monday. Meghan has a reach that the rest of the family do not: at the Robert Clack school in Dagenham on Friday, the children whooped when she kissed a schoolboy. On Saturday at the Royal Albert Hall she received a standing ovation. For those who care about the survival of the monarchy, she was an asset. She mirrored a younger, more diverse Britain. But it’s too late now. The family have failed the Sussexes.

2. The Sussexes have self-awareness: enough to know that being a modern-day royal is no way to live. It wasn’t that what was offered was too little. Rather, it was too much. The projection we perform on the royal family is not innocent. If you look only at the surface, you see bunting and smiles. But monarchy is an anachronism for a reason. 

3. The Sussexes know that the psychological contortion required to pretend to embody a nation is emotional death. William and Harry’s recent interest in mental health is a muted cry. Monarchy killed their mother. You can talk about drunk drivers and seatbelts but why was she there, in that tunnel, at that time?

4. “I think being part of this family, in this role, in this job, every single time I see a camera,” Harry said, “every single time I hear a click, every single time I see a flash it takes me straight back.” He also said: “I will not be bullied into carrying on a game that killed my mum.” 

5. There was a role waiting for Meghan. If you want to know what it was, look at the Duchess of Cambridge – who is immaculate, and always seems to be laughing.

6. Meghan tried. She hugged; she talked about feelings. The mockery – and the anger – began. Her father’s story was bought and published. She resisted palace advice and was briefed against for making the Duchess of Cambridge cry. There was racism, but her crime was really that she was unwilling to meet the insatiable expectations; unwilling to be consumed. Then came the unforgivable sin. She said she was unhappy. You cannot do this if you are a royal: we like our victims pliant.

7. “I really tried to adopt this British sensibility of a ‘stiff upper lip’,” she told the ITV interviewer Tom Bradby. “I really tried, but I think that what that does internally is probably really damaging. I never thought that this would be easy, but I thought it would be fair.” It was never going to be fair.

8. I suspect the Duke of Sussex, like his great-great uncle Edward VIII, married a woman, however unconsciously, who would rescue him from this shabby and duplicitous splendour. He lived a half-formed life under a half-broken enchantment. If you have been a demigod, can you exist in the real world, represented today by Canada? We will see. I wish them well.

ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS:

Paragraph 1: According to the article, why was Megham Markle a positive addition to the Royal Family?

Paragraph 2: “Monarchy is an anachronism”: what does that sentence mean ? (explain what is “an anachronism”)

Paragraph 3: Translate this sentence into French: “The Sussexes know that the psychological contortion required to pretend to embody a nation is emotional death.”

Paragraph 4: Prince Harry says in the article: “I will not be bullied into carrying on a game that killed my mum.”  What is the “game” which killed Harry’s mum?

Paragraph 5: “There was a role waiting for Meghan.” What is that role?

Paragraph 6: What “bad things” happened to Meghan Markle when she became a royal? Mention 3 things.

RESEARCH ON INTERNET: 

Paragraph 7 : Meghan Markle tried to have the British “stiff upper lip”: what does this expression mean?

Paragraph 8 : What happened to Edward VIII ? You can summarize in 1 or 2 sentences.

OPINION: If you were in the same situation as Prince Harry or Meghan Markle (a member of a royal family), would you stay or would you decide to abandon your titles like them?

ENGLISH NEWS: THE GEORGE FLYOD PROTESTS

S’intéresser à la langue anglaise, c’est s’intéresser aux pays qui la parle, et se tenir aux courants des actualités. Je vous propose aujourd’hui une nouvelle rubrique, English News, rédigée par moi-même et qui présente un résumé d’évènements important. Vous avez sans doute entendu parler des manifestations qui secouent les USA en ce moment, mais peut être n’avez vous pas tous les détails. Comme nous avons fait une séquence sur la question Afro-américaine, ce nouvel exemple de racisme systémique très récent était parlant (et pourrait peut être changer certaines choses).
Si vous avez des questions, nous pourrons en discuter dans notre prochaine classe virtuelle. 

What is happening now in the United States?
The country is having a lot of demonstrations (manifestations) and protests because in a 34 years-old Afro-American man named George Floyd have been suffocated by a white police officer on May 25th, in the town of Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Why was George Floyd arrested?
George Floyd had bought cigarettes in a shop and was later suspected of having used a fake banknote (faux billets) of $20. The shopkeepers called the police and George Floyd was arrested.

How did George Floyd died?
A policeman named Derek Chauvin decided to maintain George Floyd with handcuffs (menottes) on the floor. He then put his knee on his neck and kept that position for a long time. George Floyd repeated several times “I can’t breathe” (“Je ne peux pas respirer”) and died.

Why did nobody do anything to stop the policeman?
Several witnesses (témoins) saw the policeman and told him to stop, but Derek Chauvin didn’t move. People shot videos of the scene, showing that George Floyd was not violent or resisting his arrest.

What happened after?
The death of George Floyd created a lot of protest around the country, with people claiming for justice. Protesters say that this death is just an example of a long series of police violence targeting (qui ciblent) Afro-American communities.
People were also unhappy that the policeman was sentenced (inculpé) for “involuntary manslaughter” (homicide involontaire), when it is obvious (évident) that it was not an accident.

What is Donald Trump’s reaction?
Donald Trump said that the death of George Floyd was a tragedy. But he is more interested in condemning the protesters. He said that he wants to put Antifas (mouvement anti-fasciste) on the list of terrorist organizations.

Why ?
Some protests have turned into riots (émeute) with a lot of property damaged and vandalized in some areas. But the majorities of the protests have be peaceful (pacifiques).

What are the latest news (les dernières nouvelles) ?
The policeman Derek Chauvin has finally been condemned for murder (meurtre), so protesters have been a bit happier. There was a big ceremony for the funerals of George Floyd with 8 minutes of silence in the city (8 minutes was the time the policeman had his knee on George Floyd’s neck). The Governor of Minnesota have decided NOT to give more budget to the police force and will use the money to help the structures in Afro-American communities areas.