Corrigé des questions de la compréhengjlsion de l’écrit. Fk:fyk:

1. The main character is the narrator who is also the author, Vikram Seth.The minor characters are his aunt and uncle fk:, Shanti and Henny, and his hovgjl;usemaster (who isalsothe headmaster), Mr McCrum.

2. A boarder is a student who sleeps at school: “I was lodged fhk: b,: in School House, and in a cavernoushall had a small wooden cubicle of my own to work and sleep in.” (l. 10)

3. Les élèves devront citer au moins quatre des éléments suivants : boars’ heads at the entrance – cavernous hall – record-players permitted – lunch with theheadmaster – decorous, measured setting – sherry before lunch – table mannersPhoto: carpets on the floor – stained glass windows – gigantic hall – uniforms – formal setting

4. “… the boys were not unwelcoming. Nor, for that matter, were the masters, though I found myhousemaster … daunting.” (l. 15)

5. His embarrassment is easily understood if the meal took place in a formal setting like the hallshown in the photo. When the room fell silent because of his mistake with the apple, he must havebeen extremely conscious of everyone staring at him, particularly when he saw the otherschoolboys looking at Mr McCrum for his reaction.

6. He had to study a European language to ‘O’ level to be accepted.

7. Mr McCrum was an influential character in the school as he was both housemaster andheadmaster. He was a tall and intimidating man, however he was sensitive and helped the narratorto feel at ease when he ate his scooped-out apple. He was also very positive about the narrator’sstudies and encouraged him to take the exam for Oxford.

8. Aunty Henny wanted the narrator to be realistic: it was up to him to adapt to the rules of hiscountry of adoption and not the other way round, whatever he may think.

9. At first the narrator was worried about how he would fit in at school, which is hardly surprisingas life in a public school such as the one shown in the photo must have been very different fromhis life in India. He felt reassured by the warm welcome given by teachers and students. In adecorous setting, similar to the dining hall of Eton, he obviously felt anxious about table manners.In such a situation, it must have been highly embarrassing to realize that he was the only one tohave eaten both apple and shrimps, and certainly a great relief to hear Mr McCrum’s helpful remark.

10. Even in a multicultural country, with a mix of immigrants from all around the world, the narrator obviously had to adjust to his new situation. He had to make new friends and adapt tothe social code of public school life. His mother tongue was probably Hindi, so it was probablynot easy for him to learn another European language. Coming from a Commonwealth countrywith historical ties to Britain must have made the challenge easier to take up.