Leçon d’anglais nº19: Les deadlines – expressions types

Ce mois-ci, nous vous proposons un exercice sur les expressions types, utiles pour exprimer le rapport au temps au travail, et en particulier dans les situations où vous avez des délais à respecter, plus communément appeler en anglais “DEADLINES”. Bon entraînement!

 

Boss: Clint! Have you finished that report?

Clint: I’ve been too lazy to do it.

Boss: When will it be done?

Clint: No later than next year – if you’re lucky.

Boss: Why so long?

Clint: I don’t want to tell you.

Boss: And the proposal?

Clint: I haven’t even thought about it.

Boss: When can you have it finished?

Clint: Probably never.

Boss: Also, I want you to make plans for an entire new building by tomorrow morning.

Clint: That’s absolutely impossible. I’m sure I won’t do it.

Boss: How long will it take?

Clint: Forever.

 

Some sentences are not right with this conversation, decide what should be used with the phrases below. Re-write the conversation.

1. 1.    I’ll see what I can do.                                 5.  I’ll do the best I can.
2. 2.    Should be any day now.                             6.  It may take a while.
3. 3.    It shouldn’t be long.                                    7.  It’s a long story.
4. 4.    I’m working on it.                                        8.  I haven’t got around to it yet

Boss: Clint! Have you finished that report?

1. Clint: ……………………

Boss: When will it be done?

1. Clint: …………………..

Boss: Why so long?

1. Clint: ……………………

Boss: And the proposal?

1. Clint: ……………………

Boss: When can you have it finished?

1. Clint: ……………………

Boss: Also, I want you to make plans for an entire new building by tomorrow morning.

1. Clint: ……………………

Boss: How long will it take?

1. Clint: ……………………

 

 

 

Answers: a/4 – b/2 – c/7 – d/8 – e/6 – f/5+3 – g/1

Leçon d’anglais n°18: Sur un air de musique …

Always look On The Bright Side Of Life Lyrics

Artist: Monty Python Songwriters: Idle, Eric

Some things in life are bad
They can really make you mad
Other things just make you swear and curse
When you’re chewing on life’s gristle
Don’t grumble, give a whistle
And this’ll help things turn out for the best
And…

 Always look on the bright side of life (whistle)
Always look on the light side of life (whistle)

If life seems jolly rotten
There’s something you’ve forgotten
And that’s to laugh and smile and dance and sing 
When you’re feeling in the dumps
Don’t be silly chumps
Just purse your lips and whistle – that’s the thing
And…

Always look on the bright side of life… (whistle)
Come on!
Always look on the bright side of life… (whistle)

For life is quite absurd
And death’s the final word
You must always face the curtain with a bow
Forget about your sin – give the audience a grin
Enjoy it – it’s your last chance anyhow

So always look on the bright side of death (whistle)
Just before you draw your terminal breath (whistle)

Life’s a piece of shit
When you look at it

 Life’s a laugh and death’s a joke, it’s true
You’ll see it’s all a show
Keep ‘em laughing as you go
Just remember that the last laugh is on you

 And always look on the bright side of life
Always look on the right side of life (whistle)

Traduction:

Mad = fou
Swear and curse = jurer et maudire
To chew = ronchonner, râler
Gristle = nerf
To grumble = se plaindre
Whistle = sifflement
Jolly rotten = très « pourri »
Dump = mal, déprimé
Silly = stupide
Chumps = idiot
To purse = pincer
Curtain = rideau
Bow = salut / révérence
Sin = pêché
Grin = grand sourire
Anyhow = de toute façon
Breath = souffle

Pour visionner l’original: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WlBiLNN1NhQ

Leçon d’anglais nº17 : Photographier comme un professionnel

“To get this shot looking toward the Horse Guards Parade building, Baker used a 300 mm telephoto lens and positioned himself on a footpath in St. James’s Park, withBuckinghamPalace not far behind him. Each June, a regiment of the British Army parades before the Queen in full traditional dress on the Horse Guards Parade grounds, a ceremony known as “Trooping the Color.” The spires in the background belong to government buildings, including Scotland Yard.”

To get: obtenir, se procurer
Shot looking: une photographie
Telephoto lens: un téléobjectif
Footpath: un sentier
Behind: derrière
To parade: défiler
Grounds: les terres (la proprieté)
“Trooping the Color”: la parade militaire
Spires: les flèches (architecture)
Background: un arrière-plan
To belong to: appartenir à, dépendre de

To read more:
http://www.time.com/time/travel/cityguide/article/0,31489,1846986_1852529_1852502,00.html#ixzz1CE59qVyl

Leçon 16 : Exercice pratique

You want to improve your English? Isn’t it? So let’s start 2011 with a little exercise.

Answer the questions and then report you on the correction just below.

Always go /Try not to be / Him to join  /  Did you see /  `ve know each other / Hadn’t stopped / I / Had  /  Angry /  Have often thought /Skiing /  Sleeping

• It would be better if they_________ longer holidays.

• I enjoy________.

• If you ________him, he would have robbed me.

• John and ________are good friends.

• _______the Headmaster last week?

• We’re great friends.

• We _________for years. __________late.

• It’s impossible to do a day’s work without___________ .

• His wife doesn’t want ___________the army.

• He felt_________ when he failed his exams.

• I _________about emigrating.

• I _________home for Christmas.

Correction of the exercise
Find below the right answers

1. Had/ 2. Skiing/ 3. Hadn’t stopped/ 4. I/ 5. Did you see/ 6. `ve know each other/ 7. Try not to be/ 8. Sleeping/
9. Him to join/ 10. Angry/ 11. Have often thought/ 12. Always go

Leçon 15: Le Christmas Cake

Ingredients

• 225g/8oz plain flour
• ¼ tsp salt
• ½ tsp mixed spice
• ½ tsp ground cinnamon
• 200g/7oz butter
• 200g/7oz dark brown sugar
• 2 tbsp black treacle
• 1 tbsp marmalade
• ¼ tsp vanilla essence
• 4 free-range eggs, lightly beaten
• 800g/1¾lb mixed dried fruits
• 100g/3½oz chopped mixed peel
• 150g/5oz glacé cherries, halved
• 100g/3½oz blanched almonds, chopped
• brandy
  

  Preparation method

  1. Heat the oven to 150C/300F/Gas2. Grease a 20cm/8inch round or an 18cm/7inch square cake tin and line the bottom and sides with baking parchment.
  2. Sieve the flour, salt, mixed spice and cinnamon into a bowl.
  3. Cream the butter and the sugar in a large mixing bowl and then mix in the sugar, treacle, marmalade and vanilla essence until light and fluffy.
  4. Mix the eggs a little at a time into the mixture adding a tablespoon of flour mixture with the last amount.
  5. Fold in the remaining flour mixture until well mixed and then mix in the dried fruit, mixed peel, glace cherries and the almonds.
  6. Turn the mixture into the prepared tin and make a slight hollow in the centre.
  7. Bake in the oven for 3 hours and then test with a skewer. If not ready bake for up to another hour testing every 20 minutes until the skewer comes out clean.
  8. Remove from the oven bake for up to another hour and leave to cool in the tin for 15 minutes.
  9. Turn out on to a wire rack and leave to cool.
  10. Once cool, make a few holes in the cake with a skewer and pour over 3-4 tbespoon brandy. Let the brandy soak into the cake.
  11. Store the cake wrapped in foil and in an airtight tin or plastic container, holes side up.

  If you have time, feed it with brandy in the run up to Christmas.

   Lexique:

  Cinnamon: Cannelle
  Black treade: sirop de mélasse noire
  Peel : écorce
  Heat : préchauffer
  Sieve: tamiser
  To cream the butter: transformer le beurre en crème
  Treacle: mélasse
  Fluffy: aéré
  Amount: partie
  Fold : replier
  Hollow: creux – trou
  Skewer: brochette / pointe pour tester
  Bake for up to another hour: cuire au four jusqu’à une heure
  To a wire rack: sur une grille
  Soak: tremper
  Airtight: hermétique