Héritage et mémoire

Read the text carefully, then answer the four questions in English, in complete sentences. Harbourton is a small port town on the English coast. In its main square stood a bronze statue of Thomas Vane, a merchant who died in 1802 and whose money built the town's school, its library and its almshouses. For a century, schoolchildren were taught that Vane had been a benefactor. Then, in 2019, a local historian published the ledgers of Vane's shipping company. They showed that three of his ships had carried enslaved Africans to the Caribbean. The town council met in March. Some residents asked for the statue to be taken down at once. Others argued that removing it would hide an uncomfortable truth, and that the plinth should simply carry a new plaque telling the whole story. A third group wanted the statue moved to the town museum, where it could be displayed beside the ledgers. After four public meetings, the council chose the third option. The statue left the square in October. In its place, the town commissioned a memorial garden, with the names of the three ships carved on a low wall, together with the only eleven names of enslaved people that the ledgers record. 'We have not erased Thomas Vane,' the mayor said on the day the garden opened. 'We have stopped thanking him.'

1. a)In which year was Thomas Vane's role in the slave trade made public, and by whom ? (1 pt)
2. b)Name the three solutions discussed by the residents of Harbourton. (1 pt)
3. c)What did the town build in the square after the statue had gone, and what is written on it ? (1 pt)
4. d)Explain in your own words what the mayor means by 'We have stopped thanking him.' (1 pt)

Complete each sentence with the English word matching the French clue in brackets. One word per gap.

1. a)The customs house is a ___ building : nothing can be changed without permission. (classé) (1 pt)
2. b)The transatlantic trade left a painful ___ in the port cities of the west coast. (héritage, au sens figuré) (1 pt)
3. c)The museum has just bought an ___ brought back from the Caribbean in 1799. (objet de collection) (1 pt)
4. d)After ten years of ___, the medieval church reopened last June. (restauration) (1 pt)

Translate the French segment into English, respecting the structure given.

1. a)Le Royaume-Uni commémore ses morts à la guerre le 11 novembre. → Britain ___ (1 pt)
2. b)Le maire a déposé une gerbe au monument aux morts. → The mayor ___ (1 pt)
3. c)Ces savoir-faire se transmettent de génération en génération. → These skills ___ (1 pt)
4. d)Le musée témoigne d'un passé douloureux. → The museum ___ (1 pt)

Rewrite or complete each sentence so that it uses the analytical phrasing studied in the chapter. Respect the words given.

1. a)Complete : This photograph was taken against the ___ of the 2020 protests. (1 pt)
2. b)Complete : The empty plinth ___ ___ an empire that the country no longer celebrates. (deux mots : symboliser) (1 pt)
3. c)Rewrite with a concession : « The statue is a fine work of art. It honours a slave trader. » Begin with Granted… (1 pt)
4. d)Write the opening sentence of a conclusion about the Harbourton debate, beginning with All in all… (1 pt)

The council of Harbourton has asked young residents for their opinion. Write ONE argumentative text of 150 to 180 words answering the question : should the statue have been moved to the museum ? Your text must satisfy the four requirements below, each worth 1 point.

1. a)Longueur et organisation : 150 à 180 mots, une introduction qui reformule l'enjeu, deux paragraphes d'argumentation, une conclusion. (1 pt)
2. b)Lexique : employer au moins six mots ou expressions du chapitre (heritage, legacy, memorial, plinth, to topple, to relocate, to pay tribute to, to erase history…). (1 pt)
3. c)Tournures : employer au moins trois tournures d'analyse ou d'argumentation (on the one hand… on the other hand, granted…, yet, arguably, to some extent, all in all). (1 pt)
4. d)Point de vue : prendre position clairement dans la conclusion, après avoir présenté l'argument adverse. (1 pt)