group "english practice"

[Milla]

Hello

Teacher, I made correction but I have a question : How say " Oliver Twist naissait, attendu par..." ? I have to say "O.T. was born" all the time, I can't say borned even if I talk about the whole period of delivery ?

here is my summary for "Oliver Twist"

In an unknown time and place but where people suffered from high poverty, a child was born, in this world of pain, in a workhouse, and tried to survive to his very first moments.

Oliver Twist, because we talk about him, was born in an hostile world to compare to a house where a child was expected by all his family as a precious gift.

But because of that, because of that parish surgeon and his partner, an old and drunk woman, Oliver understood instinctively that he had to fight against himself and nature to live. He breathed and everyone in that workhouse could hear his long cry of a newborn which meant that he was here, alive.

His mother so weak, so pale, asked to see her child and knew that it would be her first and last wish before she died.

This story takes place in the 19th century, Oliver Twist is a child, an orphan who after having suffered from bad treatments, ran away to London. In this town, he met thieves, after some fights, a family took Oliver under its(?) wing and Oliver for the first time learned to be loved and to love.

Charles Dickens, the author, lived in the 19th century. He knew early what poverty and work were. Oliver Twist is one of his most known book.

So here is the link for next week :

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4865034.stm

Have a good week

[teacher]

Hello

Teacher, I made correction but I have a question : How say " Oliver Twist naissait, attendu par..." ? I have to say "O.T. was born" all the time, I can't say borned even if I talk about the whole period of delivery ?

Hi ,Milla !

I made the corrections / How can I say ..? !!

Pour "family' , il me semble qu'une reprise pronominale en "they" serait plus logique .(their wing)

I was born : je suis né(e)

born : n'est pas une base verbale . A ma connaissance ' borned' n'existe pas

( cela vient de " bear, bore, borne : porter)

peut-être peux-tu dire : while I was being delivered / while my mother was delivering me ...?

[teacher]

It's a bit short !...

Do you know what a " workhouse " was ?

and why do you say that giving the name of the town and the moment of O's birth wouldn't be useful to the reader ?

I thought that Dickens said that it wouldn't be very useful for the reader to know the place and the time Oliver was born because of this sentence : "inasmuch as it can be of no possible consequence to the reader".

I found on internet this definition for a workhouse : a house where the town poor are maintained at public expense, and provided with labor.

Hi csand !

Je ne faisais que te suggérer des pistes pour faire durer ton commentaire . Si tu as des connaissances de l'époque,l'écrivain... cela peut être utile .

...et ce n'est pas parce que l'auteur ( Dickens ici) dit qu'une info n'est pas utile pour le lecteur, qu'il faut le croire ! It's a literary device ! don't forget the narrator isn't reliable : he is giving his own opinion , his own point of view.. So why should we trust him ? ;-)

All the best

[ludi]

Hi eveybody

welcome to "newcomers"

Here is my summary of Oliver Twist (it's a bit short... )

This document is an extract of Dickens' Oliver twist, it is the opening chapter of the novel and it deals with the birth of the eponymous character.

The narrator gives few precisions about time and place. The only thing we know is that Oliver Twist was born in a workhouse. The narrator prefers to give details bout the birth itself rather than the place where it takes place, the country or the town, mostly to focus on the sinister atmospher of the workhouse

Oliver's birth had been very difficult: he couldn't breathe easily. From his very first moments, life didn't spoil Oliver, he had been given birth by a parish surgeon helped by a drunk woman. Moreover is mother was weak, so weak that she could not survive to her labor.Oliver knew he had to fight to stay alive. As soon as he was born he had been an orphan her mother watched him and died.

see you

[teacher]

Hi eveybody

welcome to "newcomers"

Here is my summary of Oliver Twist (it's a bit short... )

This document is an extract of Dickens' Oliver twist, it is the opening chapter of the novel and it deals with the birth of the eponymous character.

Oliver's birth had been very difficult: he couldn't breathe easily. From his very first moments, life didn't spoil Oliver, he had been given birth by a parish surgeon helped by a drunk woman. Moreover is mother was weak, so weak that she could not survive to her labor.Oliver knew he had to fight to stay alive. As soon as he was born he had been an orphan her mother watched him and died.

see you

[ludi]

Thank you teacher to quote my mistakes

I made some corrections. Why did you quote the article "of" for "an extract of"... is it better to choose "from"? and for spoil is it better to use a synonym?

Hi everybody

welcome to "newcomers"

Here is my summary of Oliver Twist (it's a bit short... )

This document is an extract (of) from Dickens' Oliver twist, it is the opening chapter of the novel and it deals with the birth of the eponymous character.

Oliver's birth has been very difficult: he couldn't breathe easily. From his very first moments, life didn't spoil Oliver, he had been given birth by a parish surgeon helped by a drunk woman. Moreover his mother was weak, so weak that she could not survive to her labor.Oliver knew he had to fight to stay alive. As soon as he was born he had been an orphan his mother watched him and died.

see you

[teacher]

I made some corrections. Why did you quote the article "of" for "an extract of"... is it better to choose "from"? and for spoil is it better to use a synonym?

I would definitely use "an extract FROM "

as for "spoil" , to me "spoil" means "gacher/gâter" ( rendre moins bon) .

I think you mean that life wasn't good to Oliver, nature wasn't kind to him giving him a bad start in life.

Since your English is good, I'm nit-picking :P

Thank you FOR reading my corrections !!

[Milla]

Hi

as the link ( http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4865034.stm) that I gave you 2 days ago seems not to "work" very well , I add a new text (about the same subject) here so now, you can choose (and even make the two of them )

From the BBC News too :

Tuesday, 4 April 2006, 15:28 GMT 16:28 UK

France faces fresh day of protest

Hundreds of thousands of people in France are taking part in a day of nationwide protests against a new youth employment law.

Unions and student groups are hoping to repeat last week's rallies, when more than one million people marched across the country against the CPE contracts.

The law making it easy to hire and fire young people came into force on Sunday.

But the government has asked French employers not to apply it until amendments are made.

More than 200 rallies are planned over the course of the day in a fifth day of protests across France in two months. Early counts suggest a similar turnout to that of protests last week.

Large demonstrations have been taking place in regional cities such as Marseille in the south, and Bordeaux and Nantes in the west, while tens of thousands have been attending the main rally in Paris which started earlier on Tuesday afternoon.

Transport is being affected nationwide, although the impact appears weaker than a similar strike a week ago:

* Civil aviation authorities report some delays at French airports and some internal flights are cancelled

* Two-thirds of high-speed intercity rail links are operating normally

* The Paris metro is operating almost normally and so are buses

* Transport strikes are held in 32 other towns and cities including Marseille and Toulouse.

Some schools have also closed in response to the unions' call for a general strike.

Thousands of riot police have been deployed to prevent a repeat of the clashes and vandalism that marred several previous demonstrations, particularly in Paris.

Truce in sight?

Bernard Thibault, head of trade union CGT, said the action was aimed at getting the law withdrawn as it is now legally in force.

"I hope the demonstrations will help us deal a fatal blow to the CPE," he told French radio.

President Jacques Chirac's conservative party, the Union for a Popular Movement (UMP), has signalled further possible climbdowns on the measure.

"We'll be ready as of tomorrow [Wednesday] to receive the unions, to listen to them. There won't be any limits to the talks," UMP parliamentary chief Bernard Accoyer said.

Political rivalry

On Friday, President Chirac pledged to shorten from two years to one the period in which young people could be fired and said employers would need to give a reason for dismissal.

But trade unions say the proposed amendments are unacceptable.

French newspapers say Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy has effectively taken over from Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin in the search for a solution.

The two men are tipped as rivals as right-wing candidates to succeed President Jacques Chirac in the 2007 presidential election.

Mr Sarkozy now seems to be the man in control, talking to the unions behind the scenes about what should happen next, the BBC's Caroline Wyatt reports.

Mr de Villepin's poll ratings for his handling of the economy have slumped to the lowest level since he took office nearly a year ago, in a survey released on Tuesday.

Mr de Villepin's government says the law will help tackle high levels of youth unemployment - currently running at more than 20%.

[ludi]

Since your English is good, I'm nit-picking :P

[Milla]

Hello

here is my summary for the second text :

This article, entitled "France faces fresh day of protest", is taken from the BBC News and it dates back to tuesday, 4 april 2006.

The journalist tackles with the large demonstrations in the whole France which have been brought by the CPE (Contrat Première Embauche which we can translate by : "First Job Contract"(?)). Because of that contract, more than one million of people, supported by a lot of french trade unions and the left-wing politics, have demonstrated their refusal to negociate the withdrawnal of the CPE.

The rallies took place in many towns like Marseille, Nantes and Bordeaux; There were not many disruptions in the french metro nor in the trains. the transport strikes affected 32 towns. On the other hand, a large part of french school was closed.

A lot of policemen and members of riot police have been called to prevent the huge problems that happened last week with rioters.

This problem is not only a social problem, it is also a political problem. Dominique de Villepin, the Prime Minister who was very pouplar, wanted the CPE's creation to answer to the unemployment. Jacques Chirac suggested new dispositions of this contract but as this measure was completly rejected by french youth and national trade unions, Nicolas Sarkosy seemed to appear as the one who can save the situation.

This problem highlights the competition between two men : de Villepin and Sarkosy as the 2007 presidential elections approached.

Pfffffiou, I almost made my summary without dictionnary so I am not really happy but I have done the best that I can.

Thank you for reading, I 'll try to comment this text but now, I am going to eat .

[Milla]

Well, here is my comment :

The CPE has been created because of the high rate of youth unemployment. Previously, another contract had been voted : the CNE (for people who are 25 years old and more). But reactions were stronger when the government decided to vote the CPE. Students completely rejected this contract because of its forms : during two years, young people could be fired anytime and employers would not have to give any reason for that.

A lot of universities are on strike since the beginning of february and demonstrations are getting bigger and bigger.

I have a lot to say but as I try to work without dictionnary, it is a little bit difficult (for the moment ) to not make mistakes.

Good night

[ludi]

Hi everybody

Here is my summary and comment for the article you put here Milla

This article, France faces fresh day of protest deals with the french current events. Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin created a new contract for young people to decrease unemployment.

This contract named CPE doesn't suit to sudent who will be concerned by it.

It doesn't guarentee them a sure employment as the employer can lay off his employee during a period of two years. The main revendication of young people is the fact that they won't be allowed to boroww some money or to buy a flat whith this kind of contract.

So, these events lead to various strikes. First of all students blocked universities to show their discontentment and then various trade unions folow them. Big cities are the first concerned strikes blocked transports...

The situation doesn't seem to change. President Chirac gives his support to his Prime Minister and didn't revoke the CPE he only mentionned on a public speech that some adjustments will be made: for instance shorten from two years to one the period in which young people could be fired.

This modification didn't suit to unions and strike went on.

This restore the conflict between Sarkosy and the Prime Minister who are in competition it gives a taste of the next presidential election.

I've done it quickly so I may add some comments

see you