Fictions et réalités : Going to Mars (évaluation 2, sujet 0, 2019)
Énoncé
Text 1
« Six days into what should be the greatest two months of my life, and it's turned into a nightmare.
I don't even know who'll read this. I guess someone will find it eventually. Maybe a hundred years from now.
For the record… I didn't die on Sol 6 (1). Certainly the rest of the 5 crew thought I did, and I can't blame them. Maybe there'll be a day of national mourning for me, and my Wikipedia page will say, "Mark Watney is the only human being to have died on Mars."
And it'll be right, probably. 'Cause I'll surely die here. Just not on Sol 6 when everyone thinks I did.
Let's see… where do I begin?
The Ares Program. Mankind reaching out to Mars to send people to another planet for the very first time and expand the horizons of humanity blah, blah, blah. The Ares 1 crew did their thing and came back heroes. They got the parades and fame and love of the world.
Ares 2 did the same thing, in a different location on Mars. They got a firm handshake and a hot cup of coffee when they got home.
Ares 3. Well, that was my mission. Okay, not mine per se. Commander Lewis was in charge. I was just one of her crew. Actually, I was the very lowest ranked member of the crew. I would only be "in command" of the mission if I were the only remaining person.
What do you know? I'm in command. A sol is a Mars solar day. It lasts 24 hours and 39 minutes, the duration of the day-night cycle on Mars.
I wonder if this log will be recovered before the rest of the crew die of old age. I presume they got back to Earth all right. Guys, if you're reading this: It wasn't your fault.
You did what you had to do. In your position I would have done the same thing. I don't blame you, and I'm glad you survived. »
I don't even know who'll read this. I guess someone will find it eventually. Maybe a hundred years from now.
For the record… I didn't die on Sol 6 (1). Certainly the rest of the 5 crew thought I did, and I can't blame them. Maybe there'll be a day of national mourning for me, and my Wikipedia page will say, "Mark Watney is the only human being to have died on Mars."
And it'll be right, probably. 'Cause I'll surely die here. Just not on Sol 6 when everyone thinks I did.
Let's see… where do I begin?
The Ares Program. Mankind reaching out to Mars to send people to another planet for the very first time and expand the horizons of humanity blah, blah, blah. The Ares 1 crew did their thing and came back heroes. They got the parades and fame and love of the world.
Ares 2 did the same thing, in a different location on Mars. They got a firm handshake and a hot cup of coffee when they got home.
Ares 3. Well, that was my mission. Okay, not mine per se. Commander Lewis was in charge. I was just one of her crew. Actually, I was the very lowest ranked member of the crew. I would only be "in command" of the mission if I were the only remaining person.
What do you know? I'm in command. A sol is a Mars solar day. It lasts 24 hours and 39 minutes, the duration of the day-night cycle on Mars.
I wonder if this log will be recovered before the rest of the crew die of old age. I presume they got back to Earth all right. Guys, if you're reading this: It wasn't your fault.
You did what you had to do. In your position I would have done the same thing. I don't blame you, and I'm glad you survived. »
Andy WEIR, The Martian, 2011
Text 2
An Interview With Elon Musk About Mars
« The entrepreneur details his plan to send one million humans to the red planet.
In the year 2014 Elon Musk doesn't need much of an introduction. Not since Steve Jobs has an American technologist captured the cultural imagination like Musk. He is the inspiration for Robert Downey Jr's Iron Man. His life story has already become a legend. He decided idle hedonism wasn't for him, and instead sank his fortune into a pair of unusually ambitious startups. With his automobile company he would replace the world's cars with electric vehicles and with his space company he would colonize Mars. And so I wondered, why space?
"I think there is a strong humanitarian argument for making life multi-planetary," he told me, "in order to safeguard the existence of humanity in the event that something catastrophic were to happen, in which case being poor or having a disease would be irrelevant, because humanity would be extinct."
Musk told me this first group of settlers will need to pay their own way. "My rough guess is that for a half-million dollars, there are enough people that could afford to go and would want to go. But it's not going to be a vacation jaunt. It's going to be saving up all your money and selling all your stuff, like when people moved to the early American colonies."
A million people on Mars sounds like a techno-futurist fantasy. And yet, the very existence of Musk's space venture is fantasy. »
In the year 2014 Elon Musk doesn't need much of an introduction. Not since Steve Jobs has an American technologist captured the cultural imagination like Musk. He is the inspiration for Robert Downey Jr's Iron Man. His life story has already become a legend. He decided idle hedonism wasn't for him, and instead sank his fortune into a pair of unusually ambitious startups. With his automobile company he would replace the world's cars with electric vehicles and with his space company he would colonize Mars. And so I wondered, why space?
"I think there is a strong humanitarian argument for making life multi-planetary," he told me, "in order to safeguard the existence of humanity in the event that something catastrophic were to happen, in which case being poor or having a disease would be irrelevant, because humanity would be extinct."
Musk told me this first group of settlers will need to pay their own way. "My rough guess is that for a half-million dollars, there are enough people that could afford to go and would want to go. But it's not going to be a vacation jaunt. It's going to be saving up all your money and selling all your stuff, like when people moved to the early American colonies."
A million people on Mars sounds like a techno-futurist fantasy. And yet, the very existence of Musk's space venture is fantasy. »
Ross Andersen, www.theatlantic.com, October 3rd 2014 (abridged and adapted)
Compréhension écrite
Attention : Il ne faut pas citer les documents. Vous devez répondre aux questions en anglais avec vos propres mots.
Questions on text 1
a. After reading the text, what can you say about the narrator and the situation he is in?
Il convient de repérer dans le document tout ce qui révèle l'identité du narrateur (nom, profession) et la situation dans laquelle il se trouve (endroit). Vous devrez être en mesure aussi d'expliquer la raison pour laquelle il est dans cette situation.
b. Focus on the following three clues: "I don't even know who'll read this", "Let's see…where do I begin?", "Guys, if you're reading this". ?What do they reveal about what the narrator is doing? Explain why he is doing it.
Vous devez vous servir des trois citations pour comprendre ce que le narrateur est en train de faire et pour pouvoir expliquer pourquoi il le fait. Il s'agit de comprendre l'implicite et pas simplement ce qui est explicité chaque fois. Autrement dit, il faut vous interroger sur la signification de ce qui se dit, que ce soit des faits ou bien des sentiments. Par exemple, que signifie « this » dans la première citation ? Pourquoi le narrateur utilise-t-il le mot « begin » dans la deuxième citation ? Une nouvelle lecture du texte entier pourrait vous éclairer.
c. Focus on what is said about the Ares program.?In what ways do the three missions Ares 1, Ares 2 and Ares 3 differ?
La question vous invite à explorer le passage portant sur le programme Ares afin de comparer les trois missions qui en font partie. Commencer par repérer les points de convergence pour ensuite dégager les divergences.
Questions on text 2
d. After reading the text, what can you say about:
• Elon Musk?
• the reasons why he is famous?
• his plans for the future?
Il convient de repérer dans le document tout ce que l'on apprend au sujet d'Elon Musk (nationalité, profession), les raisons de sa notoriété, et ses projets pour l'avenir.
e. What can you say about his vision of the future of humanity?
Vous devez repérer le passage qui concerne la manière dont Musk conçoit l'avenir de l'humanité. Une fois que vous en aurez compris le sens, vous devez prendre du recul pour qualifier cette vision. Est-elle optimiste, pessimiste, utopique, irréaliste, mitigée ? Bien évidemment, il convient de justifier votre prise de position.
f. What are the conditions required to be part of the "first group of settlers"?
Il s'agit de repérer les conditions à remplir pour pouvoir faire partie du premier groupe de colons à destination de la planète Mars.
Question on texts 1 and 2
g. In your opinion, which text is the more realistic? Justify your answer.
On vous demande lequel des deux textes vous paraît le plus réaliste. Vous devez justifier votre réponse. Prenez en compte la source à chaque fois et interrogez-vous sur le degré de proximité entre les idées évoquées dans les textes et la réalité telle que nous la connaissons aujourd'hui.
Expression écrite
Question A
You are the commander of mission Ares 1. You have just come back from your mission and you are invited to give the opening speech at a press conference. Write your speech.
Comprendre la question
Il s'agit de rédiger le discours prononcé par le commandeur de la mission d'Ares 1 une fois revenu sur terre. Vous devez donc expliquer ce qui s'est passé sur Mars (imaginez la situation) et évoquer le décès de Mark Wagney.Mobiliser ses connaissances
Pour rendre compte de la mission, il faut mobiliser : - les temps du passé : préterit simple (action ponctuelle), préterit be + Ving (action commentée) ;
- la notion de devoir / obligation morale :
- it was my duty to … / I had to + V,
- we were expected / supposed to ; the plan was to + V… ;
- le lexique en lien avec un incident :
- accident / incident / tragedy
- seism / storm
- technical problem ;
- le sentiment de tristesse :
- it saddens me to … / I'm sorry to announce …,
- unfortunately, … / Sad to say, …
Procéder par étapes
1. Préparez vos idées :
- rappel de l'objectif de la mission ;
- récit de l'incident ;
- annonce du décès d'un membre de l'équipage
expression de sympathie.
2. Organisez votre plan : introduction, développement, conclusion.
3. Rédigez votre discours en respectant votre plan et en veillant à éviter les redondances.
4. Contrôlez la précision linguistique de votre brouillon (grammaire, lexique) puis recopiez-le au propre.
Question B
On a blog, you read three different reactions from people who have just read the article "An Interview With Elon Musk About Mars". Which one do you agree most with? Why?
Living on Mars? That is nonsense!
I'm going to start saving money immediately to pay for my trip to Mars.
Right now I can't imagine living on Mars but that could be a great idea for the future…
Living on Mars? That is nonsense!
I'm going to start saving money immediately to pay for my trip to Mars.
Right now I can't imagine living on Mars but that could be a great idea for the future…
Comprendre la question
La question vous invite à vous positionner par rapport à trois réactions à l'idée d'habiter Mars, en indiquant laquelle correspond le mieux à la vôtre. Il s'agit donc d'un texte argumentatif, qui devra toutefois être concis.Mobiliser ses connaissances
Pour un texte argumentatif, il faut mobiliser : - les expressions d'opinion :
- in my opinion / to my mind / from my point of view / personally,
- I (really) believe / I (honestly) think …,
- in all honesty / quite frankly / to be honest,
- I can't conceive of / I fail to understand (why / how) / I'm not (even) sure that / I (really) can't see it happening
- la notion de probabilité :
- It would be (im)possible (for me) to + V,
- It may (well) + V / it could + V,
- It is (highly) unlikely / improbable that… / doubtful that …
- le lexique de privation :
- Forego / go without
- le lexique de richesse :
- (raise) a huge sum of money / (acquire) a fortune / make one's fortune / hit the jackpot,
- Rich people / fat cats / moneybags.
Procéder par étapes
Préparez vos idées : - votre réaction par rapport à chacune des affirmations ;
- votre propre positionnement sur la question.
Rédigez votre essai en respectant votre plan et en veillant à éviter les redondances.
Contrôlez la précision linguistique de votre brouillon (grammaire, lexique) puis recopiez-le au propre.
Corrigé
Compréhension écrite
Questions on text 1
a. The narrator's name is Mark Watney. He was the most junior member of a space crew on a mission to Mars. He is now alone on the red planet, and thinks that he will be the first person to die there, as his crew has abandoned him because they thought he had died during the mission.
b. The narrator has decided to write a log and is at the very beginning. He is uncertain whether anyone will actually read it and unsure about what to write exactly. However, he hopes that someone will find it one day and that the other crew members will learn that he did not die as they thought. He would like them to know that he does not hold them accountable for what happened.
c. The Ares program is a project to send people to Mars. All three missions succeeded in putting crew members on the planet. However Ares 3 encountered problems and returned to earth minus one crew member. Both Ares 1 and Ares 2 were successful, even if their missions were carried out on different locations on Mars. However, for their debut the Ares 1 crew members benefitted from international acclaim and fame with a heroes' welcome on their return to earth, whereas the crew members of Ares 2 received more subdued congratulations as if it was less of an exploit and more of a routine procedure.
Questions on text 2
d. Elon Musk is an American entrepreneur specialising in technology on a par with Steve Jobs. He is a celebrity on account of his fortune, his life story and exceptionally venturous commercial projects. Indeed, his celebrity is so legendary that he inspired film-maker Robert Downey Jr to make Iron Man. His two mind-boggling projects for the future are to replace all petrol-driven vehicles by electric ones worldwide, and to establish settlements on Mars where people can live.
e. Even if Musk's commercial enterprises for the future may seem somewhat utopian, his vision of mankind's future seems quite alarmist. Indeed, he fears that a major catastrophe on earth could wipe out humanity. As a consequence, he advocates developing projects which would enable human beings to inhabit more than one or two planets to ensure the survival of our species.
f. Anyone who wishes to participate in the first settlement on Mars must be able to pay $500,000. Musk seems to think that there are plenty of people with sufficient funds to populate the settlement, but he insists on the fact that passengers to Mars must accept the fact that they will be leaving all their worldly goods behind them just as the first American settlers did. The trip to Mars will not be a holiday, the passengers will have a lot of work to do to make the planet liveable.
Question on texts 1 and 2
g. Andy Weir's novel is science fiction, so it is pure imagination. At the same time, his protagonist's situation, abandoned by all in a remote place, is a recurrent theme in fiction and also occurs in real life to some explorers and unfortunate travellers. Thus, we can consider that although the setting is fictional, the situation is emblematic of some true adventures and a multitude of imagined ones. Although Andersen's interview with Elon Musk is real, the entrepreneur's predictions for the future are purely subjective. His vision of a world where electric cars have replaced vehicles with combustion engines is difficult to imagine at present, as many parts of the world still have no electricity and the petrol industry is so powerful. Likewise, imagining a human colony on Mars at a time when man has not yet even set foot on the planet is rather far-fetched. So both texts are fairly unrealistic, but humanity needs dreams to be able to progress!
Expression écrite
Question A
As commander of Ares 3, it is my duty to inform you of the partial failure of our mission to establish a research site on the third location on planet Mars. Like the two previous missions, Ares 1 and Ares 2, after one month's journey to reach Mars, we were expected to spend two months on-site constructing a permanent research post in a location as yet unexplored by mankind.We arrived on schedule and the Mars landing was a total success. The first five days were spent unloading the construction equipment from our space ship and ferrying it to the construction site. Everything went according to plan and the crew's moral was high. Then on Sol 6, disaster struck. There was a gigantic seism coupled with a massive sand storm. Fortunately, all of the crew were in the shuttle travelling back to the spaceship above Mars – all, that is, except one. It saddens me to announce that our youngest crew member, Mark Watney, was not in the shuttle as we initially believed.
Our on-site cameras showed us a scene of horrendous devastation: a massive crevice ran across the site and all our construction material had disappeared. There was no sign of life and no way Mark could have survived such a cataclysm. Our thoughts go out to his family and friends. Mark was an excellent crew member!
Question B
Elon Musk has announced the price of a ticket to Mars as being $500,000. It would be impossible for me to raise such a huge sum of money in my life-time. So I certainly don't agree with the second idea. However, in all honesty, I really can't conceive of the planet Mars as being an alternative to life on Earth. For a handful of fat cats, it may well become a reality thanks to Musk's space company, but quite frankly, I fail to understand why anyone would want to forego the beauty of the planet Earth to live on an inhospitable dusty planet so far from home.I'm not even sure that life on Mars could become a reality in the distant future. When you consider the population of Earth, and the distance between the two planets, it seems highly unlikely that Mars could become a permanent settlement for humanity. Our quest for adventure and desire to discover new frontiers could lead to Mars becoming an outpost for space trips similar to what Musk currently practises in space, but I really can't see it as a place to found families and raise children.
