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DM Love BytesTS1

Global comprehension:

1) What type of narrative is it ? Justify.First person narrative I (l.1)

2) How many characters are present in the text? Introduce them and be as precise as possible ( names,nicknames, relationship, social background, place of living).

Two characters:- Narrator: Nick Gilett. He works in London. He may be a journalist (see paratext)- ChristyBrown Eyed Girl Southern States (New Orleans?)at collegenot much moneycant

afford buying a ticket to England. (l.46)

- Relationship: love affair our relationship continued with renewed passion(l.60)3) What is the text about ?(30 words max)

It is about the encounter / meeting on the net between Nick and Christy. It also deals with thedifficulties to carry on a relationship when distance is at stake: out of sight, out of mind

Detailed comprehension

Part 1: 1- 44

1. The whole text: What are the advantages and drawbacks of distant / internet relationship, according to thenarrator?

Advantages (4 adjectives from the text only) Drawbacks

Sweet 17

Exhilarating 17

Illicit (13)

Thrilling (14)

E-mail: world of potential fiction into events(34): Whenwe dont know the person for real can imaginethings that are not real.

Nick had expensive phone bills (43)

E-mail no longer enough(44): you build a seriousrelationship based on virtual communication

2. Following the chronological order of the text, pick out the four different ways the characters used tocommunicate as their relationship evolves.

- Chat rooms- Mails- Phone conversations- Face to face

3. Why did they choose to change their means of communication? (20 words) Justify your answer with arelevant quote.

Because emails and the phonewere not enough to build a serious relationship, they knew each other more andmore and they wanted their relationship to evolve. (68-72 or 43-5))

4. Right or Wrong? Justify your answer with a relevant quote from the text.a) At first, the narrator wasnot really seducedby Christie.

W: that charmed me completely (8)

b) He feltuncomfortablewhen asking her her email address.R: I felt somehowillicit (13) or as though Id crossed a barrier (14)

c) He wasimpatientto come back home to connect on the Internet.

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R: I would find myselfeager to get back to my computer when Id been away for a few hours (28-30)

d) Virtual communication makes youimagine thingswhich may not be real.R: One problem with e-mail is that it introduces a world ofpotential fiction into events (33-34)

Part 2: (45-end)

1. Where did they meet for the first time? Why?Theymet in New Orleans, because Christie didnt have enough money for the plane ticket, so this was Nick whocame from London.

2. Explain in your own words how the first meeting was (30 words)? Justify your answer with relevantadjectives taken from the text.

It was a great / wonderful / astonishing / incredible meeting because they felt at ease from the beginning /theywerent disappointed by each other / they felt as if they had known each other for a long time.

Adjectives: romantic (48) / right (52) / bewildered (56) / amazing (59)

3. Compare the two meetings. (40 words)The first meeting was amazingwhile / whereas the second ended in tears.

The first meeting stands for the beginning of their relationship. On the contrary, they broke / split up the secondtime they saw each other

They enjoyed their first meeting a lot because it was the beginning of their relationship and they had to know iftheir love was real. However, when they realized they were in love, they knew one of them would have to move ina foreign country: none of them was ready to make such a sacrifice.

4. As a consequence, what decision did they have to make? How did they react? (Answer in your own words)They decided to break up / to split up. However, it was a hard decision to make since they were devastated /depressed / sad: we tearfully decided (77): their relationship ended in tears.

5. Analyze the symbolic meaning of the last sentence: Arcadium, the chat room where we met, closed some time ago(85-86)

The fact that the chat room closed echoes / mirrors the end of their relationship, as it had begun on it.