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Katie Melua : Nine million bicycles

BIOGRAPHY1

Katie Melua was born in Georgia (former USSR) in 1984. The family left Georgia

when Katie was 8 and moved to Belfast due to her father’s profession as a heart

surgeon. She had a great childhood both in Georgia and Northern Ireland. Katie

found the people in Northern Ireland extremely warm and made great friends at

St. Catherine’s Primary School and Dominican College, Fortwilliam.

Katie didn’t always want to be a singer or songwriter. Her ambition when she

was thirteen was to be a politician or a historian. The family lived in Belfast for

five years before moving to South East London. When Katie was fifteen she

entered a TV talent competition called Stars Up Their Nose - singing Mariah

Carey's "Without You". Despite just entering for fun, she won the competition

and also gained valuable experience by performing live on ITV three times.

Katie joined the Brit School for Performing Arts. During her time at the Brits she

discovered different styles of music including Queen, Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan,

Irish folk music and Indian music.

The composer and producer Mike Batt paid a visit to the school looking for

musicians to form a jazz band. Mike realized that he had found someone very

special: “Artists like Katie don’t come along very often, she is a true

original”. Her sensational voice also caught the attention of Terry Wogan who

chose to pioneer Katie, playing the single ‘The Closest Thing To Crazy’

throughout the summer of 2003. The release of the single saw Katie achieve

her first hit single entering the charts at number 10.

The end of 2003 was a very exciting time for 19 year old Katie. She was invited

to perform at the Royal Variety, where she met the Queen who said ‘I have

heard your record on the radio, it is very nice’.

1 www.katiemelua.com

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Vocabulary A l’aide d’un dictionnaire anglais-français, recherche les mots qui sont utiles à la

compréhension du texte ci-dessus. Sois particulièrement attentif à la traduction que tu choisis

lorsque le dictionnaire en donne plusieurs ! Tu ne dois en aucun cas te satisfaire de la

première traduction donnée ! Dans le tableau ci-dessous, donne si possible un contexte de la

même manière que dans les listes de vocabulaire précédemment distribuées aux cours !

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grammatical analysis

Dans les extraits du texte suivants, quelles sont les observations grammaticales que nous

pouvons faire ? Pour t’aider, certains mots ont été soulignés !

“Katie Melua was born in Georgia (former USSR) in 1984”

________________________________________________________________ “The family left Georgia when Katie was 8 and moved to Belfast due to her

father’s profession as a heart surgeon.”

a. ___________________________________________________________

b. ___________________________________________________________

“Katie didn’t always want to be a singer”

a. ___________________________________________________________

b. ___________________________________________________________

“The family lived in Belfast for five years before moving to South East London.”

________________________________________________________________

“she won the competition and also2 gained valuable experience by performing

live on ITV three times.”

________________________________________________________________

“During her time at the Brits she discovered different styles of music including

Queen, Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan, Irish folk music and Indian music.”

________________________________________________________________

“Mike realized that he had found someone very special”

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

2 remplace par « too »

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Some more pictures

I believe that music should be performed live

and that great artists are original and talented

in their music performance. I always get a

warm feeling when I see someone holding a

guitar or violin case on the street. It’s like I

know I’d get on with that person. I always

smile and say hi!

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Song: nine million bicycles

There are nine million bicycles in Beijing.

That’s a fact,

It’s a ________________ we can’t deny,

Like the fact that I will _____________ you ‘til I __________.

We are twelve billion light years from the edge.

That’s a guess,

No one _______ ever say it’s ____________,

But I know that I will _____________ be with you.

I’m warmed by the _____________

Of your love every ____________

So don’t call me a liar,

Just ___________________ everything that I say….

There are six billion __________________ in the world

More or less

And it ____________ me feel quite small,

But you’re the one I love the most of all.

We’re high on a wire

with the ____________ in our sight,

And I’ll never tire,

Of the love that you _____________ me every night.

There are nine million bicycles in Beijing.

That’s a fact,

It’s a ________________ we can’t deny,

Like the fact that I will _____________ you ‘til I __________.

And there are nine million bicycles in Beijing,

And you know that I will ___________ you ‘til I ___________.

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There are nine million bicycles in Beijing.

That’s a fact,

It’s a thing we can’t deny,

Like the fact that I will love you ‘til I die.

We are twelve billion light years from the edge.

That’s a guess,

No one can ever say it’s true,

But I know that I will always be with you.

I’m warmed by the fire

Of your love every day

So don’t call me a liar,

Just believe everything that I say….

There are six billion people in the world

More or less

And it makes me feel quite small,

But you’re the one I love the most of all.

We’re high on a wire

with the world in our sight,

And I’ll never tire,

Of the love that you give me every night.

There are nine million bicycles in Beijing.

That’s a fact,

It’s a thing we can’t deny,

Like the fact that I will love you ‘til I die.

And there are nine million bicycles in Beijing,

And you know that I will love you ‘til I die.

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Vocabulary

English Pronunciation Français

bicycle [ˈbaɪsɪkl] vélo, bicyclette

to ride a bicycle [raɪd] faire de la bicyclette or du vélo

to deny [dɪˈnaɪ] nier

to die [daɪ] mourir

light-year [laɪt jɪəɼ] année-lumière

light lumière

the edge

Context

the trees at the edge of the road

to be on the edge of disaster (fig)

Don't put your glass so close to

the edge of the table!

Keep away from the edge of the

cliff - you might fall!

[edʒ] le bord (d’une rivière, d’une

forêt, d’une table, d’une falaise,

d’une route, etc.)

Contexte

les arbres en bordure de la route

être au bord du désastre, courir

au désastre

Ne mets pas ton verre aussi près

du bord de la table !

Ne vous approchez pas du bord

de la falaise – vous pourriez

tomber !

guess

Context

to have or make a guess

at a guess I would say there were

200

I give you three guesses! ; have a

guess!

[ges] une supposition

Contexte

tâcher de or essayer de deviner

au jugé je dirais qu'il y en avait

200

essaie de deviner!; devine un

peu!

to guess [ges] deviner, estimer

≠ guest [gest] invité, hôte

a liar [ˈlaɪəɼ] un menteur, une menteuse

to believe [bɪˈli:v] croire

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Context

to believe what someone says

I don't believe a word of it

believe me

Contexte

croire ce que dit quelqu'un

je n'en crois rien or pas un mot

crois-moi, tu peux me croire

belief (in)

Context

belief in ghosts

belief in God

[bɪˈli:f] croyance (en, à)

Contexte

croyance aux revenants

croyance en Dieu

wire [ˈwaɪəɼ] fil

high wire [haɪ ˈwaɪəɼ] corde raide

wireless [ˈwaɪəlɪs] sans-fil

sight [saɪt] vue

to tire

Context

he tires easily

[ˈtaɪəɼ] (se) fatiguer

Contexte

il se fatigue vite

tired [ˈtaɪəd] fatigué

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Quelques remarques grammaticales

1. Dozen3, hundred, thousand, million, billion

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sont invariables quand ils sont multipliés par un nombre précis (two dozen eggs,

five hundred pounds, three thousand years ago, four million people, six billion

people in the world…) ou precédés de several, a few, many (several hundred

people – plusieurs centaines de personnes), alors qu’ils prennent la marque du

pluriel quand ils sont suivis de of (hundreds of times – des centaines de fois,

thousands of birds – des milliers d’oiseaux, millions of stars – des millions

d’étoiles).

2. Après le verbe to play, comparez:

to play Ø cricket, to play Ø chess (sports et jeux de société: pas d’article)

to play the piano, to play the violin (utilisation de l’article défini “the”)

3. Observez les paroles suivantes provenant de la chanson “nine million

bicycle ». A votre avis, quels points grammaticaux allons-nous étudier5 ?

“Like the fact that I will love you ‘til I die”

“There are six billion people in the world…More or less”

“But you’re the one I love the most of all”

________________________________________________________

cfr unites 85 88 essential grammar in use edition française, Cambridge

University Press

3 dozen['dÃzn]: douzaine

4 one billion signifie dans le langage courant un milliard. Certaines grammaires insistent encore sur la différence

entre l’anglais britannique et américain. En effet, one billion signifie one thousand million (= un millard) en

Amérique, mais one million million (mille millards) en Angleterre (où toutefois on l’emploie beaucoup moins

aujourdh’ui dans ce sens que dans le sens américain) 5 pour vous aider, les parties intéressantes ont été soulignées…

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If you were a sailboat

If you ___________(1) a cowboy I ___________ (2) trail you,

If you ___________(3) a piece of wood I ____________(4) nail you to the floor.

If you ____________(5) a sailboat I ____________(6) sail you to the shore.

If you were a __________(7) I would _____________(8) you,

If you were a ___________(9) I would live in

you______________________(10).

If you were a preacher I'd begin to ____________________(11) my ways.

Sometimes I ________________(12) in fate,

But the chances we create,

Always seem to ring more true.

You took a chance on ___________________(13) me,

I took a chance on ___________________(14) you.

If I was in ______________ (15) I know you'd spring me

If I was a telephone you'd __________________ (16) me all day long

If I was in pain I know you'd sing me soothing songs.

Sometimes I _________________(17) in fate,

But the chances we create,

Always seem to ring more true.

You took a chance on _________________(18) me,

I took a chance on _____________(19) you.

If I was ________________(20) you would feed me

If I was in darkness you would lead me ____________________(21)

If I was a book I know you'd read me _________________(22)

If you ____________________(23) a cowboy I _______________(24) trail you,

If you ________(25) a piece of wood I ___________(26) nail you to the floor.

If you __________(27) a sailboat I _________(28) sail you to the shore.

If you ______(29) a sailboat I ________ (30) sail you to the shore

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The Sailboat: vocabulary

To trail Suivre la piste de

Wood Bois

To nail Clouer

The floor le sol

A boat Un bâteau

A sailboat Un bâteau à voiles, voilier

The shore Le rivage, le littoral, la rive

To change Changer

the way

To change one’s ways

La manière

Changer ses manières, habitudes

To believe (in)

Belief

Croire (en)

Croyance

The fate Le sort, la fortune, le destin

To create créer

To seem

he seems honest

she seems to know you

it seems that he died yesterday

Sembler, paraître, avoir l’air

il semble honnête

Elle semble vous connaître

il paraît qu'il est mort hier

that rings true

that doesn't ring true

ça sonne juste

ça sonne faux

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that's a chance we'll have to take

you'll have to take a chance on his coming

c'est un risque que nous allons

devoir prendre / que nous avons

à courir

tu verras bien s'il vient ou non

Jail

To be in jail

Prison

être en prison

To spring (** fig) prisoner faire sauter le

mur à, aider à faire la belle** (dans ce contexte-

ci…)

To ring (rang, rung)

Sonner; téléphoner

All day long Toute la journée durant

Pain

To be in pain

Douleur

Souffrir

To sing (sang, sung)

A song

Chanter

une chanson

To soothe

Soothing

Apaiser, calmer

Apaisant, rassurant

Sometimes Parfois, quelques fois, de temps en temps

To be hungry Avoir faim

To feed (fed, fed) nourrir

Dark

darkness

Obscur, noir, sombre

Obscurité, ténèbres

to lead (led, led) (to) Mener, guider, conduire (à)

The light La lumière

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Parmi les solutions proposées, quelle est celle qui te paraît la plus

« logique»?

Si tu ne travailles pas suffisamment,

1. Tu ne réussissais pas ton examen

2. Tu ne réussiras pas ton examen

3. Tu ne réussis pas ton examen

4. Tu ne réussirais pas ton examen

Si j’étais toi,

1. Je partais maintenant

2. Je partirais maintenant

3. Je partirai maintenant

4. Je pars maintenant

Si tu lisais le journal,

1. Tu sais qui est notre premier ministre actuel

2. Tu saurais qui est notre premier ministre actuel

3. Tu sauras qui est notre premier ministre actuel

4. Tu savais qui est notre premier ministre actuel

5. Tu avais su qui est notre premier ministre actuel

Si tu avais lu ce document,

1. Tu aurais su ce qu’il faut faire.

2. Tu sauras ce qu’il faut faire.

3. Tu savais ce qu’il faut faire.

4. Tu sais ce qu’il faut faire.

Facile, non?

Même principe en anglais

Traduis:

– Si tu habitais Londres, tu parlerais anglais.

– If you lived in London, you would speak English

– Si tu travailles beaucoup, tu gagneras beaucoup d’argent

– If you work hard, you will earn a lot of money.

– Si tu avais lu ce livre, tu aurais répondu correctement aux

questions.

– If you had read this book, you would have answered the questions

correctly.

cf. Unit 110 Essential Grammar in Use (Elementary)

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1. IF + SIMPLE PRESENT, ... FUTURE TENSE La partie de la phrase introduite par “if” indique une possibilité réelle. La

partie principale de la phrase en est la conséquence quasi automatique.

– If I see her tomorrow, I’ll ask her.

– If we don’t hurry, we’ll miss the train.

2. IF + SIMPLE PAST, ... PRESENT CONDITIONAL TENSE La partie de la phrase introduite par “if” indique une situation irréelle,

hypothétique (dans le présent ou dans le futur).

– If I found a credit card in the street, I would take it to the police

station.

– If a movie star asked to marry me, I would probably say yes.

– If he won the lottery, he’d share the money with his parents.

Even if she knew the answer, she wouldn’t tell us.

Le conditionnel présent se forme avec WOULD (la forme contractée est

“ ’d ”) + INFINITIF SANS “TO”.

La forme négative est WOULD NOT (wouldn’t) + INFINITIF SANS

“TO”.

Pour la forme interrogative, on inverse l’auxiliaire WOULD(N’T) et le

sujet.

– Would you be happier if you had more money?

– Wouldn’t she understand if we explained everything to her?

N.B.: après “if”, la forme de “to be” est “were” à toutes les personnes.

– If I were you, I wouldn’t do anything.

– I’m sure he’d agree with me if he were here.

On peut également rencontrer “was” à la 1ère et à la 3ème personne

3. IF + PAST PERFECT, ... PAST CONDITIONAL TENSE La partie de la phrase introduite par “if” indique une situation irréelle

dans le passé.

Le conditionnel passé se forme avec WOULD HAVE + PARTICIPE

PASSE. Les formes contractées sont “ ’d have + participe passé ” ou “

would’ve + participe passé ” ou encore “ ’d’ve + participe passé ”.

– If the other driver had stopped in time, the accident wouldn’t have

happened.

– If the police had been informed, they would have found the

murderer.

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– If he hadn’t been so nervous, he would have won the game.

La forme négative est WOULD NOT (wouldn’t) HAVE + PARTICIPE

PASSE.

Pour la forme interrogative, on inverse l’auxiliaire WOULD(N’T) et le

sujet.

– Would you have reacted differently if you had been properly

informed?

– Wouldn’t she have said yes if we had asked her?

4. AUTRES MOTS POUR INTRODUIRE LA CONDITION On peut également employer:

– in case (au cas où)

I’ll set my alarm clock in case yours doesn’t work.

– unless (à moins que, sauf si, = “if + not”)

You won’t pass the test unless you work harder.

– as long as (pour autant que)

You can take her out as long as you bring her back by.

– provided (that), providing (that) (à condition que, pour autant

que, pourvu que)

We’ll go to the seaside provided the weather is fine.

You may watch the late film providing you don’t make too

much noise when you go to bed.

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1. If there had been enough soup we _____(share).

2. Your father ____ (turn) in his grave if he saw you now !

3. If his mother ___ (not sign) , he will be in trouble.

4. What would you do if you ____ (be) me ?

5. She ____ (complain) to the cook if she had eaten that !

6. They ___ (hurry) if they knew we are waiting.

7. He ___ (not lend) you any money unless you promise in writing to pay

him back.

8. If I knew Alan's address, I ____ (write) to him.

9. Where would you live if you ____ (can live) anywhere ?

10. If I ____ (be) you I would stay in bed today.

1. If there had been enough soup we would have shared.

2. Your father would turn in his grave if he saw you now !

3. If his mother doesn't sign, he will be in trouble.

4. What would you do if you were me ?

5. She would have complained to the cook if she had eaten that !

6. They would hurry if they knew we are waiting.

7. He won't lend you any money unless you promise in writing to pay him

back.

8. If I knew Alan's address, I would write to him.

9. Where would you live if you could live anywhere ?

10. If I were you I would stay in bed today.