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Greta Thunberg traverse l'Atlantique en voilier


Greta Thunberg is an amazing young woman. As I post this she is in the middle of the Atlantic on a sporting yacht, on her way to a conference in New York. Here's a resource you could use next term with your GCSE groups (low intermediate). One of many new ones to be uploaded in September to frenchteacher.net. The formatting here may be awry. Copy and paste and you can easily fix it.


En août 2019 la jeune militante pour le climat Greta Thunberg a traversé l’océan Atlantique à bord d’un voilier pour aller à New York, où elle a assisté au sommet pour le climat des Nations Unies en septembre.
Greta Thunberg avait annoncé en juillet qu’elle n’irait plus à l’école pendant un an pour se concentrer sur son combat contre la crise climatique. L’adolescente de seize ans avait aussi indiqué qu’elle comptait aller au sommet de l’ONU. Mais puisqu’elle refuse de prendre l’avion, elle a dû  trouver un moyen de transport peu ou non polluant pour traverser l’océan qui sépare l’Europe du continent américain.
« Bonne nouvelle! », a-t-elle tweeté, en expliquant qu’on lui avait offert une place à bord du yacht Malizia II et prendrait la mer à la mi-août.
Le Malizia II est un yacht de course, skippé par le marin allemand Boris Herrmann et Pierre Casiraghi de Monaco. Le bateau est équipé de panneaux solaires et de turbines sous-marines assurant un voyage transatlantique zéro émission carbone.
Après être allée aux Etats-Unis, Greta Thunberg est allée aussi au Canada et au Mexique avant d’aller à la conférence annuelle sur le changement climatique organisée par l’ONU en décembre à Santiago, au Chili.
C’était son premier voyage en Amérique du Nord et du Sud depuis le lancement de son mouvement devant le parlement suédois en 2018.

A. Vocabulaire

activist - __________      to cross - _________       on board - _ ____ __
sailing boat – v______ (m)    to attend - _________ _       summit - _______ (m)
fight – c______ (m)     crisis - _____ (f)         to indicate - ________
to intend to – c______      since, because – p_____       polluting - ________
in mid August - _ __ __-_____    to skipper - ________      sailor – m______ (m)
solar panel - _______ (m) _______   underwater - ____-_______      launch – l_________ (m)

B. Vrai, faux ou pas mentionné ? Corrigez les phrases fausses.

1. Greta Thunberg est allemande.   
2. Elle milite contre la crise du climat.  
3. Elle a été accompagnée par son père.  
4. Elle a assisté a un sommet à New York.  
5. Elle ne prend jamais l’avion.    
6. Elle a voyagé à bord d’un sous-marin.
7. Elle a trouvé le voyage difficile.
8. Elle a fait le voyage en août.
9. Le bateau est très écologique.
10. Elle est allée à Paris plus tard.

C. Répondez

1. Quel âge  a Greta Thunberg?      
2. Pourquoi elle ne prend jamais l’avion ?          
3. Comment a-t-elle traversé l’Atlantique ?            
4. Elle a assisté à quoi à New York ? 
5. Décrivez le yacht.
6. Expliquez « zéro émission carbone »

D. Translate this sentence
« Après être allée aux Etats-Unis, Greta Thunberg est allée aussi au Canada. »

Now translate these sentences
1.     After going to France, she went to Spain and England. 
2.     After going out, she went to the restaurant.
3.     After arriving at school, she went to her classroom.
4.     After returning home, she went up to her room.
5.     After falling from her bike, she went to hospital.
6.     After coming to France, she went to work in Paris.
7.     After returning from school, she entered the kitchen.
8.     After leaving France, she went to live in Scotland.

E. Summarise the original text in English in about 80 words


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