Morello
Maeva
T3 ES
Dm n°

I – COMPREHENSION

1. Who are the main characters? What are they doing? Where and when does the scene take place? (40 words)

There are two main characters: Britt and her Mum. They are talking after Britt got up and having morning tea together. The scene takes place in the sitting room of her parents’ home: the room has a fireplace and Britt is perched on an uncomfortable sofa.

2. What can you say about the girl’s results at school and university?

Britt did well grammar school and she went to Oxford. At Oxford, she must have done very well because, over the 12 years since her graduation, she has had numerous “new achievements.” She must be earning a lot of money to be able to afford a raw silk kimono that probably costs as much as her parents’ three-piece living room suite.

3. l.14 – l. 37 a) Four rituals: • Dressed in gown and mortar board (or cap). • Collect the degree from the Vice-Chancellor. • Ceremony takes place in Sheldonian Theatre. • Taking of the graduation photo that goes on the mantelpiece in the parents’ home.

b) Graduation Day - Differences

|Differences |Why? (Quote the text) |
|Britt deprived her parents’ of their one moment of glory for|Britt believed at that time that “she was ashamed of them” (l. 24-25) |
|all the sacrifice they made to put her through grammar |because of their modest (middle class) background to want them to have |
|school and Oxford |their one moment of glory. |
|She comes from a middle class family and she was now part of|(l. 26-27) She could not face the idea of “her father in an ill-fitting |
|the university’s smart set that had mostly had rich parents.|suit and her mother wearing a Crimplane and a borrowed wedding hat, |
|