COMPRHENSION CRITE :

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sur 20

In Shakespeares play, Romeo and Juliet, Juliet is only fourteen when her father tells her she has to marry Paris tomorrow. She doesnt love Paris, of course - she loves Romeo. But she cant argue with her father. Such things really happened during Shakespeares life. A woman had to obey her father, and she could be married as young as twelve. But usually, women only got married young if their parents told them to. Most women who had the choice didnt get married until they were twenty- five or more. In fact, many didnt get married at all. Women get married much more often now than they did then. So why didnt women want to get married in those days? One reason was that wives had no independence! When she got married, a woman had to promise to obey her husband. She also had to give him everything she owned. The law said that all a wifes property belonged to her husband. That law didnt change for centuries. Caroline Sheridan married George Norton in 1827, when she was nineteen. Nine years later, while she was visiting a friend, her husband decided not to let her back into their house. He kept everything - all her jewels, all her clothes, all her furniture. She had nowhere to live. She needed money, so she wrote some books and plays; they became quite popular, and she got quite a lot of money for them. But her husband decided to take that money away from her as well. The law said he could do that. He also took away their three young children, and didnt let them see their mother. The law gave him the right to do that, too. In fact, the law said a man could do almost anything to his wife - except kill her. And she couldnt divorce him. Now, of course, the law has changed. Women can get married when they want to. They can have their own property, and they can get divorced. So its not surprising that marriage is more popular than it used to be, is it ?

Comprhension globale: A) Quel est le titre qui conviendrait le mieux au texte?

q

Paris q __ be popular divorce 3

Why Juliet had to marry q Mr and Mrs Sheridan Why marriage didnt use to q The invention of
q

Hard life for men

B) Toutes ces phrases sont fausses. Rcrivez-les pour rtablir la vrit en fonction du texte: In Shakespeares time, girls often argued with their fathers about marriage. .................... . ................................ . ................................ . ................................ . ............................ Husbands had to obey their wives. __ ...................................................................................................................................................

. 4 . Marriage is not as popular as it used to be. ................................................................................................................................................... . Comprhension dtaille: A) Cochez la bonne solution: 1. If they had the choice, women preferred... q to get married young q not to marry at all 2. Women who got married...
q q

George Norton tried to take all his wifes property away from her. ...................................................................................................................................................

q not

to marry after 25

kept their own property gave their own property to their husbands q took their husbands property became a famous writer never became famous q divorced her husband when he became famous
q q q q

3. Caroline Sheridan... __ 5 4. The law said a man...

didnt have the right to kill his wife was not allowed to take his wifes property q couldnt take his wifes children

5. Caroline Sheridan... q lived with her children B)

took her children away

never saw her children again

Faites des phrases compltes partir des deux colonnes. Utilisez le tableau pour vos rponses: 1. Juliets father wanted his daughter A. everything they owned. 2. Even if they didnt like it, B. until the twentieth century. 3. In those days, many women preferred C. as they have today. 4. Women didnt have as much independence D. not to get married at all. 5. Wives had to give their husbands E. to marry someone she didnt love. 6. The only thing a man couldnt do F. than in Shakespeares time. 7. Things didnt really change G. girls had to obey their fathers. 8. Today, more women get married H. was to kill his wife.

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