Six étudiants de différents pays se rencontrent. Qu’ont-ils en commun ? Ils sont tous venus passer un semestre dans une université américaine. Pendant ce séjour, ils vont améliorer leur niveau d’anglais, découvrir un peu plus la culture américaine et approfondir leurs connaissances dans leur domaine d’étude. Cette série de conversations en anglais est consacrée à ces six étudiants et à leur quotidien pendant ces quelques mois aux États-Unis. Elle a été conçue pour les apprenants ayant un niveau d’anglais intermédiaire ou avancé.
Cliquez sur le lien audio et écoutez la conversation tout en la lisant ci-dessous. Les mots importants sont expliqués à la fin, en anglais, de façon à vous immerger totalement dans la langue. Ils sont suivis d’une brève traduction ou explication en français. Et si vous voulez suivre la leçon tout en anglais, de l’introduction à la conclusion, cliquez ici.
Dans cette conversation, trois étudiants (Ajay, Lucía et Jana) se retrouvent dans un restaurant qui appartient à la famille de Kayla, une de leurs amis. Ils parlent de la cuisine de ce restaurant et d’autres qui proposent des mets de différentes régions du monde.
Ajay: This food is so much better than the food in the dining hall!
Kayla: Of course it is. My grandmother cooks all of the food, and it’s the best Ethiopian food in the city. I’m biased, of course!
Lucía: Well, I tend to agree with you. This is the best meal I’ve had in a long time.
Kayla: Of course.
Jana: Agreed! I didn’t think I’d come all the way to the U.S. to have amazing Ethiopian food.
Kayla: Welcome to the U.S.! Because the country is so multicultural, there are fantastic restaurants serving delicious dishes from all over the globe.
Jana: Even from my country?
Kayla: Most likely. This is a large, cosmopolitan city. There are people from all over the world, and some of those people own restaurants.
Ajay: How about next week we try a different restaurant? One that serves food from one of our home countries?
Lucía: Sounds good. But first, I would like dessert. Kayla, what do you have?
Un peu de vocabulaire
A dining hall is a large room in a school, university, etc., where meals are served and many people can eat at the same time. (Une cafeteria, un restaurant universitaire)
In this context, to be biased is used in a positive way. Kayla has a tendency to believe that her grandmother’s cooking is better than everyone else’s cooking. (Avoir un a priori, soit négatif soit positif)
To be biased often has a negative meaning. Someone can be biased against something/someone; in this case, one believes something/someone is not as good as another. For example: He is biased against women; he believes women are not as smart, hard-working, etc., as men. (Avoir un a priori négatif envers quelque chose ou quelqu’un)
One can also be biased toward something/someone; in this case, one believes something/someone is better than another. For example: The professor was biased toward older students; the professor often helped older students study and gave them better grades. (Avoir un a priori positif envers quelque chose ou quelqu’un)
A meal is an occasion when food is eaten. The word meal can also mean the food eaten. For example: Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day. For breakfast, my father usually makes a delicious meal of eggs, toast and sausages. (Un repas)
A dish is food that is prepared in a particular way for a meal. The main dish is the largest or most important dish of a meal. Side dishes are smaller dishes served with the main dish. (Un plat)
A cosmopolitan city has people from many different parts of the world.
I would like… is one way to order in a restaurant. For example: I would like the fish. I would like a small coffee, please. (Je voudrais)
What do you have? This is asked when one wants more specific information about the food or drink offered, usually at a restaurant. It is often followed by the word for. For example: What do you have for dessert? What do you have for vegetarians? (Qu’est-ce que vous offrez ?)
Vous voulez approfondir vos connaissances en anglais ? Profitez de nos articles sur ShareAmerica.
Le site American English* propose toute sortes de ressources gratuites pour les profs d’anglais et les apprenants. Sur la page Facebook d’American English*, retrouvez chaque jour du matériel d’apprentissage en anglais.
Les conversations en anglais sont produites par Heidi Howland, des programmes d’anglais du Bureau des affaires éducatives et culturelles du département d’État.
*en anglais
