INFERENCE LEXICALE

1. Trouver le mot manquant.

The ---- is the principal locus of drinking in Britain. In England the ---- provides drink in a pleasant and convivial social atmosphere; in many a piano is a part of the setting; games - darts, dominoes and the like - are available; in most ---- women are welcome. Many ---- have their own dart teams which compete with rival ---- . A man often becomes so attached to one ---- that he does not lightly go elsewhere for his drink. Each ---- has its band of regulars who feel at home in each other' s company.

The encouragement of social activities is a comparatively recent development in English ---- . A recent series of advertisements had as its slogan 'Let' s all meet at the ---- '; the accompanying pictures showed equal numbers of men and women, thus indicating that the ---- could and should serve as a place for mixed social intercourse. In Scotland the old pattern persists. Women are unwelcome; indeed some publicans actively discourage them. Many ---- in Scotland are still very much drinking shops where customers come to consume alcohol in a one-sex setting.

Kessel and Walton, Alcoholism.

Beyond Words - CUP, p 46

2. Trouver les mots manquants.

In this city

In this city, perhaps a ----

In this street perhaps a ----

In this house perhaps a ----

In this room a woman sitting,

Sitting in the darkness, sitting and crying

For someone who has just gone through the door

And who has just switched off the light

Forgetting she was there.

Kessel and Walton, Alcoholism.

Beyond Words - CUP, p 110

3. Trouver les 2 mots manquants.

Married happiness

The matching of ---- with ---- has led to a long-lasting marriage, creating possibly the first of take-home foods. ---- and ---- can be found in every region, and hardly a community exists without at least a ---- and ---- shop within walking distance. My own district of Hampshire has 61 ---- and ---- shops listed in the local telephone directory.

The dish has never become standardised, and for those who care about such things, subtle differences can be detected between one shop and the next. Fourteen varieties of potato, for example, are generally thought suitable for chip frying.

Kessel and Walton, Alcoholism.

Beyond Words - CUP, p 35

4. Que signifient les mots en caractères gras ? Utilisez le contexte pour le découvrir.

Bats.

Biologists of 200 years ago thought that they ought to be able to explain how a bat could fly rapidly in total darkness without bumping into things. They decided that a bat had very sensitive tips on its wings that could detect a nearby object because the air near an object cannot be moved as easily as the open air.

In 1799 an Italian named Spellanzani did experiments with bats in which he blocked their vocal chords, because he believed that they found their way by shouting and listening to the echoes bouncing off objects. The bats he treated fell to the ground and collided with objects, but no one believed him and he was laughed at in public meetings. One "clever" biologist asked him, 'If they see with their ears, what do they hear with their eyes ?'

Bats eat night-flying insects, especially moths. They do not need to catch them directly with their mouths, as do many birds which catch insects in flight, but can scoop up the moths in their wings. However, it is known that some moths have the ability to detect the 'shout' of a bat, and if they dart quickly to one side of their intended flight path, they have just enough time to make the bat miss.

We cannot hear the bat' s shouts, for the human ear cannot normally detect sound waves of a frequency greater than 15,000 cycles per second. The bat' s voice is very high - about 50,000 cycles / sec. To give an idea of the shrillness of even 15,000 cycles / sec., 'middle C' on a piano is 256 cycles / sec.. As we grow older, our ability to detect high frequencies fails, and elderly people can usually detect sounds only up to about 10,000 cycles / sec..

From : Why does a glow-worm glow ? Eric LAITHWAITE

Beuver Books p. 12