1. a. Who is the narrator? How is he/she related to Sam?
The narrator is a British woman, married to Sam. They 've got two children. She used to be a schoolteacher abroad.

b. Justify your answer by quoting from the text.
l.12. "We'd spent our honeymoon in Dorset in '76".
l.4-5. "We produced two sons".
l.6. "I could always find teaching jobs".

2. Match one element from column A with an element from column B.

3. What consequences did Sam's job have on his lifestyle ? (30 words)
His job as sales director involved a lot of geographical mobility, which meant being cut off from his roots. He also had many business meals and little time to keep fit. (31 words)

4. Choose the right answer.
They decided to
a. buy a brick house in Richmond.
b. rent a place in Dorset.
c. buy a farmhouse in Devon.
d. rent a flat in Torquay.

Questions 5, 6 and 7. Focus from line 18 to 29 ("We'd done well ...world sporting fixtures").

5. a. l.19. "There was no immediate hurry for either of us to find a job."
What does it reveal about their standard of living while abroad? (15 words)
They earned enough money to afford to live on their savings for a while, back to England. (17 words)

b. l.19-20. "Or so we imagined." - What does this mean? (20 words)
They didn't expect to face money problems but they found out that life in Britain was more expensive than they thought. (21 words)

6. How do they see the British society on their return to their homeland? (30 words)
Contrary to what it used to be in the 70's, the British society has now become an affluent consumer society centered on leisure and shopping rather than on social issues. (30 words)

7. Find a key sentence showing that it wasn't difficult for their children to adapt to their new environment.
l.25. "Hastily the boys abandoned us for their own age group".

Questions 8 to 12. Focus on line 30 to the end.

8. a. Who was Sam in touch with some time after their return?
He got in touch with Jock Williams, an old friend of his.

b. What did they talk about on the phone?
They talked about their respective careers and their wealth.

9. Say who the underlined words refer to. (l.39 to l.42)
I took time to wonder why it never seemed to occur to Sam that Jock was as big a fantasist as he was, particularly as Jock had been trumpeting 'mega-buck sales' down the phone to him for years but had never managed to find the time - or money? - to fly out for a visit. "What did you say?"
"I" refers to the narrator.
"he" refers to Sam.
"him" refers to Sam.
"you" refers to Sam.

10. l.38. "I lied through my teeth".
What did Sam lie about? Why did he feel the need to lie? (30 words)
He pretended he had made huge profit on the stock market so that he could retire and buy a large estate. He wanted Jock to believe he was as successful as him. (31 words)

11. Did the narrator and Sam share the same vision of Jock Williams? (20 words)
Unlike Sam, the narrator suspected Jock was showing off. Despite his numerous claims, they never had evidence of his fortune. (20 words)

12. What is Sam's state of mind at the end of the passage? (20 words)
He feels down-hearted at the possibility of Jock's visit. He wishes they hadn't sold their former English house. (18 words)

13. Translate into French from "The idea was to have..." line 14 to "...Torquay" line 17.
L'idée était de prendre des vacances d'été prolongées tout en cherchant un endroit où s'installer de façon plus permanente. Ni l'un ni l'autre n'avions de liens avec aucun lieu précis d'Angleterre. Les parents de mon mari étaient morts et mes propres parents avaient pris leur retraite dans le comté voisin du Devon et le doux climat de Torquay.