la brume = mist, haze la grêle = hail le gel = frost verglas=black ice
bruiner = to drizzle tomber a verse =to pour se lever (brume) = to lift
geler = to frost over averses intermitantes = scattered showers pluie battante = pouring rain moite = damp humide et froid= dank
la canicule = heat wave, the midsummer heat un souffle d’air, un vent léger = a breath of wind se dégager = to clear up s’éclaircir=to brighten se
couvrir=cloud over
très frais = chilly glacial = freezing cold, icy cold
un paratonnerre = a lightning conductor trembler = to quake effacer de la carte = to wipe out
Côte d’Ivoire = the Ivory Coast. Un ivoirien = a national of the ivory coast un néozélandais = a newzealander > New zealand Ecosse, écossais = Scotland, scottish un recensement = a census un effondrement démographique = a baby bust coloniser = to settle faiblement/fortement peuplé = scarcely populated / overpopulated
MORE WORDS The Big Smoke = Londres the Athens of the North = Edimburg The big apple = NY (because of the stress that experienced artists before
performing)
the windy city = Chhicago Tinseltown (tinsel = clinquant) = Hollywood Motown = Detroit, because of its car industry la célébrité = stardom être né sous une bonne étoile = to be born under a lucky star terre à terre = down to earth remuer ciel et terre =to move heaven and earth jeter un froid sur = to cast a chill over avoir vent de qqch = to get wind of sth il faut battre le fer tant qu’il est chaud = to make the hay while the sun
shines
revenir sur terre = to come down to earth
7 THE ARMY AND WAR
to get bogged = to get stuck une force de maintien de la paix = a peace-keeping force l’escalade de la violence = the escalation of violence s’efforcer = to strive
8 IMMIGRATION
des raisons de fuir = reasons to escape la misère = poverty, dire poverty la souffrance, les épreuves = hardship s’exiler = to go into exile chasser (fig.) = to drive away malheureux = miserable (unfortunate, unluxky. C’est malheureux = it’s a
pity/a shame)
une incitation = an incentive l’attrait = appeal, attraction l’aspiration, le désir ardent = yearning, longing >> to yearn for, to long for la recharche de = the search for une occasion = an opportunity un gagne-pain = a livelihood a prospect = une perspective l’ascension sociale = upward mobility un cas d’ascension fulgurante = a rags-to-riches story, a success story s’élever socialement = to work one’s way up attrayant, tentant = appealing, enticing, alluring avide = greedy rich > affluent, well off un flot = a stream l’installation = settling in (to settle) un trafiquant, un colporteur, un revendeur = a peddler (US pedlar) un travail ingrat = a thankless/unrewarding job travail au noir = moonlighting trimer = to slave away (familiar) un permis de séjour, aux USA = a green card se faufiler (par ext. entrer clandestinement) = to sneak into excéder une durée fixe = to overstay faire entrer clandestinement = to smuggle into la police des frontieres (US) = the border patrol limiter le flot = to curb the flow contenir (endiguer) = to staunch, to arrest empêcher d’entrer = to keep out reconduire = to escort back. Renvoyer = to send back. Par bateau = to ship
out
insurmontable = unsurpassable un fardeau social = a social burden être vistime de discrimination = to be discriminated against mépriser = to dedspice, to look down on prendre l’emploi de = to take jobs away from (pèj) la diversité ethnique = the ethnic mix bilinguisme = bilingualism