Du figuré au littéral : reformuler l'image

Unité CE-07 · campagne 5 · l'image se traduit, elle ne se devine pas.

French journalism runs on stock metaphors, and the DELF's favourite question format is a disguised translation exercise: que signifie « geler les tarifs » dans ce texte ? The right answer is always the literal reformulation; the trap answers are literal readings of the image itself (no, nobody is refrigerating power plants).

A starter inventory of press images:

• geler / le gel — to freeze prices, hiring, a project: block at the current level. Russian uses the same image («заморозить цены»), a rare free transfer.
• la bouffée d'oxygène — temporary relief, never a structural fix. Watch for the follow-up sentence that says so (ne règle rien sur le fond).
• le bras de fer — a prolonged standoff; its satellites are camper sur ses positions (neither side yields) and brandir (to wave a law or a threat).
• la douche froide / éteindre l'incendie — the shock, then the damage control. L'incendie is the panic, not a fire.
• l'or blanc / noir / vert — snow / oil / plant resources. The or ___ family asks: which resource earns this region its money?

Method: when a question quotes an image, rewrite it mentally as flat prose before looking at the choices — then pick the choice matching your paraphrase. The items below apply this to energy prices, a platform-press standoff, a market panic and a snowless ski season.

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