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A1 French reading: the spare room becomes a craft room

Edited by Chris Lee · Updated · About the library

Read an A1 French story about turning a spare bedroom into a sewing room. Track furniture kept, moved and given away, then find how a guest can still sleep there.

In short

Track each object by name when the room changes. In this story, Joëlle keeps the desk, moves it by the window and gives away the wardrobe. A canapé-lit replaces the large bed, so the room can serve her sewing hobby and still welcome an overnight guest.

Yellow the idea to rememberBlue French to learn

A sewing machine and lamp on a desk by a window, with a compact sofa bed across the room.
A sewing space and a sofa bed can share the same spare room. Illustration: Atelier

A spare room needs to do two jobs. Joëlle wants space for sewing, but her cousin sometimes visits. Read for three different object outcomes: kept in the room, moved to a new position or given to another person. The final sleeping arrangement depends on a new piece of furniture.

A1 · Rearranging a room

Une pièce pour deux idées

Joëlle ouvre la porte de la chambre d’amis1. Il y a un grand lit, une armoire et un petit bureau. Son cousin Romain vient parfois dormir ici, mais la pièce reste vide pendant plusieurs semaines. Joëlle aime coudre. Elle veut un endroit pour sa machine à coudre2.

Un samedi, Romain vient l’aider. « On garde le bureau ? », demande-t-il. « Oui, répond Joëlle. Il est parfait pour la machine. » Ils déplacent le bureau près de la fenêtre. La lampe reste sur le bureau, à côté de la machine.

Joëlle regarde la grande armoire3. Elle prend beaucoup de place. Sa voisine cherche justement une armoire pour ses vêtements. Joëlle la lui donne. La voisine est contente, et le coin près de la porte est maintenant libre.

Le grand lit part dans la chambre de la sœur de Joëlle. À sa place, Joëlle installe un canapé-lit4. Le jour, elle peut s’asseoir pour choisir ses tissus. Elle range5 les tissus dans deux boîtes sous le bureau.

Romain regarde la nouvelle pièce. « Et quand je viens dormir ? » Joëlle sourit. « On peut déplier6 le canapé-lit ! » Le bureau, la machine et les boîtes restent à leur place. La pièce est un petit atelier, mais elle accueille encore son cousin.

Read it in English

Joëlle opens the guest-bedroom door. There is a large bed, a wardrobe and a small desk. Her cousin Romain sometimes comes to sleep here, but the room stays empty for several weeks at a time. Joëlle likes sewing. She wants somewhere for her sewing machine.

One Saturday, Romain comes to help her. “Are we keeping the desk?” he asks. “Yes,” Joëlle replies. “It’s perfect for the machine.” They move the desk near the window. The lamp stays on the desk, beside the machine.

Joëlle looks at the large wardrobe. It takes up a lot of space. Her neighbour happens to be looking for a wardrobe for her clothes. Joëlle gives it to her. The neighbour is pleased, and the corner near the door is now free.

The large bed goes into Joëlle’s sister’s bedroom. In its place, Joëlle installs a sofa bed. During the day, she can sit down to choose her fabrics. She stores the fabrics in two boxes under the desk.

Romain looks at the new room. “And when I come to sleep?” Joëlle smiles. “We can unfold the sofa bed!” The desk, machine and boxes stay in place. The room is a small workshop, but it still welcomes her cousin.

Question 1No account needed
Which original piece of furniture stays and moves near the window?

Choose one answer.

Answer and explanation

The desk. Joëlle explicitly keeps the desk, and they move it near the window for the sewing machine.

Question 2No account needed
Who receives the wardrobe?

Choose one answer.

Answer and explanation

The neighbour. The neighbour is looking for a wardrobe, so Joëlle gives it to her. The sister receives the large bed.

Question 3No account needed
What still lets Romain sleep in the room?

Choose one answer.

Answer and explanation

The sofa bed. Joëlle can unfold the canapé-lit when Romain visits overnight.

Keep the destination with the object

Where each original item ends up
ObjectOutcome
Le bureauKept and moved near the window.
La lampeKept on the desk.
L’armoireGiven to the neighbour.
Le grand litMoved to the sister’s bedroom.

La voisine receives the wardrobe; la sœur receives the bed. Those are different people and different destinations. The new canapé-lit belongs in Joëlle’s room. Keeping the noun with its destination helps you follow the changes without assuming that every moved object leaves the room.

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