A1 French short story: the first morning at a new job

Edited by Chris Lee · Updated 1 October 2026 · About the library

Read a short present-tense French story about a first day at work, with tap-to-see glosses, a full translation and three comprehension questions.

A1
8 margin notes
Translation included
Questions at the end
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In short

A short A1 story in the present tense: Samir starts a new job at a bike repair shop. Tap the underlined words for their meaning, read it twice, then answer the three questions.

A new employee checks a bicycle’s rear tyre in a repair workshop. — Samir begins his first morning in l’atelier. Illustration: Atelier

Une histoire en 4 parties

Le premier matin

Samir a vingt-quatre ans. Aujourd'hui, c'est un grand jour : il commence au magasin de vélos. Il se réveille¹ à six heures. Il boit un café et mange du pain. Il est nerveux.

Il arrive en avance², à huit heures moins le quart. La patronne, Hélène, ouvre la porte. « Bonjour Samir ! Entre. Voici l'atelier³. » Elle lui donne un tablier⁴.

La première cliente est une étudiante. Son vélo a un problème : la roue⁵ arrière est crevée⁶. Samir répare la roue en vingt minutes. L'étudiante dit merci.

À dix heures, Samir prend une pause⁷ avec Hélène. « Alors, ça va ? » — « Très bien ! » Samir est fatigué, mais il est fier⁸.

Read it in English

Samir is twenty-four. Today is a big day: he starts work at the bike shop. He wakes up at six. He drinks a coffee and eats some bread. He is nervous.

He arrives early, at a quarter to eight. The owner, Hélène, opens the door. "Hello Samir! Come in. Here is the workshop." She gives him an apron.

The first customer is a student. Her bike has a problem: the back wheel is flat. Samir repairs the wheel in twenty minutes. The student says thank you.

At ten o'clock, Samir takes a break with Hélène. "So, how is it going?" "Very well!" Samir is tired, but he is proud.

Le premier matin

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