Graded story

A2 French short story: the couple who swap jobs for a day

Julien, a baker, and Sarah, a primary-school teacher, swap jobs for a charity day. An A2 story with glosses and questions on what went wrong and what they learned.

In short

An A2 story in the past tenses about a couple who swap jobs for one day. Read it, then match each person with their problems and what they learned.

A tired couple sit at a kitchen table beside croissants and a school notebook.
After swapping métiers, the couple appreciate each other's work. Illustration: Atelier

Un jour à la place de l'autre

Julien est boulanger et Sarah est professeure des écoles. Pour une journée caritative1 dans leur ville, ils ont décidé d'échanger2 leurs métiers pendant une journée.

À quatre heures du matin, Sarah est arrivée à la boulangerie. Le pétrin3 lui a fait peur et ses premiers croissants sont sortis brûlés4. Mais la deuxième fournée était parfaite, et les clients ont tout acheté.

Pendant ce temps, Julien était devant vingt-cinq enfants de huit ans. Les enfants étaient très bavards5, et pendant la récréation6, deux élèves se sont disputés. Julien a élevé la voix… et il l'a perdue.

Le soir, ils étaient épuisés7 tous les deux. « Ton métier est beaucoup plus difficile que je pensais », ont-ils dit en même temps. Depuis, ils respectent8 encore plus le travail de l'autre.

Read it in English

Julien is a baker and Sarah teaches in a primary school. For a charity day in their town, they decided to swap jobs for a day.

At four in the morning, Sarah arrived at the bakery. The kneading machine frightened her and her first croissants came out burnt. But the second batch was perfect, and the customers bought everything.

Meanwhile, Julien faced twenty-five eight-year-olds. The children were very chatty, and at break time two of them argued. Julien raised his voice… and lost it.

In the evening, they were both exhausted. "Your job is much harder than I thought," they said at the same time. Since then, they respect each other's work even more.

Question 1No account needed
What happened to Sarah's first croissants?

Choose one answer.

Answer and explanation

They were burnt.. Ses premiers croissants sont sortis brûlés.

Question 2No account needed
What happened to Julien's voice?

Choose one answer.

Answer and explanation

He lost it.. Julien a élevé la voix… et il l'a perdue.

Question 3No account needed
What did they say at the end?

Choose one answer.

Answer and explanation

Your job is harder than I thought.. Ton métier est beaucoup plus difficile que je pensais.