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A2 French story: the cheaper course costs more in travel

Edited by Chris Lee · Updated · About the library

Read an A2 French story where the lower course fee leads to a higher total after train tickets. Follow the amounts, the budget and the final choice.

In short

Course A has the lower fee but the higher stated total: 128 €, compared with 110 € for B. Nadia adds four return train tickets to A’s 80 € fee. B fits her 120 € course-and-travel budget, so she chooses it.

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A blue and silver regional train stands at a platform inside Mulhouse-Ville station.
Train travel is part of Nadia’s total cost. The story gives the course fees and the price of each return ticket. Photo: Phil Richards · CC BY-SA 2.0 · https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/ · resized and converted to WebP; derivative under the same licence.

Read the story in two passes. First, identify Nadia’s initial preference. Then follow the extra cost that changes her choice. The calculations compare the same four course days, so neither option gains an advantage from covering fewer sessions.

A2 · Fees, travel and a stated budget

Le prix du cours ne dit pas tout

Nadia cherche un cours de dessin pour le mois prochain. Elle trouve deux stages pour débutants, avec le même programme et le même matériel fourni. Les deux durent quatre samedis. Le stage A coûte 80 euros. Le stage B coûte 110 euros. Nadia préfère d’abord le stage A : les frais d’inscription1 sont moins élevés.

Avant de s’inscrire, elle regarde les trajets2. Le stage A est loin de chez elle. Pour chaque samedi, le billet de train aller-retour3 coûte 12 euros. Il faut donc quatre billets à 12 euros. Le stage B est dans son quartier : Nadia peut y aller à pied, sans dépense de transport.

Elle prend une feuille et calcule. Pour A, elle va payer 80 euros de cours et 48 euros de train, soit 128 euros au total4. Pour B, elle va payer 110 euros de cours et zéro euro de transport. Les deux calculs couvrent les mêmes quatre journées.

« Le cours A est moins cher, mais l’ensemble me coûte plus cher », dit Nadia à son ami. Son budget5 maximal est de 120 euros pour le stage et les trajets. Elle choisit donc B. Elle aime aussi le trajet plus court, mais sa priorité6 reste de respecter son budget. Elle va s’inscrire ce soir.

Read it in English

Nadia is looking for a drawing course for next month. She finds two beginner courses with the same programme and the same materials supplied. Both run over four Saturdays. Course A costs 80 euros. Course B costs 110. Nadia initially prefers A: the enrolment fees are lower.

Before enrolling, she checks the journeys. Course A is far from her home. For each Saturday, a return train ticket costs 12 euros. She therefore needs four tickets at 12 euros. Course B is in her neighbourhood: Nadia can walk there without a transport expense.

She takes a sheet of paper and calculates. For A, she will pay 80 euros for the course and 48 for the train, making 128 euros in total. For B, she will pay 110 euros for the course and zero for transport. Both calculations cover the same four days.

“Course A is cheaper, but the whole thing costs me more,” Nadia tells her friend. Her maximum budget is 120 euros for the course and journeys. She therefore chooses B. She also likes the shorter journey, but her priority remains keeping within her budget. She is going to enrol this evening.

Question 1No account needed
Why does Nadia initially prefer A?

Choose one answer.

Answer and explanation

Its enrolment fee is lower. A’s fee is 80 €, below B’s 110 €; both last four Saturdays.

Question 2No account needed
What is A’s course-and-travel total?

Choose one answer.

Answer and explanation

128 €. Four return tickets cost 4 × 12 = 48 €, added to the 80 € fee.

Question 3No account needed
Why does Nadia finally choose B?

Choose one answer.

Answer and explanation

Its 110 € total fits her 120 € budget. The programme and materials are the same; B fits the stated budget and A exceeds it.

Name what the price includes

Le cours A est moins cher compares course fees alone. L’ensemble me coûte plus cher adds the travel component described in the story. Both sentences can be true because they compare different sets of expenses. State the scope when a cost comparison could otherwise sound contradictory.

Les frais sont moins élevés, mais le total est plus élevé.

The fees are lower, but the total is higher.

Nadia’s shorter journey supports her decision, but the text explicitly names the budget as her priority. A comprehension answer should preserve that order of reasons instead of replacing it with a preference the reader might have personally.

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