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DELF A2 reading practice: follow a recipe adjustment note

Edited by Chris Lee · Updated · About the library

Read a fruit-salad recipe and Nora’s update, then answer ten questions on quantities, replacement ingredients and instructions. Includes glosses and a recap.

Your reading task

Read the recipe first, then Nora’s message. Apply the changes in order: double the original quantities, then replace the pears. Answer the ten questions before using the recap table at the end.

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Apple and orange fruit salad with whole fruit and a lemon half nearby.
Nora replaces les poires with apples in the fruit salad. Illustration: Atelier

La recette pour quatre personnes

Ingrédients : deux pommes, deux poires et une orange. Coupez les fruits en morceaux et mélangez-les dans un saladier. Vous pouvez ajouter un peu de jus de citron si vous le souhaitez.

Recipe for four people. Ingredients: two apples, two pears and one orange. Cut the fruit into pieces and mix it in a bowl. You can add a little lemon juice if you wish.

Le message de Nora

Nous serons huit au déjeuner. Double les quantités de la recette. Mais il n’y a pas de poires : remplace-les par le même nombre de pommes. Il faudra donc huit pommes et deux oranges en tout. Pour le jus de citron, tu choisis !

Nora’s message. There will be eight of us for lunch. Double the recipe quantities. But there are no pears: replace them with the same number of apples. So we will need eight apples and two oranges in total. As for the lemon juice, you choose!

Useful words in the two texts
FrenchEnglish
en morceauxinto pieces
un saladiera salad bowl; a mixing bowl
si vous le souhaitezif you wish
double les quantitésdouble the quantities
remplace-lesreplace them
en toutin total
  1. Question 1No account needed
    How many people does the first recipe serve?

    Choose one answer.

    Answer and explanation

    Quatre personnes.. The first heading says pour quatre personnes. Nora changes the number later.

  2. Question 2No account needed
    How many people will be at lunch?

    Choose one answer.

    Answer and explanation

    Huit personnes.. Nora starts with Nous serons huit au déjeuner: eight people will attend.

  3. Question 3No account needed
    After doubling, but BEFORE replacing the pears, how many pears would you need?

    Choose one answer.

    Answer and explanation

    Quatre poires.. The recipe has two pears for four people. Doubling the recipe gives four pears.

  4. Question 4No account needed
    Which ingredient is unavailable?

    Choose one answer.

    Answer and explanation

    Les poires.. Il n’y a pas de poires gives the ingredient shortage directly.

  5. Question 5No account needed
    What does the pronoun in remplace-les refer to?

    Choose one answer.

    Answer and explanation

    Les poires.. Les refers to the pears mentioned immediately before the replacement instruction.

  6. Question 6No account needed
    What is the final number of apples?

    Choose one answer.

    Answer and explanation

    Huit pommes.. Four apples come from doubling; four more replace the four pears. The total is eight.

  7. Question 7No account needed
    How many oranges are needed in the final version?

    Choose one answer.

    Answer and explanation

    Deux oranges.. The single original orange becomes two. The replacement instruction concerns pears.

  8. Question 8No account needed
    What should you do with the lemon juice?

    Choose one answer.

    Answer and explanation

    Choose whether to add some.. Both si vous le souhaitez and tu choisis leave the lemon juice optional.

  9. Question 9No account needed
    Which instruction tells you to cut the fruit?

    Choose one answer.

    Answer and explanation

    Coupez les fruits en morceaux.. Coupez means cut. Mélangez means mix, and double changes the amounts.

  10. Question 10No account needed
    What does en tout show in Nora’s final quantity sentence?

    Choose one answer.

    Answer and explanation

    The final total.. Donc introduces the result and en tout labels it as the total after the changes.

After the questions: check the quantities

One change at a time
IngredientFor fourDoubledAfter replacement
Apples248
Pears240
Oranges122

The eight apples are the final total. Count four from the doubled recipe, then four more in place of the pears. The sentence with donc summarises that calculation. There is one doubling instruction in the message.

Pour huit personnes, il faut huit pommes et deux oranges. On peut ajouter un peu de jus de citron.

For eight people, you need eight apples and two oranges. You can add a little lemon juice.

Il faut states what is needed. On peut leaves a choice.

Notice the change of address: the recipe gives general instructions with coupez and mélangez. Nora writes to one person she calls tu, so she uses double and remplace. Both texts describe the same preparation.

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