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B2 French response quiz: should cafés ban laptops?

Edited by Chris Lee · Updated · About the library

Read a categorical claim about café tables, then answer eight questions to build a fair reply with a concession, a distinction and a practical proposal.

In short

Report the full claim, acknowledge the problem of crowded tables, then distinguish busy hours from quiet ones. A reply can support limits on long stays while challenging the judgement that every laptop user behaves abusively.

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« Les cafés devraient toujours interdire les ordinateurs. Toute personne qui travaille sur un écran occupe abusivement une table qui devrait servir à discuter. »

“Cafés should always ban computers. Anyone working on a screen wrongfully occupies a table that should be used for conversation.”

Toujours covers every time; toute personne covers every person in the stated category. Keep both when reporting the claim.

Deux moments dans le même café
  1. À 10 heures

    Plusieurs tables sont libres. Une cliente travaille seule sur son ordinateur.

    Several tables are free. A customer is working alone on her laptop.

  2. À 13 heures

    Toutes les tables sont occupées. Deux clients attendent une place.

    Every table is occupied. Two customers are waiting for a seat.

Use these two moments to test the scope of the proposed ban. Both scenes involve a café, but the demand for seats differs. The questions below take you from faithful reporting to a concession, then to a proposal. Choose the sentence that performs the requested role; a polite sentence still needs to answer the issue.

  1. Question 1No account needed
    Which sentence reports the source’s full proposal?

    Choose one answer.

    Answer and explanation

    L’auteur propose d’interdire les ordinateurs en permanence dans les cafés.. Toujours interdire proposes a ban at all times, rather than a lunchtime-only limit.

  2. Question 2No account needed
    Which words make the judgement about users categorical?

    Choose one answer.

    Answer and explanation

    Toute personne.. Toute personne extends the judgement to each person working on a screen.

  3. Question 3No account needed
    Which sentence acknowledges a relevant concern?

    Choose one answer.

    Answer and explanation

    Une table occupée longtemps peut manquer à d’autres clients quand le café est plein.. This acknowledges the seating problem that can arise during a crowded period.

  4. Question 4No account needed
    What distinction do the two scenes support?

    Choose one answer.

    Answer and explanation

    The need for seats can differ between quiet and crowded periods.. The scenes vary the availability of seats. They give no universal rule about how long users stay.

  5. Question 5No account needed
    Choose the clause that fits the concession.Certes, certains clients occupent longtemps une table, mais ___.

    Choose one answer.

    Answer and explanation

    cela ne justifie pas de juger tous les usages de la même manière. The second clause limits the conclusion while accepting that crowding can be a concern.

  6. Question 6No account needed
    Which proposal responds to crowding while keeping quiet-time use possible?

    Choose one answer.

    Answer and explanation

    Chaque café pourrait annoncer des limites adaptées aux heures d’affluence.. Limits linked to busy periods address seat availability and tell customers what to expect.

  7. Question 7No account needed
    What does this sentence express?Je préférerais que chaque établissement explique les usages qu’il souhaite accueillir.

    Choose one answer.

    Answer and explanation

    The responder’s preference.. Je préférerais introduces the writer’s recommendation rather than reporting an existing rule.

  8. Question 8No account needed
    Which final question follows the argument?

    Choose one answer.

    Answer and explanation

    Quelles règles permettraient de partager les tables aux heures d’affluence ?. The question returns to sharing seats when demand is high, the practical issue developed in the reply.

Four objects in the café scene

Write your own reply after the quiz

A self-review aid, not a grade. Ticks are not saved.

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