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A1 French reading: violin practice and headphones

Edited by Chris Lee · Updated · About the library

Read a French music scene with picture vocabulary and English support. Distinguish playing from listening, and follow the beginning and end of a piece.

In short

Jouer du violon means to play the violin; écouter une chanson means to listen to a song. In a music scene, répéter un morceau means to rehearse a piece. Follow the verb attached to each person’s name.

Yellow the idea to rememberBlue French to learn

Une répétition à la maison

Mercredi après-midi

Lina joue du violon dans le salon. Elle prépare un petit morceau1 pour ses amis. Son frère Émile est dans la même pièce, mais il ne joue pas avec elle. Il écoute une chanson avec son casque2.

Le début et la fin

Lina répète3 le début du morceau trois fois. Ensuite, elle joue le morceau entier4. « Tu peux écouter ? » demande-t-elle à son frère. Émile enlève son casque. Il écoute Lina, puis il dit : « J’aime beaucoup la fin ! »

Encore une fois

Lina sourit, mais elle préfère encore travailler le début. Elle joue cette partie une dernière fois. Puis elle remet son violon dans son étui5. Demain, elle veut jouer le morceau pour leur cousine. Émile veut venir aussi, mais cette fois, il laisse son casque à la maison.

Read it in English

On Wednesday afternoon, Lina plays the violin in the living room. She is preparing a short piece for her friends. Her brother Émile is in the same room, but he is not playing with her. He is listening to a song through his headphones.

Lina rehearses the beginning of the piece three times. Then she plays the whole piece. “Can you listen?” she asks her brother. Émile takes off his headphones. He listens to Lina, then says, “I really like the ending!”

Lina smiles, but she still prefers to work on the beginning. She plays that part one last time. Then she puts her violin back in its case. Tomorrow, she wants to play the piece for their cousin. Émile wants to come too, but this time he is leaving his headphones at home.

Around the music stand

Two useful patterns
PatternFrench exampleEnglish
Play an instrumentElle joue du violon.She plays the violin.
Listen to somethingIl écoute une chanson.He listens to a song.
Express a preferenceElle préfère travailler le début.She prefers to work on the beginning.

Keep du with jouer du violon. After écouter, put the thing you hear directly: écouter une chanson, écouter Lina. After préférer, use the infinitive directly: préférer travailler. In the story, the repeated beginning and the praised ending are different parts of the same piece.

Question 1No account needed
What does Lina first rehearse three times?

Choose one answer.

Answer and explanation

Le début du morceau.. The second part says Lina repeats the beginning three times before playing the whole piece.

Question 2No account needed
What does Émile do before listening to Lina?

Choose one answer.

Answer and explanation

Il enlève son casque.. Émile takes off his headphones when Lina asks him to listen.

Question 3No account needed
Which part does Émile praise?

Choose one answer.

Answer and explanation

La fin.. After listening to Lina, he says he really likes the ending of her piece.

Question 4No account needed
Complete “She plays the violin”.

Choose one answer.

Answer and explanation

Elle joue du violon.. For playing an instrument, use jouer de: de + le becomes du violon.

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