Reading

A2 French reading: the wrong city under a family photo

Read Dalia’s family-album story in French. Use the second photograph to correct a caption, with vocabulary notes, picture cards and questions.

In short

Under a photograph, une légende is a caption. Dalia’s uncle changes the city after finding a second picture; the year stays 2008.

La légende sous la photo

Dalia a ouvert un vieil album avec son oncle. Sur la première page, elle a reconnu1 sa mère devant un pont. Sur la photo, son oncle était à côté de sa mère. Sous l’image, une légende2 indiquait : « Lyon, été 2008 ». Dalia se souvenait surtout du manteau jaune de sa mère.

« Lyon ? Je ne suis pas sûr », a dit son oncle. Il a regardé le pont, puis il a tourné plusieurs pages. À la fin de l’album, il a trouvé une enveloppe. Elle contenait une autre photo du même pont, prise d’un peu plus loin. Cette fois, on voyait aussi un panneau3 avec le nom de la ville : Nantes.

L’oncle a pris un crayon et a corrigé la légende. Il a gardé l’année 2008 : l’autre photo ne portait pas de date. Dalia a écrit « Nantes, été 2008 » sous la première image. Puis elle a demandé : « Et ce manteau jaune, maman l’a encore ? » Son oncle a ri.

Read it in English

Dalia opened an old album with her uncle. On the first page, she recognised her mother in front of a bridge. In the photo, her uncle was beside her mother. Under the picture, a caption read: “Lyon, summer 2008”. Dalia mainly remembered her mother’s yellow coat.

“Lyon? I’m not sure,” her uncle said. He looked at the bridge, then turned several pages. At the back of the album, he found an envelope. It contained another photo of the same bridge, taken from slightly further away. This time, a sign with the city’s name was also visible: Nantes.

Her uncle took a pencil and corrected the caption. He kept the year 2008: the other photo had no date. Dalia wrote “Nantes, summer 2008” under the first picture. Then she asked, “And that yellow coat, does Mum still have it?” Her uncle laughed.

Meet the objects in the text

Read these phrases together
FrenchEnglish
reconnaître sa mèrerecognise her mother
se souvenir du manteauremember the coat
corriger la légendecorrect the caption
Question 1No account needed
What makes the uncle change the city?

Choose one answer.

Answer and explanation

A sign visible in another photo.. The second photo shows the same bridge and a sign naming Nantes.

Question 2No account needed
Which caption does Dalia write?

Choose one answer.

Answer and explanation

Nantes, été 2008. She changes Lyon to Nantes and keeps the year and season.

Question 3No account needed
What does Dalia remember most clearly?

Choose one answer.

Answer and explanation

Her mother’s yellow coat.. The first paragraph says she mainly remembers the yellow coat.