Objective reading questions test your ability to extract details and understand the general sense of French notices, advertisements, blogs, and short stories. Reading questions may ask you to choose an option or match words, pictures, people or paragraphs.
Objective Formats and Decoding Strategies
Reading questions may ask you to choose an option or match words, pictures, people or paragraphs. Always read the instruction line first to check whether your answer must be in French or in English.
Notices versus continuous texts
- For notices, menus, and timetables, scan directly for specific details like prices, dates, opening times, or warning signs.
- For blogs, interviews and stories, read surrounding sentences to understand reasons and feelings.
Using language connections
Related English words offer clues for unfamiliar vocabulary: une activité sportive means a sporting activity. Watch for false friends in context, such as actuellement, which means currently rather than actually.
Core Vocabulary for Image and Word Matching
Places in a town
- l'église: church
- le bureau de poste: post office
- le terrain de foot: football pitch
- la station-service: petrol station
- la gare: train station
Hobbies and daily activities
- faire les devoirs: do homework
- faire la cuisine: cook
- laver la voiture: wash the car
- jouer de la guitare: play guitar
- écouter de la musique: listen to music
- aller au cinéma: go to the cinema
Public Notices and Essential Opposites
Public notices convey rules, access conditions, and charges. Confusing opposite pairs can lead to a wrong answer.
| French Term | Meaning | Typical Context |
|---|---|---|
| entrée / sortie | entrance / exit | Station doors, event halls |
| ouvert / fermé | open / closed | Museum and shop doors |
| interdit / défense de | forbidden / do not | Safety signs, swimming pools |
| gratuit | free of charge | Ticket prices for children |
| compris | included | Restaurant bills (service compris) |
| en retard / à l'heure | delayed / on time | Train and bus departures |
Look for the euro symbol (€) for costs, or negative words like ne... pas to identify conditions.
Times, Qualifying Words, and Paraphrasing
Small words alter the meaning of an option completely, creating distractors that trap careless readers.
Times and schedules
- Timetables commonly use the 24-hour clock: 17h means 5:00 p.m. Subtract 12 from numbers above 12.
- Jours fériés means public holidays. Check the notice for specific operating hours.
Qualifying words and distractors
- Sauf means except: it excludes the person, day or item that follows (fermé sauf le lundi).
- Seulement means only: cette semaine seulement means this week only.
- Moins de means under or less than (moins de 12 ans means under 12).
- À partir de means starting from, marking a minimum cost or time.
Questions may express the same idea using different words. Notice that je me lève à six heures matches 'gets up early', while je dois me lever tôt matches 'has to get up early'.
Key terms
- interdit
- Forbidden or not allowed by rule or law.
- gratuit
- Free of charge, requiring no payment.
- les horaires
- The timetable or opening hours of a service.
- sauf
- Except; excludes a specific day, person, or condition.
- seulement
- Only; limits an action, offer, or group.
- compris
- Included in the stated price, such as meals or service.
- l'entrée
- The entrance on a building, or the starter course on a food menu.
Check yourself
What does 'gratuit pour les moins de 12 ans' mean?
Admission is free of charge for children under 12 years of age.
If a train timetable displays 'Départ: 17h45', at what time does it leave in 12-hour format?
It departs at 5:45 p.m.
Which French phrase tells you that an activity is strictly prohibited?
'Interdit' or 'défense de'.
What is the difference between 'entrée' and 'sortie' on building doors?
'Entrée' indicates the entrance, while 'sortie' indicates the exit.