Un train pour Marseille
Inès missed the first announcement, found the right quai, and watched the coast turn blue before dinner.
- Length
- 117 words
- Reading time
- ~1 min
- Vocabulary
- 8 terms
- Comprehension
- 3 questions
Pre-Reading Vocabulary
Review these key words and phrasing examples before you begin reading.
Your French story — tap highlighted words when you need help
Inès est arrivée à la gare avec une valise trop lourde et un café tiède à moitié bu. Elle n'a pas compris le premier message sur le , alors elle a demandé à une agente souriante où attendre le train pour Marseille. L'agente a montré l'écran : dix minutes de , mais le quai ne changeait pas encore. Inès a acheté une bouteille d'eau et a écrit dans son carnet les mots voyage, et mer. Pendant le trajet, elle regardait les oliviers et les petites maisons blanches qui défilaient rapidement. En arrivant, elle a senti l'odeur du sel et du poisson grillé, et elle a pensé que Marseille commençait avant même la sortie de la station.
Show full English translation
Inès arrived at the station with a suitcase too heavy and a lukewarm coffee half-drunk. She didn't understand the first announcement on the platform, so she asked a smiling attendant where to wait for the train to Marseille. The attendant pointed to the screen: a ten-minute delay, but the platform hadn't changed yet. Inès bought a bottle of water and wrote in her notebook the words voyage, correspondance, and mer. During the journey, she watched the olive trees and small white houses flash by. Upon arriving, she smelled the salt and grilled fish, and thought that Marseille began even before leaving the station.
Vocabulary recap
Reading Comprehension Exercise
A2 French Reading Comprehension Exercises
1. Pourquoi Inès parle-t-elle à l'agente?
Correct: Parce qu'elle n'a pas compris l'annonce
Inès parle à l'agente parce qu'elle n'a pas compris le premier message vocal sur le quai. Elle veut savoir où attendre le train pour Marseille.
2. Que note-t-elle dans son carnet?
Correct: Les mots voyage, correspondance et mer
Inès écrit les mots voyage, correspondance et mer dans son carnet, probablement pour se souvenir de son voyage et de ses pensées.
3. Qu'est-ce qu'elle sent en arrivant?
Correct: L'odeur du sel et du poisson grillé
En arrivant à Marseille, Inès sent l'odeur du sel et du poisson grillé, ce qui évoque l'atmosphère méditerranéenne de la ville.
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Patterns to reuse
How to say 'I didn't understand'
Je n'ai pas compris le premier message
I didn't understand the first announcement
In French, we often say:
Je n'ai pas compris X
- le message
- la question
- l'annonce
Use this pattern to say you didn't understand something specific.
Asking where to wait for something
Où attendre le train pour Marseille ?
Where should I wait for the train to Marseille?
Useful for travel situations:
Où attendre X ?
- le bus
- l'avion
- le tram
Replace X with the transport you're looking for to ask where to wait.
Talking about things you bought
Inès a acheté une bouteille d'eau
Inès bought a bottle of water
Say what you bought:
J'ai acheté X
- un billet
- un café
- un carnet
This is a handy pattern for shopping or recounting your day.
Translator's Note
"This story captures the sensory experience of travel, focusing on the sights and smells that define a journey to Marseille."
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