The jacket and the button
CEFR A2115 words
Après le cours, Maëlle prend une veste noire sur une chaise. Elle porte souvent une veste noire et pense prendre la sienne. Dans la poche, elle trouve une carte avec le prénom Hugo. Elle regarde ensuite les manches : cette veste a un bouton rouge. La sienne a des boutons noirs.
Maëlle retourne dans la salle. Hugo cherche sa veste sous les tables. Une autre veste noire est encore sur une chaise, près de la fenêtre. Maëlle montre le bouton rouge à Hugo. Il reconnaît sa veste et remercie Maëlle.
Avant de partir, Maëlle vérifie les boutons de l'autre veste et retrouve son petit carnet dans la poche. Cette fois, elle prend le bon vêtement.
Words you may not know
- manchessleeves
Questions
You answer them with the text in front of you. It isn't memory: it's understanding.
What rules out the jacket Maëlle first takes?
Son bouton ne correspond pas aux siens. — The taken jacket has a red button and hers has black ones; the shared colour is insufficient.
Why does Maëlle return rather than go home?
Elle cherche à rendre un vêtement pris par erreur. — The card and button indicate the jacket is not hers; she returns and finds Hugo searching for it.
What shows that searching only under tables does not solve Hugo’s problem?
Sa veste est entre les mains de Maëlle. — Maëlle took the jacket with his card and then shows it to him; it is not under the tables he searches.
Hugo only looks under the tables while Maëlle returns to the room. What should he change in his search to recover the jacket he recognises?
Regarder le vêtement que Maëlle lui présente. — Maëlle holds the jacket Hugo recognises by its red button; searching only under the tables does not find it. The notebook belongs to Maëlle, and black fabric does not distinguish the two jackets.
If the card mistakenly bore Maëlle’s name, which detail of the first jacket would still show it is not hers?
Le bouton rouge sur sa manche. — The taken jacket has a red button and Maëlle’s has black buttons; changing the card’s name does not change that difference. The black fabric and chair do not identify its owner.
If Maëlle left her notebook at home, which allocation of the two jackets matches their buttons and what Hugo recognises?
Les boutons noirs reviennent à Maëlle, le bouton rouge à Hugo. — Maëlle knows her own black buttons and Hugo recognises the red-buttoned jacket she shows him. Without the notebook there is still one jacket for each person: neither two red-buttoned jackets nor reversed ownership.