Americans in Paris
French Listening Comprehension
Study Guide
Take a look at the following for help with any French vocabulary and grammar that you might not
have understood in Americans in Paris, then take
the test.
| Vocabulary | Lessons | |
| un arrondissement | city district | French numbers |
| le déclenchement | launch, start, release | On vs L'on |
| constater | to see, notice | Visiter vs rendre visite |
| encadrer | to surround, frame | |
| une étape | step, stage | |
| la fréquentation | attendance, contact, acquaintance | |
| incontournable | unmissable, inescapable | |
| un parvis | town square | |
| la réussite | success | |
| un roller | in-line skate | |
| se solder | to show, end/result in | |
| soucieux | worried (about), protective | |
| tabler | to expect, count on | |
| un témoignage | proof, evidence | |
| tenir compte de | to take into account | |
| Notes | ||
| Roissy... Disney | Roissy refers to Charles-de-Gaulle Airport, but it is also a commune, a place in its own right. A settlement at Roissy-en-France (the France in the name denotes the plain around Paris, as in Île-de-France) has existed since Roman times. Roissy's only claim to fame today, the airport aside, is that the 1954 sadomasochistic erotic novel Histoire d'O, by Pauline Réage, was set in a fictional château there. The sequel was called Retour à Roissy. Orly, the site of Paris's second airport, to the south, also has a long history, having been sacked by the English in 1360. Versailles and Disneyland lie on the western and eastern outskirts, respectively, of the metropolitan area. | |
| Sports in Paris | Is Paris really a city where one can play sports? To a point, yes, but one of the French capital's most striking features, its lack of open spaces, means that there is no place for organized team sports. Schools can offer nothing beyond basic gym and weekly swims in the local pool. To play team sports means joining a club and traveling to the banlieues on the weekends. Inside Paris the only feasible outdoor sports are running, cycling, and in-line skating, and to be fair, the city authorities do their best to encourage these activities. The weekly tour of Paris by Rollerblade takes place on Friday night and is great fun and quite a sight, with hundreds of people sweeping en masse down the boulevards. | |
| Americans in Paris part 1
part 2 French Listening Comprehension Exercise |
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| Listen | Study | Test | ||
| Transcript Translation | ||||
| Sound files and transcript were originally published in Champs-Élysées audiomagazine (read my review) and were published here with the permission of Champs-Elysées, Inc. |
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| French travel and culture | ||||
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