Reading comprehension of a French-language text
What this domain tests
The Cantabria PAU French paper starts with a short French text, usually a press article, a testimony or a blog post of roughly 250–300 words. The comprehension items check three levels: the global idea (topic, author's aim), detailed facts (who, when, why, how much), and the ability to point to the exact words that support an answer. Common formats are true/false with justification, short answers in French, and questions on what a pronoun or expression refers to.
Core rules
- Read the questions before the text, then read the text once for general meaning and a second time with the questions in mind.
- A justification is not an explanation: copy a short fragment from the text, in quotation marks, that proves your answer. Do not paraphrase it.
- Answer in French, and use your own words when the item says avec vos propres mots; do not copy a whole sentence.
- Keep answers short and targeted; a two-line answer is normally enough.
- Track connectors and pronoun referents: il, elle, celui-ci, dont, y, en often point to a noun in the previous sentence.
- Watch restrictive structures: ne… que means only, ne… jamais means never; missing the negative turns true into false.
Worked example
Text: Depuis l'an dernier, les élèves du lycée peuvent déjeuner à la cantine pour trois euros. Item: Le repas coûte plus de trois euros. Vrai ou faux ? Justifiez. Answer: Faux. « pour trois euros ». Reasoning: plus de contradicts the exact price, and the shortest fragment that proves it is the price phrase. Copying the whole sentence would still be accepted but wastes time and may introduce an irrelevant element.
Traps that cost marks
- Giving a justification that repeats the statement instead of quoting the text.
- Copying a whole paragraph as justification.
- Answering in Spanish or mixing languages.
- Translating faux amis: actuellement = currently (not actually), éventuellement = possibly, assister à = to attend (not to assist).
- Confusing depuis (since/for, with present) and pendant (during, with past).
- Treating a partially true statement as true: if one detail is wrong, the answer is false.