The Museum Notice: Choosing the Best Answer When No Option Is Perfect
In the Compréhension écrite section, the candidate meets this notice, reproduced in full:
MUSÉE DES ARTS DE LA VILLE Ouvert de 10 h à 18 h, sauf le mardi. Entrée gratuite pour les moins de 18 ans et, le jeudi, pour les étudiants. Les groupes de plus de dix personnes doivent réserver une semaine à l'avance. La cafétéria ferme une heure avant le musée. Le premier dimanche du mois : visite guidée à 15 h, sur inscription.
A question asks: « Samedi, une classe de douze élèves de 17 ans arrive à 16 h 30 avec son professeur. Que doivent-ils faire ? » The candidate must choose among three answers: (a) payer l'entrée et visiter librement; (b) réserver une semaine à l'avance et demander une visite guidée; (c) entrer gratuitement sans réservation. The candidate notices that the students are under 18 and that it is Saturday, not Thursday. Time is short and the rubric requires a justification from the text for every choice.
1. Evaluate the three options. Which is closest to the text, and what should a strong answer add?
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Option (a) is wrong because the students are moins de 18 ans, so entry is free; paying would contradict the notice.
Option (b) is half right and half wrong. The group has twelve students, and the notice says groups of more than ten must reserve a week in advance. So reservation is required. But the visite guidée is offered only on the first Sunday of the month at 15 h, not on an ordinary Saturday at 16 h 30. Requesting a guided tour would not be available.
Option (c) is also only half right. Entry is free for under-18s, but the group still must reserve because it has more than ten people. Sans réservation ignores an explicit condition.
The best exam answer therefore does not simply tick a letter. It states the combined rule: « Ils doivent réserver une semaine à l'avance parce qu'ils sont plus de dix, puis ils entreront gratuitement parce qu'ils ont moins de dix-huit ans. » A strong candidate explains why each option fails, and supplies the missing combination. This is a test of careful reading, not of guessing.
2. A classmate translates «sur inscription» as 'on a sign'. Explain the correct meaning and show how the context helps.
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«Sur inscription» means 'by prior registration' or 'on sign-up', not 'on a sign'. The noun inscription is related to the verb s'inscrire ('to register/enrol'), and sur here expresses a condition: participation depends on having registered.
Context supports this reading:
- The phrase follows «visite guidée à 15 h», a scheduled activity with limited places.
- The notice already contains another booking instruction - «doivent réserver une semaine à l'avance» - which shows the museum manages group numbers.
- A guided tour on one Sunday per month would normally require advance booking, not a physical sign.
A natural French paraphrase is «il faut s'inscrire à l'avance». The common mistranslation arises from the English word 'sign', but the French signe is not the same word as inscription. Vocabulary marks are awarded for the correct paraphrase and for citing the surrounding text.
3. A student concludes: 'The café closes one hour before the museum, so on Saturday it closes at 5 p.m.' Is the inference valid? What assumption is needed?
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The inference is valid only if two assumptions hold.
The notice says the museum is open 10 h–18 h, except Tuesday, and that «la cafétéria ferme une heure avant le musée». On a Saturday, the museum closes at 18 h, so the café would close at 17 h. That arithmetic is correct.
The assumptions are:
- The café follows the museum's opening days. The notice does not explicitly say the café is open on Saturday; it gives only the closing relationship.
- 'One hour before the museum' refers to closing time, not opening time. The natural reading is closing, but the sentence is compressed.
A careful answer says: « Si la cafétéria est ouverte le samedi, elle ferme à 17 h, une heure avant le musée. » The exam rewards recognising that the text supports a conditional inference, not an absolute fact. On Tuesday, by contrast, the museum is closed, so the café's status is not stated at all.