Des vacances désastreuses

Des vacances désastreuses
Listen to Frédéric telling his friends about his recent holiday experiences. The number
of marks given in brackets for each question indicates how many elements your
answer should contain.
Part 1: Setting off
1.
What happened a fortnight ago? (1)
___________________________________________________________________________
2.
Where had Frédéric been, and when? (2)
___________________________________________________________________________
3.
What were the first two problems with the flight? (2)
___________________________________________________________________________
4.
Why was he afraid? (1)
___________________________________________________________________________
Part 2: The food
5.
What was wrong with each of these food items in the meal? (3)
a. Fish. ___________________________________________________________
b. Dessert. _________________________________________________________
c. Water. _________________________________________________________
Part 3: Transport
6.
Why did he have to take a taxi to his hotel from the airport? (1)
___________________________________________________________________________
7.
How much did this cost him? (1)
___________________________________________________________________________
Part 4: The hotel room
8.
What were the features of:
a.
the room he wanted. (3) ________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
b.
the room he was actually given. (3) _______________________________
___________________________________________________________________
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Des vacances désastreuses
9.
What was wrong with the following features of the room?
a.
The bed. (2) _________________________________________________
b.
The carpet. (1) _______________________________________________
c.
The air conditioning. (1) ________________________________________
Part 5: The resort
10.
What did Frédéric want to do at the holiday resort? (1)
_________________________________________________________________________
11.
What was wrong with the following features of the resort?
a.
The beach. (1) _____________________________________________
b.
The water. (1) ______________________________________________
c.
The kayaks. (1) _____________________________________________
d.
The pool. (1) _______________________________________________
e.
The towels. (1) _____________________________________________
Part 6: The entertainment
12.
What was there to do in the evening? (1)
_________________________________________________________________________
13.
What was wrong with the wi-fi? (1)
_________________________________________________________________________
14.
Where was his room situated, and what problem did this create and why? (3)
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
Part 7: Other problems
15.
What was wrong with:
a.
The excursions. (1) _______________________________________
b.
The meals. (1) ___________________________________________
c.
The staff. (1) ____________________________________________
© www.teachitlanguages.co.uk 2015
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Des vacances désastreuses
Part 8: Shopping
16.
Mention the four things that Frédéric buys. Give detail. (8)
a. _________________________________________________________________
b. _________________________________________________________________
c. _________________________________________________________________
d. _________________________________________________________________
Part 9: Holiday plans
17.How is Frédéric going to ensure that his next holidays are more successful? Why
will this work? (4)
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
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Des vacances désastreuses
Teaching notes
Launch or download the mp3 file from www.teachitlanguages.co.uk by entering the
resource number 25328 into the quick search box and clicking on the audio file. The
whole recording lasts 11 minutes 18 seconds, so you may want to do a section at a
time.
Transcript and answers
Part 1: Setting off
Il y a quinze jours, je suis revenu de mes vacances. J’étais partie aux îles Caraïbes
vers la fin du mois de janvier. D’abord, mon vol avait 90 minutes de retard, on a
décollé sous la pluie. J’avais très peur parce qu’il y avait un drôle de bruit dans
l’avion.
1.
2.
3.
4.
What happened a fortnight ago? Frédéric returned from his holidays.
(1)
Where had Frédéric been, and when? The Caribbean; end of January.
(2)
What were the first two problems with the flight? Flight delayed by 90
minutes; took off in the rain. (2)
Why was he afraid? Strange noise in the plane. (1)
Part 2: The food
La nourriture dans l’avion était dégueulasse. J’ai été obligé de manger du poisson qui
puait et un dessert sans goût. L’eau qu’on m’a offert à boire était tiède.
5.
What
a.
b.
c.
was wrong with each of these food items in the meal? (3)
Fish. Stank.
Dessert. Tasteless.
Water. Warm.
Part 3: Transport
Quand je suis arrivé à l’aéroport, il n’y avait pas de représentant de mon agence de
voyages et j’ai dû prendre un taxi pour aller à mon hôtel. Ça m’a coûté la moitié de
l’argent liquide que j’avais sur moi.
6.
7.
Why did he have to take a taxi to his hotel from the airport? No
representative from the travel agency. (1)
How much did this cost him? Half of his cash. (1)
Part 4: The hotel room
On avait mal compris mes demandes en ce qui concerne la réservation de l’hôtel.
J’avais réservé une chambre à deux lits avec douche et salle de bains, mais en
arrivant, j’ai trouvé une chambre à un lit avec douche et WC seulement. Il y avait des
cafards dans le lit et les draps étaient sales. La moquette avait des taches rouges et
la climatisation ne marchait pas.
8.
What were the features of:
a.
the room he wanted. Two beds; shower; bathroom. (3)
b.
the room he was actually given. One bed; shower; toilet. (3)
9.
What
a.
b.
c.
was wrong with the following features of the room?
The bed. Cockroaches and dirty sheets. (2)
The carpet. Covered with stains. (1)
The air conditioning. Didn’t work. (1)
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Des vacances désastreuses
Part 5: The resort
J’avais l’intention de profiter des activités nautiques à l’hôtel mais j’en étais très déçu.
Il y avait des verres cassés sur la plage, du plastique dans l’eau et les kayaks étaient
complètement abîmés. L’eau de la piscine était toute verte et je ne trouvais pas de
serviette pour me sêcher.
10.
11.
What
What
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
did Frédéric want to do at the holiday resort? Water sports. (1)
was wrong with the following features of the resort?
The beach. Broken glass. (1)
The water. Plastic in it. (1)
The kayaks. Ruined/damaged. (1)
The pool. Green water. (1)
The towels. There weren’t any. (1)
Part 6: The entertainment
Le soir, il n’y avait rien à faire et la connexion wi-fi était très lente. En plus, comme
ma chambre se trouvait au-dessus du bar, je ne pouvais pas dormir à cause du bruit
de la discothèque.
12.
13.
14.
What was there to do in the evening? Nothing. (1)
What was wrong with the WiFi? Slow connection. (1)
Where was his room situated, and what problem did this create and why?
Above the bar; couldn’t sleep; noise from the disco. (3)
Part 7: Other problems
Les excursions étaient mal organisées, les repas mal préparés et le personnel à l’hôtel
n’a rien fait pour améliorer mon expérience.
15.
What
a.
b.
c.
was wrong with:
The excursions. Badly organised. (1)
The meals. Badly prepared. (1)
The staff. Unhelpful / didn’t try to improve things. (1)
Part 8: Shopping
La seule chose qui m’a plu était les magasins. Les souvenirs? Je n’en ai pas acheté,
mais j’ai trouvé des CD de la musique des années 70, des vêtements rétro, un maillot
de bain bleu clair et une paire de chaussures fabriquée en Chine.
16.
Mention the four things that Frédéric buys. Give details. (8)
a. CDs / 70s music
b. vintage / clothing
c. light blue / swimming trunks
d. shoes / made in China
Part 9: Holiday plans
Les vacances prochaines, je ferais mieux de rester chez moi et de louer des DVD sur
les pays que je voudrais voir, plutôt que de les visiter. Ça reviendrait moins cher et je
ne serais pas déçu.
17.
How is Frédéric going to ensure that his next holidays are more successful?
Why will this work? Stay at home; rent DVDs about the countries he’d like to
visit; cheaper; he won’t be disappointed. (4)
© www.teachitlanguages.co.uk 2015
25328
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