Theme 2.1/2.3: Where I Live and the Environment - Listening Comprehension
Listening comprehension for the Where I live and the environment theme tests understanding of spoken French about houses, towns, regions and environmental issues such as pollution and recycling, presented as monologues, dialogues and short reports at both tiers, with every item played twice. Examiners are testing whether a student can extract specific detail (type of home, location, an opinion with a reason), follow comparisons between town and country or past and present, and catch numbers, negatives and cause-and-effect connectives that explain environmental problems and solutions.
Before you start
Make sure you're comfortable with these topics first:
Method
- Read the questions and options first, underline key words, and decide what type of information is wanted: a location, an opinion plus reason, or an environmental action.
- Predict vocabulary from the title: types of housing (un appartement, une maison jumelée), location words (en ville, à la campagne, en banlieue), and environment terms (le réchauffement climatique, recycler, les emballages, les transports en commun).
- On the first listening, focus on gist: where the speaker lives, and their view of it or of the environment more generally.
- Track the tense contrast: present for where someone lives now (j'habite), imperfect for where they used to live (avant, j'habitais), and near future or conditional for plans to move or environmental action that should be taken (je vais déménager, on devrait recycler davantage).
- Catch cause-and-effect connectives that explain environmental problems: à cause de (because of), donc/alors (so), ce qui provoque (which causes) - these link a cause, such as les gaz d'échappement, to an effect, such as la pollution de l'air.
- Catch numbers and comparisons: plus/moins + adjective + que (plus pollué que, moins vert que), percentages, and distances (à dix kilomètrès de).
- Track negatives: on ne recycle pas assez (not enough), il n'y a plus d'espaces verts (no more green spaces) - a missed ne can turn a problem into its opposite.
- Note self-corrections and use the second listening to confirm exact places, numbers, and the reasons given for opinions.
Worked example
You hear: 'J'habite dans un petit village à la campagne, mais avant, ma famille habitait en ville, dans un appartement. Je préfère de loin la campagne parce que c'est plus calme et il y a moins de pollution.' Question: Compare where the speaker lives now with where they used to live, and give their opinion.
- Predict vocabulary before listening: village, campagne, ville, appartement, pollution.
- Identify the tense: present 'j'habite' (now) versus imperfect 'habitait' (before) marks a house-move in the past.
- Note the comparison structure: plus calme (calmer) and moins de pollution (less pollution) use plus/moins + adjective or + de + noun.
- Catch the connective 'parce que' introducing the reason for the opinion.
- Full answer: The speaker now lives in a small village in the countryside, but their family used to live in a flat in town; they much prefer the countryside because it is calmer and there is less pollution.
Practice questions
Try each question, then tap to reveal the answer.
Q1What does 'à la campagne' mean, and what is its opposite in this theme?Show answer
Answer: 'In the countryside'; its opposite is 'en ville' (in town/in the city).
Q2Translate: 'il y a moins de pollution qu'avant'.Show answer
Answer: There is less pollution than before.
Q3What does 'on ne recycle pas assez' mean?Show answer
Answer: 'We/people do not recycle enough' - assez means 'enough' here, and ne...pas negates recycle.
Q4A speaker says 'il y a cinquante habitants... non, attends, cinq cents habitants dans le village'. How many inhabitants does the village have?Show answer
Answer: 500 (cinq cents) - the self-correction 'non, attends' means the second number replaces the first.
Q5What does 'à cause de' introduce, and give an example use?Show answer
Answer: A cause/reason (because of); e.g. 'il y a beaucoup de circulation à cause des travaux' (there is a lot of traffic because of the roadworks).
Q6Before listening to a text titled 'Ma ville : avantages et inconvénients', predict two words you might hear.Show answer
Answer: Any two of: les transports en commun, animé, bruyant, les espaces verts, pratique.
Q7Translate: 'on devrait recycler davantage pour protéger l'environnement'.Show answer
Answer: We should recycle more to protect the environment (devrait = conditional of devoir, should).
Q8What is the difference between 'il y a des espaces verts' and 'il n'y a plus d'espaces verts'?Show answer
Answer: The second, with ne...plus, means 'there are no more green spaces', the opposite of the first ('there are green spaces').
Exam-style questions
Written in the style of a GCSE French exam paper, with a full mark scheme.
Transcript of the recording: J'habite à Rouen, une ville d'environ cent dix mille habitants dans le nord de la France. Ce que j'aime, c'est qu'il y a beaucoup de transports en commun, donc je n'ai pas besoin de voiture. Par contre, il y a trop de circulation au centre-ville, ce qui provoque beaucoup de pollution de l'air. La mairie a construit de nouvelles pistes cyclables l'année dernière, et de plus en plus de gens vont au travail à vélo maintenant. À mon avis, il faudrait aussi interdire les voitures dans le centre historique. Questions: 1) Where does the speaker live, and what is the approximate population? 2) What does the speaker like about the town, and why? 3) What problem does the speaker mention, and what causes it? 4) What has the town hall done, and what has been the result? 5) What does the speaker think should happen next?
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Transcript of the recording: - Journaliste : Que pensez-vous du réchauffement climatique ? - Habitant : C'est vraiment inquiétant. Ici, dans notre région, il fait de plus en plus chaud en été, et il n'a presque pas plu depuis deux mois. - Journaliste : Est-ce que la mairie fait quelque chose ? - Habitant : Oui, on a installé des panneaux solaires sur les bâtiments publics, et on encourage les habitants à moins gaspiller l'eau. Cependant, je pense qu'on ne fait pas encore assez, surtout au niveau des transports. Questions: 1) How does the resident feel about climate change? 2) What two things does he say about the weather in his region? 3) What has the town hall done? 4) What does the resident think overall, and about what area in particular?
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Free printable worksheet
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