Travel and tourism: Reading comprehension
Reading comprehension on travel and tourism covers texts about holidays, transport, accommodation and problems encountered while travelling. Examiners are testing whether a student can separate a single completed holiday event in the perfect tense (nous sommes partis, j'ai visité) from background or repeated description in the imperfect (il faisait beau, nous nous baignions tous les jours), identify transport and accommodation vocabulary precisely, and spot problem language such as malheureusement or le vol a été retardé that signals something went wrong.
Before you start
Make sure you're comfortable with these topics first:
Method
- Establish whether the passage is recounting a past holiday (perfect and imperfect tenses) or describing a future or hoped-for trip (futur simple, conditional, or aller + infinitive).
- In past recounts, separate single completed actions (passé composé: nous sommes allés, j'ai visité) from background description or repeated actions (imparfait: il faisait beau, nous nous baignions tous les jours).
- Underline transport and accommodation vocabulary (on a pris l'avion/le train, on a logé dans un hôtel/un camping/une auberge de jeunesse) since exam questions often test exactly how someone travelled or where they stayed.
- Watch for problem or complaint language (malheureusement, le vol a été retardé, la chambre était sale) which is commonly tested with 'what went wrong' questions.
- Note opinion adjectives about the destination (magnifique, décevant, inoubliable) and match each one precisely to the place or experience it describes.
- Check quantities of time (pendant deux semaines, pour un week-end) carefully, since a wrong duration is a common distractor in multiple-choice options.
Worked example
Lis la phrase et réponds. 'L'année dernière, nous sommes partis en Espagne pendant deux semaines. Il faisait très chaud tous les jours, mais malheureusement notre hôtel était bruyant.' Quel était le problème pendant les vacances ?
- Identify the perfect tense event: nous sommes partis en Espagne (a completed trip).
- Identify the imperfect background description: il faisait très chaud tous les jours (ongoing weather description).
- Spot the signal word malheureusement (unfortunately), which usually introduces a complaint or problem.
- Read the detail after it: notre hôtel était bruyant (the hotel was noisy).
- The problem during the holiday was that the hotel was noisy.
Practice questions
Type your answer and press Check to be marked straight away, or reveal the answer and mark yourself.
Q1Translate: 'Nous avons pris le train jusqu'à Paris.'Show answer
Answer: We took the train to Paris.
Q2What is the difference between 'il faisait beau' and 'il a fait beau'?Show answer
Answer: 'Il faisait beau' describes ongoing/background weather (imperfect); 'il a fait beau' states a completed fact about the weather on a specific occasion (perfect).
Q3Give the English meaning of 'une auberge de jeunesse'.Show answer
Answer: A youth hostel.
Q4True or false: 'le vol a été retardé' means the flight left on time.Show answer
Answer: False - it means the flight was delayed.
Q5Translate: 'L'année prochaine, nous irons en Italie pour la première fois.'Show answer
Answer: Next year, we will go to Italy for the first time.
Q6What tense is used in 'nous nous baignions tous les jours', and what does it tell you?Show answer
Answer: Imperfect tense - it describes a repeated or habitual action during the holiday (we used to swim every day).
Exam-style questions
Written in the style of a GCSE French exam paper, with a full mark scheme.
Lis le texte et réponds aux questions. L'été dernier, ma famille et moi sommes partis en vacances au Portugal pendant dix jours. Nous avons pris l'avion jusqu'à Lisbonne, puis nous avons loué une voiture pour visiter la côte. Le paysage était magnifique et il faisait chaud tous les jours, donc nous nous baignions souvent dans la mer. Malheureusement, le deuxième jour, notre voiture est tombée en panne sur l'autoroute, ce qui nous a fait perdre presque toute une journée. Heureusement, le reste du séjour s'est très bien passé, et nous avons goûté des plats locaux délicieux dans un petit restaurant familial. (a) Where did the family go on holiday, and for how long? (b) How did they travel to Lisbon, and what did they do once there? (c) True, false or not mentioned: the weather was cold every day. (d) What problem happened on the second day? (e) According to the text, how did the rest of the holiday go?
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Lis le texte et réponds aux questions. Cet été, je vais partir en colonie de vacances avec des amis pour la première fois, et j'ai vraiment hâte. Nous allons camper près d'un lac pendant une semaine, et nous ferons du canoë et de l'escalade tous les jours. D'habitude, je préfère les vacances tranquilles à la plage, mais cette fois, j'ai envie d'essayer quelque chose de plus aventureux. Mes parents étaient un peu inquiets au début, car c'est la première fois que je pars sans eux, mais ils ont fini par accepter, à condition que je les appelle tous les deux jours. (a) What is the writer going to do this summer, for the first time? (b) Name two activities mentioned that they will do every day. (c) True, false or not mentioned: the writer usually prefers quiet beach holidays. (d) Why were the writer's parents a little worried at first? (e) On what condition did the parents agree to let the writer go?
Show mark scheme
Tick each line you got. Your score builds from the marks on the scheme.
Nothing ticked yet - 5 available
See real GCSE French past-paper questions, with official mark schemes →
Free printable worksheet
Want more practice on paper? Download the travel and tourism: reading comprehension worksheet pack - 6 pages of exam-style questions with a full mark scheme. One email opens every download in this browser for 14 days - no account, no card. Print it for personal and classroom use.
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