Practice for the Spring 2015 written final exam;

FR 1001
Practice final written exam (with answers)
Remember – you have some latitude with your interpretations. The idea is to turn GOOD ENGLISH into GOOD FRENCH, leaving the ideas as intact as possible!

1. I’m going to have some croissants. There are croissants in the kitchen, but there aren’t any eggs in the fridge. Why? I love pastries, but I don’t like eggs!

Je vais prendre des croissants. Il y a des croissants dans la cuisine, mais il n’y a pas d’œufs. Pourquoi ? J’adore les pâtisseries, mais je n’aime pas les œufs ! 

2. Valérie, make the coffee. I do the shopping and the wash, so you’re going to make the coffee today.

Valérie, fais le café. Je fais les courses (le marché) et la lessive, alors tu vas faire le café aujourd’hui. 

3. They live on campus. Dorine plays volleyball, Pierre plays the guitar, and they like to talk about their professors behind the auditorium.

Ils habite à la cité-U.  Dorine joue au volley, Pierre joue de la guitare, et ils aiment parler de leurs professeurs derrière l’amphithéâtre. 

4. Frédéric isn’t very lucky. He seems sick, he’s hungry, he’s thirsty, and he needs to have some coffee. He’s a smart boy; charming, proud, and sincere.

Frédéric n’a pas beaucoup de chance (n’est pas très chanceux). Il a l’air malade, il a faim, il a soif, et il a besoin de prendre (boire) un (du) café. C’est un garçon intelligent; charmant, fier, et sincère.

 Possible Topics for Fall 2013 Final Exam Oral Interviews

As you prepare for your final oral exam, be prepared to discuss the following topics or play the following roles orally during the week of final exams. There will be sign-up sheets on my office door. Don’t stress out! This is not a recital or a grammar exam; it's an exchange of language. Simple communication. It’s the same stuff we’ve been working with all semester long, and I will do my part to keep the conversation going if you do the same. You might practice by writing out answers to the questions and saying them out loud, and don’t forget to prepare questions on these subjects for ME to answer!

I suggest you work on this with one or more of your classmates in order to maximize the oral aspects of this review. Plus, it goes without saying that a comprehensive review of this material will serve you very well on your written exam!!

FR 1001:

1. You are meeting a new student at school. Introduce yourself and find out information from this student such as his/her age, place of origin, classes s/he is taking, etc.
2. You and one of your friends are talking about people you know (or don't know). Talk about their personality, physical traits, occupations, clothing, and places of origin. You might finish the conversation by deciding what to do tonight.
3. As you get to know your French-speaking friends better, you will want to share your personal preferences with them. Be ready to discuss the things and activities you like and don’t like.
4. Be prepared to describe the place you live or describe pictures of rooms or houses. This includes adjectives and the vocabulary of furniture and lodging.
5. Talk about your plans for the upcoming weekend: where you are going to go, what you are going to do (aller + inf.), what you want to do (vouloir), what you have to do (devoir) etc.. This includes the vocabulary of leisure activities and the places you would do them - mountains, city, country, beaches, around the house, etc..
6. The weather is always a subject of conversation, so you should be ready to describe the weather conditions here or relate them to certain places in the world. This may involve looking at a map.
7. You will be shown a family tree. Be prepared to talk about ‘your’ family members, ages, and describe them physically.
8. Don’t forget to review numbers, telling time, dates, days of the week, and the like, as they could come up in most any of these conversations.
9. You’re at a restaurant and it’s time to order the meal. Be ready to do so, following a menu that I will provide. Don’t forget to be able to name the various parts of a table setting.
10. Be able to use the passé composé to discuss events in the past, at least with the "avoir" auxiliary.

FR 1002:

1. You are getting ready for a trip.  Be able to discuss your travel plans and modes of travel.
2. You and one of your friends are talking about the people you know. Talk about their personality and physical traits, occupations, and places of origin. This means knowing the parts of the body and face as well as descriptive adjectives.
3. Talk about your plans for the upcoming weekend: where you are going to go, what you are going to do, whom you are going with, etc.  This means using the simple future tense, as distinguished from the "aller à" construction.
4. Talk about your daily routine: what time you get up, when you eat breakfast, when you take a shower, etc. Be prepared to relate this to the different seasons of the year (clothes). You should be able to do this in the past or the present tense (reflexive/reciprocal verbs).
5. Be prepared to describe the place you or someone else lives and its location in space. This means all the vocabulary and grammar relating to houses, apartments, rooms, and giving directions.
6. Prepare to talk about work and careers, including those that use the vocabulary of high-technology. We might discuss yours or someone else’s, and finances might come up as well.
7. Be able to discuss the media and use verbs of communication.
8. Be able to talk about the arts and the historical patrimony of France as presented in Ch 12.
9. Talk about what you did last weekend. Be able to relate a few events and describe things and people that were there, as well as what wherever you were was like. (Passé composé/imparfait)
10. Don’t forget to review numbers, telling time, dates, days of the week, and the like, as they could come up in most any of these conversations.

Topics and instructions for your critique on the film "La Haine"

·         As the story unfolds, it will come to focus on a handgun that one of the youths manages to recover from a police officer during a riot. Notice the shimmering, unearthly, and fantastical way this handgun is portrayed in the film. Why is this?

·         Notice the settings of the film; the sharp-in-the-frame, static, immobile buildings of the banlieue; the strangely isolating, transitory, salutary nature of the train, and the unfamiliar, almost alien nature of the Parisian central city. What is this about?

·         You will note that in the French banlieue, there is a much higher degree of diversity and mixing of the races that we see in the American Inner City. Why is this?

·         And finally, the Police. What is their job in a world such as this? What are society’s expectations of them? Are those expectations fair? Why or why not?

Choose one of the topics above and, following the standards we use for all our compositions (cf. syllabus), write a coherent essay of 200 - 250 words in English (or, if you're a student in 3000/4000-level French classes, in French, of course.  PLEASE proof-read, use spell-check, don't forget the word count, and NOTE ON YOUR PAPER WHETHER YOU WOULD RATHER RECEIVE CREDIT FOR ONE QUIZ GRADE @ 100% OR TWO √+ HOMEWORK GRADES.

Due date: 12/1/08

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SP 1001:

1. You are meeting a new student at school. Introduce yourself and find out information from this student such as his/her age, place of origin, classes s/he is taking, etc.
2. You and one of your friends are talking about people you know (or don't know). Talk about their personality, physical traits, clothing, and places of origin. (Ser/estar, adjectives
3. Be prepared to describe the place you live or describe pictures of rooms or houses. This includes adjectives and the vocabulary of furniture and lodging.
4. Talk about your plans for the upcoming weekend: where you are going to go, what you are going to do (ir a + inf.), what you want to do (querer), what you have to do (tener que + inf.) etc. This includes the vocabulary of leisure activities and the places you would do them - mountains, city, country, beaches, around the house, etc..
5. The weather is always a subject of conversation, so you should be ready to describe the weather conditions here or relate them to certain places in the world. This may involve looking at a map.
6. You will be shown a family tree. Be prepared to talk about ‘your’ family members, ages, and describe them physically.
7. Don’t forget to review numbers, telling time, dates, days of the week, and the like, as they could come up in most any of these conversations.
8. You’re at a restaurant and it’s time to order the meal. Be ready to do so, perhaps following a menu that I provide. 
9. You are getting ready for a trip.  Be able to discuss your vacation or travel plans and modes of travel.
10. Talk about your daily routine: what time you get up, when you eat breakfast, when you take a shower, etc. Be prepared to relate this to the different seasons of the year (clothes).
11. Be prepared to describe the place you or someone else lives and its location in space. This means all the vocabulary and grammar relating to houses, apartments, rooms, etc.
12. Object Pronouns: At the 1001 level, I don't expect you to use these naturally. I would, however, like to see you use them in a few stock answers if possible - i.e. "Llevas panalones cortos al cine?" "Sí, los llevo." 
13. Don't worry too much about the preterite. Depending on how far we get with it, I might try to get you to use it in a limited way that would indicate recognition & basic usage, but no more than that.

SP 1002:

1. You are getting ready for a vacation trip.  Be able to discuss your travel plans, modes of travel, etc.
2. Be able to discuss your likes, dislikes (gustar) and preferences in the context of this trip on in other contexts.
3. Be able to use verbs of communication and exchange (dar, hablar, decir, etc.) to talk about to whom or for whom you do, say, or give things (indirect object pronouns). I don't expect you to use multiple pronouns easily in speech, but you should be able to use them singly to some extent.
4. Be prepared to describe the place you or someone else lives and its location in space. This means all the vocabulary and grammar relating to houses, apartments, rooms, etc. This includes domestic tasks (quehaceres).
5. Be able to discuss your pastimes, your likes, and diversions, and be prepared to make subjective comparisons or superlative statements about them (el fútbol es el deporte más interesante del mundo) etc.
6. Be able to discuss health, well-being, and parts of the body. This includes illnesses, physical conditions, etc, and the use of reciprocal stuctures (nos queremos, se miran, etc.).
7. Talk about what you did yesterday, last weekend, last summer, etc. Be able to relate a few events and describe things and people that were there, as well as what wherever you were was like (narrating with the preterite & imperfect).
8. Be prepared to talk about arts and culture in a substantive way, including your preferences, likes, and dislikes.
9. Don’t forget to review numbers, telling time, dates, days of the week, holidays, and the like, as they could come up in most any of these conversations.
10. As far as the subjunctive goes, I don't really expect you to be able to generate this in conversational situations. However, being able to remember a few expressions (ojalá que tenga buenas vacaciones, ... que yo haga bien el examen escrito) will serve a a good review.

SP 1002
Practice final written exam (with answers)
Remember – you have some latitude with your interpretations. The idea is to turn GOOD ENGLISH into GOOD SPANISH, leaving the ideas as intact as possible!

1. We’re going to take a trip to Spain. First, we buy the tickets. Then, we leave for Madrid on the plane. From there, we can take the train to Salamanca, and then the bus to Santander.  We’re going to be there for three weeks. I would also like to go to Paris, France. I studied Spanish for three years – I’m very happy!

Vamos a hacer un viaje a España. Primero, compramos los pasajes. Pues, salimos para Madrid en avión. De allá, podemos tomar el tren a Salamanca, y el autobús a Santander. Vamos a estar allá por tres semanas. Me gustaría también ir a Paris, en Francia. Estudié el español por 3 años - ¡estoy muy contento! 

2. Last night, I went to the theater with my friend George. First, we got in line to buy the tickets. Then, we went inside, bought some cokes, and sat down. The film was terrible. I didn't like the actors or the music. When we left, it was 11 `o' clock. We went to a cafe and talked to Marla and Tomás until 12. Tomás was very sick because he doesn't take care of himself. 

Anoche, fui al teatro con mi amigo Jorge. Primero, hicimos la cola para comprar las entradas. Entonces, entramos (en el teatro), compramos algunos refrescos, y nos sentamos. La película fue terrible. No me gustaban los actores o la música. Cuando salimos, eran las once. Fuimos a un café y hablamos a Marla y Tomás hasta las doce. Tomás estaba muy enfermo porque no se cuida bien.  

3. Tomorrow, I’m writing a letter to my mother. You know her, right? I want to send it to her on Saturday, and she can receive it next week. I know you have some stamps – give them to me!

Mañana, escribo una carta a mi madre. La conoce, ¿verdad?  Quiero mandársela sábado, y puede recibirla la semana próxima. Yo sé que tienes algunos sellos (timbres) - ¡démelos!

4. I don't like my Spanish professor. He gives us too many exams and too much homework. I don't think he showers very often, and it bothers me that he smokes and drinks beer in class. It's ridiculous that he earns a million dollars a year! I hope that he loses his job before the final exam - what a disaster!

No me gusta mi profesor de español. Nos da demasiados exámenes y demasiada tarea. No creo que se duche mucho, y me molesta que fume y beba cerveza en clase. ¡Es ridículo que gane un millón de dólares por año! Espero que (ojalá que) pierda su empleo antes del examen final - ¡qué desastre!

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FR 1001-1002:

Basic Instructions for your first recording of the semester

A lab assistant can help you with the hands-on part of this operation, but it all amounts to this: 

• 1) You'll need to open the folder of "French" exercises on the desktop. 
• 2) In the sub-folder with my name on it, you'll find a file named after the exercise you need (p.14, Ex. C for FR 1001 and p. 175, Ex. E for FR 1002). French 1001 students - remember that YOUR exercise is actually exercise C on page 13 in the 3rd edition. By the way, the new lab materials will soon be here so we won't have to worry about this problem for much longer....
• 3) Work with the file using the "Soloist" software until you've practiced it sufficiently to save your recording. 
• 4) When you do save it, be sure it includes the model voices, not just your own. Also, be sure you save it to the folder named after your particular course section (FR 1001B, etc.). 
• 5) Finally, look at the file properties to make sure it's at least several megs in size. If it says: "0KB," there's nothing there!

Remember: Your best friend for this task is your friendly, hard-working lab assistant!

«Un Jour, tu verras » de Marcel Mouloudji:

Un jour, tu verras,
On se rencontrera,
Quelque part, n'importe où,
Guidés par le hasard,

Nous nous regarderons,
Et nous nous sourirons,
Et la main dans la main,
Par les rues, nous irons.

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