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PART I
1. Name two basic requirements for orienteering.
2. State one advantage of this activity.
3. How many people go orienteering in the Parc de Sceaux everyday?
4. Name one group of people you could meet on an orienteering trail.
Analysis
Question 1 asks us to name requirements for orienteering. Listen for expressions related to requirements (Il faut que...; Il est nécessaire que...; On doit...). Consider psychological requirements (la volonté; l’amour de la nature; beaucoup d’adresse) as well as physical and/or actual requirements (être fort; les cartes; les bottes de marche; l’équipement; etc).
Question 2 asks us to name any one advantage of this hobby. Using your common sense, you should be prepared to hear comments on health and fitness, level of difficulty, ease of participation, team and/or individual participation, cost of hobby, etc.
Question 3 asks for a number, percentage or fraction. Never go into the aural exam without having revised these thoroughly. Remember that "cent" is a hundred, "mille" is a thousand. Listen also for the phrase "chaque jour" or similar.
Question 4 asks us to name one group of people who are likely to go orienteering. Ask yourself how society groups itself. Think in terms of categories into which people are most often divided (les adultes; les jeunes; les moins que dix-huit ans; les mineurs; les majeurs; les familles; etc).
PART II
You will now hear part of a radio interview with the singer, Axelle Red. 1. Mention one point Axelle Red makes about the success of her recent album.2. (a) What age was she when she recorded her first disc?
(b) Mention one point she makes about that disc.
3. What effect did pregnancy have on her work? (One point)
4. Write down one point Axelle Red makes about having her husband as her manager.
Analysis
Axelle Red is commenting on the success of her first album.
Question 1 asks us to give one comment she makes. Thinking logically, this may well be a reaction of some sort. The listener must ask him/herself what the normal reactions to success are. Key terms are happy (heureuse), surprised (surprise), astonished (étonnée), deserved (mérité), undeserved (pas mérité), to be expected (attendu; prévu), unexpected (inattendu; imprévu), etc. Or perhaps she will state the reason for its success: hard work (travail dur), a long struggle (une longue lutte), etc. The key words to listen out for are "mon dernier disque" and "succès". Your answer will be very close by!
Question 2 (a) asks for her age when she recorded (enregistrer) her first disc (mon premier disque). Again make sure that you know your numbers. Listen out for the expressions "a l’âge de ... ans" and "quand j’avais ... ans".
Question 2 (b) asks us to note one comment she makes about her "premier disque". Again, listen for possible reactions. Ask yourself if it was successful or unsuccessful. This is usually the manner in which a disc is described.
Question 3’s key word is "pregnancy". The French term is "la grossesse" or "être enceinte" - terms which most Leaving Cert honours students will have met in preparing "adolescent topics" either for the oral or for Questions 3 and 4 on the written paper. It also occurs in quite a few of the aural practice books. In any case, it must have had either a positive or a negative effect on her work. Given that her album was a success (Question 1), the former is certainly more likely! Therefore, listen out for positive words and phrases.
Question 4 tells us that Axelle’s husband is also her manager. What effect does this have on their relationship? Now, use your common sense! On the positive side, they are always together (toujours ensemble); they see each other every day (se voir tous les jours). On the negative side, work and pleasure usually do not mix (c’est difficile de gèrer le travail et le plaisir en même temps), it may lead to arguments (les disputes), etc. The key words are "mari" and "gérant".
PART III
You will now hear a conversation between two young people, Alain and Christelle.1. How does Christelle describe
(a) Alain’s mood at the disco?
(b) Alain’s general mood for some time?
2. (a) What problem is causing concern in Alain’s home?
(b) Why is it difficult to do anything about that problem at the moment?
3. (a) What problem does Christelle have at home?
(b) Why had she not previously talked about it to Alain? (One point)
4 (a) How had Christelle misbehaved during the geography class?
(b) What did the teacher do?
Analysis
For Question 1 (a) and (b), the listener needs to call to mind all those emotion and mood expressions practised in Question 1 on the written paper and in the diary writing. The fact that there are two questions about Alain’s mood suggests that the two moods are distinctly different. If, as Question 2 suggests, he has ongoing problems at home which are difficult to solve (Question 2 (b)), then his "general mood" in Question 1 (b) may not be so positive, whereas his mood "à la discothèque" may be temporarily different!
Positive: heureux; content; en pleine forme; bien dans sa peau; s’amuser bien; etc.
Negative: triste; mécontent; fatigué; énervé; fâché; déprimé; décu; etc.)
Question 2 asks us to name Alain’s home problem and to say why it is difficult to solve. Again, common sense is called for. Think in terms of more serious home problems (because of the lack of solution): les disputes, le divorce, la séparation, l’acoolisme, la violence, les rapports, etc. Listen out for related words.
Question 3 is similar. Christelle also has home problems which she hasn’t even spoken about before. Again this suggests that the problem is a major one (as we usually moan about minor ones all the time!). But why might one not speak about a major problem? Consider fear (la crainte; avoir peur), embarrassment (être gênée), shame (avoir honte), etc.
Question 4 shifts the focus. We are now talking about school. Christelle is talking about her "mauvais comportement en cours de géo". Listen for words like parler, tricher, copier, être audacieuse, dormir, rêvasser, etc. Question 4 (b) asks the listener to write down the teacher’s response. Listen out for school vocab such as crier, se fâcher, la colle, être rétenu, donner des devoirs supplémentaires, etc.
PART IV
In a radio interview, the Secretary of State for Tourism talks about a low-cost holiday scheme called "la Bourse solidarité vacances".1. Summarise how this first phase of the "Bourse solidarité vacances" scheme operates.
2. Mention one role of the charitable organisations in this scheme.
3. Write down two ways in which the holidays have a positive effect on families.
4. (a) What is the financial situation of Isabelle’s family?
(b) How much did Isabelle contribute towards the cost of the holiday?
Analysis
Question 1 is unusual as it involves a summary rather than a precise answer. Question 2 tells us that charitable organisations are involved, and Question 3 tells us that families benefit from these low-cost holidays. The interviewee is a government official. So, the only group not mentioned so far is those providing the holiday (the tourism industry). All these parties must be involved and must be in contact with each other. Listen carefully to establish how they are connected.
Question 2 asks for the specific role of "des organisations charitables". The answer is most likely to be advice (le conseil), organisation, or money (l’argent). Listen out for related words.
Question 3 asks how families are positively affected by these holidays. Again use common sense. Holidays are usually pleasurable. How does any family benefit from them? How would a poor family benefit?
Question 4 (a) asks us about Isabelle’s financial situation. She is obviously not rich if her family has benefited from this scheme, but how poor is she? Listen carefully. Question 4 (b) asks us how much Isabelle contributed herself. Listen for numbers and for the word "francs".
PART V
You will hear each of three news items twice.1. Who took part in the protest at Le Havre?
2. (a) What form of public transport is mentioned here.
(b) What caused the disruption of city transport?
3. This item is about
(a) the internet
(b) waste disposal
(c) consumer protection
(d) substance abuse
Analysis
The key word in Question 1 is "manifestation". Protests are held in groups. Listen out for a group of people. In responding to Question 2 (a), the listener should call to mind all means of public transport: le métro, l’autobus, le train, l’avion, les autocars, les taxis. City transport is disrupted, but why? Think of political visits, strikes, open air concerts, sporting events, etc.
Question 3 simply asks what the news item is about. For the internet, the key terms are le web, les autoroutes d’information, en ligne, and l’internet. For waste disposal, the key words are les déchets, les ordures, les décharges municipales, le recyclage, and all other such vocabulary. Key words in the field of consumer protection would be consommateur, acheter and vendre. Key words on the topic of substance abuse would be l’abus, le dopage, la drogue, etc. Now, which do you hear on the tape?
