Mission: read long articles in an hour
Reading a long article for structure, thesis, nuance and who says what. Read faster by reading smarter.
FrenchB2 · Exam levelAbout 10 min: 6 reading, 4 practiceUpdated
- Name the DELF B2 reading format and plan your hour
- Skim an article for its structure and find the thesis and its nuance
- Track who says what and separate fact from opinion
- Deduce the meaning of an unknown word from context
B2 exam skills: lesson 3 of 4
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Level Level B2 (around the DELF B2 exam). Real French: reading a long newspaper or magazine article and understanding what the writer really thinks.
What it is
Your mission: you are on the train to Lille when your colleague Sabrina Fontaine sends you a long article about scooters in the town of Saint-Aubin, with one line: « Tu peux me dire ce que l'auteur pense vraiment ? » You have the time until the next station. Find out who says what, and what the journalist's own view is.
The DELF B2 reading paper lasts 1 hour and has 2 exercises. Each paper is marked out of 25, and you need at least 5 out of 25 in every paper. An hour is long, but long articles are dense: the aim is to read the structure first and the details only where a question sends you.
Strategies (our practice method):
| Strategy | What to do |
|---|---|
| 1. Skim the structure | title, first lines, first sentence of each paragraph, last paragraph |
| 2. Find the thesis and its nuance | what the writer argues, and what they admit or hold back |
| 3. Track who says what | note each voice: the writer, an official, an expert, a witness |
| 4. Deduce unknown words | use the context, the word family and the connectors |
| 5. Fact or opinion? | check for selon, d'après, il me semble, pourtant |
Timing (our practice method, not an exam rule): about 5 minutes to skim each text, then the questions in order, going back to the text for each one. If you are stuck on a question, mark it and move on; leave the last few minutes to return to the marked ones.
Signals of nuance and of who speaks:
| Signal | What it tells you |
|---|---|
| selon X, d'après X | the idea belongs to X, not to the writer |
| affirme, prétend, reconnaît | how sure the writer is: prétend distances, reconnaît admits |
| pourtant, toutefois, en revanche | contrast, often the writer's real point |
| il serait trop simple de… | the writer refuses a simple answer |
| surtout, plutôt, en partie | a limit on a claim |
More detail: guessing an unknown word
Ask three questions: what kind of word is it (noun, verb, adjective)? What does the sentence around it say? Do you know a related word? In des emplacements marqués au sol, the word emplacements follows abandonnées and is followed by marqués au sol: it must be places on the ground that can be marked, so "spaces" or "spots". You do not need an exact translation, only enough to answer.
Quick check
Tap an answer to check it.
A writer says: « Le maire affirme que le service est utile. » Whose opinion is it?
- affirme reports someone else's claim
- a mayor's claim is attributed, not proved
Show answer
The mayor's: the writer only reports it.. with affirme, selon, d'après, the idea belongs to the person named.
Why it matters
Newspapers and magazines rarely say « voici ma conclusion » in one line. They quote people, set opinions against each other and leave the writer's view to a few words (pourtant, il serait trop simple). If you can tell who says what, and what is fact and what is claim, you read like a critical reader, in French and in any language, and you do not repeat other people's opinions as if they were the writer's.
Worked example
Our own example article (not a real one):
Trottinettes en libre-service : la ville partagée
Depuis mars, les habitants de Saint-Aubin peuvent louer une trottinette électrique dans la rue, avec leur téléphone, pour quelques centimes la minute. Six mois plus tard, la ville est partagée.
Pour le maire, Bernard Lacombe, le bilan est positif. « Les trottinettes évitent des trajets en voiture, et elles complètent bien les bus », affirme-t-il. Selon la mairie, trois mille trajets ont lieu chaque jour, ce qui prouverait que la population en avait besoin.
Les commerçants du centre, eux, sont plus réservés. Sonia Perrot, qui tient une librairie rue des Tanneurs, regrette que des trottinettes soient abandonnées devant sa vitrine : « Lundi dernier, une cliente en fauteuil roulant n'a pas pu entrer. » Plusieurs de ses voisins disent la même chose. Elle ne demande pourtant pas leur suppression, mais des emplacements marqués au sol.
Du côté des spécialistes, la prudence domine. Le géographe Lucas Moreau a étudié l'usage de ces engins dans plusieurs villes. D'après lui, beaucoup d'utilisateurs auraient marché ou pris le bus s'ils n'avaient pas eu de trottinette : l'effet sur la circulation automobile resterait donc faible. Il reconnaît toutefois que le service séduit surtout les jeunes. Il ajoute que les résultats varient d'une ville à l'autre.
Il serait trop simple de conclure que ces engins sont une bonne ou une mauvaise idée. Ce qui pose problème, ce n'est pas tant la trottinette que son stationnement, un défaut que la ville pourrait corriger sans grand effort. Reste à savoir si elle en aura la volonté. Une chose est sûre : sans règles claires, l'agacement des habitants ne fera que grandir.
262 words, title included. Counting rule: words separated by spaces; standalone punctuation is not counted, and words with an apostrophe (l'effet, n'a) count as one. How to read it:
- Structure (skim): paragraph 1 sets the topic, 2 gives the mayor's view, 3 the shopkeepers', 4 the expert's, 5 the writer's own conclusion.
- Who says what: the mayor (positive, with the town hall's figure), Sonia Perrot (a complaint about parking, not a ban), Lucas Moreau (cautious: little effect on car traffic).
- Fact or claim: depuis mars… peuvent louer is a fact. Selon la mairie and ce qui prouverait (conditional) keep the figure at a distance: it is the town hall's claim.
- Thesis and nuance: Il serait trop simple de conclure… refuses a yes or no, and ce n'est pas tant… que… says the real problem is parking, which the town could fix. Reste à savoir si elle en aura la volonté leaves a doubt.
- Answer to the mission: the journalist thinks the scooters are not the problem; the parking is, and it can be solved if the town wants.
Real French: le bilan est positif (the overall result is positive) is very common in news reports, and the conditional (ce qui prouverait) is a standard way for journalists to avoid vouching for a claim.
Common mistake
Reading the first quoted voice as the writer's view. The mayor speaks first and with the most confidence, but the journalist's own thesis comes at the end, in the part with no quotation marks. Another trap is treating a selon… claim as a fact: a writer who is sure of a fact usually states it without attributing it.
And stopping at an unknown word. Mark it, look at the sentence, and keep going unless a question depends on it.
Quick check
Tap an answer to check it.
Which sentence shows the journalist's own thesis?
- that is the mayor's claim
- that is a witness's account
Show answer
Ce qui pose problème, ce n'est pas tant la trottinette que son stationnement.. the thesis is in the final paragraph, without quotation marks.
Key terms
- un bilan
- an overall assessment, a result
- affirmer
- to state, to claim
- prétendre
- to claim (with doubt)
- reconnaître
- to admit
- selon / d'après
- according to
- toutefois
- however, nevertheless
- ce n'est pas tant… que…
- it is not so much… as…
- un emplacement
- a space, a spot
- séduire
- to appeal to
- un engin
- a vehicle, a machine
- reste à savoir si…
- it remains to be seen whether…
Practise the key terms
Tap a card to turn it over. 11 cards.
| Front | Back |
|---|---|
| un bilan | an overall assessment, a result |
| affirmer | to state, to claim |
| prétendre | to claim (with doubt) |
| reconnaître | to admit |
| selon / d'après | according to |
| toutefois | however, nevertheless |
| ce n'est pas tant… que… | it is not so much… as… |
| un emplacement | a space, a spot |
| séduire | to appeal to |
| un engin | a vehicle, a machine |
| reste à savoir si… | it remains to be seen whether… |
Practice
Sort it
Who says it, according to the article?
Les trottinettes complètent bien les bus.
his positive view, quoted with « affirme-t-il »Show answer
Le maire. his positive view, quoted with « affirme-t-il »
Je voudrais des emplacements marqués au sol.
Sonia Perrot asks for spaces, not a banShow answer
La libraire. Sonia Perrot asks for spaces, not a ban
Beaucoup d'utilisateurs auraient marché ou pris le bus.
Lucas Moreau's observationShow answer
Le géographe. Lucas Moreau's observation
Trois mille trajets ont lieu chaque jour.
the figure comes from the town hallShow answer
Le maire. the figure comes from the town hall
Le service séduit surtout les jeunes.
he recognises it with « toutefois »Show answer
Le géographe. he recognises it with « toutefois »
Sort it
Fact, or opinion and claim?
Depuis mars, les habitants peuvent louer une trottinette dans la rue.
stated without attributionShow answer
Fact. stated without attribution
Les trottinettes évitent des trajets en voiture.
the mayor's claim, which the geographer doubtsShow answer
Opinion or claim. the mayor's claim, which the geographer doubts
Ce qui pose problème, c'est surtout le stationnement.
the journalist's judgementShow answer
Opinion or claim. the journalist's judgement
Le géographe a étudié l'usage de ces engins dans plusieurs villes.
something the article reports as doneShow answer
Fact. something the article reports as done
Quick quiz
Tap an answer to check it.
How many exercises are there in the DELF B2 reading paper, and how long is it?
- 30 minutes is the length of the listening paper
- the B2 reading paper is 1 hour
Show answer
2 exercises, 1 hour. Official format: 1 hour, 2 exercises.
What is the journalist's thesis?
- the writer refuses a simple yes or no
- that is the mayor's claim, which the geographer doubts
Show answer
The scooters are not the real problem; their parking is, and the town can fix it.. « Il serait trop simple de conclure… ce n'est pas tant la trottinette que son stationnement ».
Sonia Perrot wants « des emplacements marqués au sol ». What does she want?
- « Elle ne demande pourtant pas leur suppression »
- nothing in the text is about price demands
Show answer
Marked spaces where scooters must be left. the context (abandonnées devant la vitrine, marqués au sol) points to designated parking spots.
« Il reconnaît toutefois que le service séduit surtout les jeunes. » What does toutefois show?
- reconnaît means he admits it; it is his statement
- toutefois adds a limit, not a reversal
Show answer
A point he admits, which slightly limits his earlier view.. toutefois introduces a contrast or limit.
Build the sentence
Build a sentence that gives the writer's view. (Start with the phrase that refuses a simple answer.)
Show answer
Il serait trop simple de conclure que ces engins sont une bonne idée.. Il serait trop simple de conclure que… refuses a one-line answer.
Practise speaking
Studyfern has no voice tools of its own. To practise out loud, copy this prompt into a voice-capable AI assistant and talk with it.
Mission role-play. You are Sabrina Fontaine, my French colleague, at level B2. Speak naturally but clearly, using tu. First, tell me, in about five sentences, about an invented article on a local issue (for example, a town closing its swimming pool), with three voices (an official, a local resident and an expert) and a journalist whose view appears at the end. Then ask me one question at a time in French: who says what, which statements are facts and which are claims, what the journalist really thinks, and what one unusual word could mean from context. After each answer, tell me in English if I am right and which word gave it away. When I have answered all four, say « Mission accomplie ! » and give me one tip. Keep every reply under 3 sentences, except when describing the article.
Listen too. Listen to native speakers before and after: see the free listening and shadowing links.
Good to know. AI feedback on pronunciation is hit and miss, so check yourself against native recordings. Many assistants turn your speech into text first, so a vowel or liaison you got wrong may be silently “heard” as the right word. Don't share personal details: use a made-up name and town.
New to this? Read Practising speaking with an AI.
In short
- DELF B2 reading: 1 hour, 2 exercises. Each paper is marked out of 25.
- Skim the structure first: title, opening lines, the first sentence of each paragraph, the end.
- Find the thesis and its nuance: the writer's view is often at the end, in a few words like pourtant or il serait trop simple.
- Track who says what: selon, affirme, reconnaît and the conditional keep a claim at a distance.
- Separate fact from opinion, and deduce unknown words from the context.
- Our timing method: skim each text first, answer in order, mark and return to hard questions.
Mastery check
Answer without looking back. Score 80% or more and the lesson is marked done. Your result is kept only in this browser.
Check yourself
Answer in your head first, then open the answer. Nothing is saved.
How long is the DELF B2 reading paper and how many exercises does it have?
Show answer
1 hour, 2 exercises.
What does « selon la mairie » tell you about a figure?
Show answer
It is the town hall's claim, not the writer's own statement.
Where should you look for the writer's own view?
Show answer
Often at the end of the article and in contrast words such as pourtant, toutefois or il serait trop simple.
Further reading
- France Éducation international, DELF B2: the official exam format and sample papers.
- RFI, Journal en français facile: short news items with transcripts, good for practising who says what.
Finished? Mark it done to fill in your leaf on the French map.