La dernière table
The Last Table
A rainy café, one free chair and a card that needs the right words. Nora and Julien discover they have more than a table in common.
French reading · A1 to B1
French Reading Practice: A1–B1 Texts, Questions and Answers
Read three complete French stories with English translations and word meanings. Check your understanding with optional questions, then keep reading.
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Choose a story that feels manageable
Try the opening. The level is a starting point, and you can skip the questions.
Trois cartes identiques
Three Identical Postcards
Three neighbors receive the same old photograph of their street. A postmark gives them a way to find its sender.
Une minute à crédit
A Minute on Credit
A station caretaker can borrow a minute from tomorrow. Helping a traveler shows Étienne what that minute really costs.
Read first. Check only when you want to.
- Read the French once for the people, actions and situation.
- Tap an underlined word or open the English translation if you lose the thread.
- Answer the optional questions with the text available. Open each answer to see its evidence.
You can answer in English, French or brief notes. There is no score or proficiency result, and no exercise to finish before your next story.
Words worth keeping
18 French sentence cards from these stories
Each card asks what one word or phrase means in its original sentence. The answer includes the contextual meaning, English sentence and a short usage note. Use them on paper or import the two-column TSV into Anki as Basic notes.
In Anki, select Basic, Tab as the separator, column 1 → Front and column 2 → Back. The file has no header and uses plain text. It contains no audio or review schedules. Export your own LingoReader cards when you want to keep vocabulary from further reading.
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Original stories, English translations and learning material by LingoReader, prepared with AI assistance and editorial checks. Levels are approximate writing targets, not certified CEFR assessments.