Urban beekeeping in the summer

"Faire de l'apiculture urbaine en été"
French C1 writing exercise

Sam is asking Léa how and why she started beekeeping.

Pay attention to the hints!

Some vocabulary you may want to look up before or during this exercise: "to get into [a hobby]", "it all started...", "a bee", "to pay attention to [something]", "mesmerised", "[one's] comings and goings", "to research [a topic]", "a hive", "a beekeeper", "to set [something] up", "a rooftop", "a block of flats [US: an apartment building]", "to handle [something]", "to complete [a course]", "an in-depth training course", "to check on [something]", "to ensure that [someone]...", "to lay eggs", "to harvest [something]", "a bee colony", "to reach [one's] full-size", "to label [something] (literally)", "a jar (honey)", "with pride", "loved ones", "to taste [food]", "a honey harvest".

Written by qualified French expert Céline Pickard PGCE, BA
Last updated: 2025-07-03

I’ll give you some sentences to translate into French

  • I’ll show you where you make mistakes
  • I’ll keep track of what you need to practise
  • Change my choices if you want
Start the exercise
How the test works
You’ll practise: Adjectif possessif, Le Passé Composé (Indicatif), Genre féminin

Here's a preview of the text for the writing challenge, when you're ready click the start button above:

- Léa, how did you get into urban beekeeping? - It all started last summer when I discovered bees on my balcony. I'd never paid any attention to them before but that day, I was mesmerised by their comings and goings on my flowers. So, after researching bees and urban hives, I had a professional beekeeper come to set one up on the rooftop of our block of flats [US: apartment building]. I was not allowed to handle them until I completed an in-depth training course. Now, I check on the hive and the bees every day to ensure [that] the queen is laying eggs. I should be able to harvest honey next summer when the bee colony will have reached its full size. I will label the jars with pride and will share them with my loved ones. - I really can't wait to taste your very first honey harvest, Léa!

Getting that for you now...