Going lily-of-the-valley picking

"Aller à la cueillette au muguet"
French B2 writing exercise

Jean-Pierre's family goes to pick lily-of-the-valley every year.

Pay attention to the hints!

Some vocabulary you may want to look up before or during this exercise: "to pick (flowers)", "to be passed down", "a root", "a sprig (lily-of-the-valley)", "a harvest (flowers)", "wholesalers", "a good spot", "to put a little extra in the cookie jar", "for nothing in the world", "to get bored to death", "to take [something] seriously", "to take pleasure in [something]".

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

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

Every year, on the first of May, our family tradition has it that we go and pick lily-of-the-valley. It's a practice which is passed down from generation to generation: as for me, it's my grandparents who taught me that you must always pick lily-of-the-valley with its roots and three still-green sprigs so that it lasts longer. With my parents, we only pick some for our own pleasure, or to give to our friends and our colleagues, but my uncles, they sell their harvest to wholesalers, which allows them to put a little extra in the cookie jar! They wouldn't share their "good spots" for anything in the world! Once, when I was little, they had let me come with them, but I'd got bored to death, for they took that more seriously than I did! I'd taken no pleasure in it, and I'd never again asked to go back there!

Clever stuff happening!