French language Q&A Forum

This seems to be a repeated question which I have yet to find a clear answer to.  Jaques est descendu du haricot magique is translated as Jaques got off the magic bean and not came down the magic bean.  However, looking at my bilingual dictionary (Le Grand Robert Collins), under the entry for descendre as an intransitive verb is included "descendre de l'échelle" translated as "to come down the ladder".   This seems to be contradicting the information given here and I would be grateful for further comment

Is "mes vestes légères" the liaison between vestes légères usual ? 

Why "la tentation a été trop forte" and not "la tentation était trop forte" or "la tentation avait été trop forte". Or do the translators usually use "was" for "has been". Is this an English phenomenon, as "was" is the "past of the past" ?

I'm confused by 'si vous pouviez ajouter' above which I'm not sure how to translate. I would have said 'si vous pourriez ajouter': 'if you would/could add'

How would I know which is correct?:

Cette écharpe rappelle ma mère à moi.

Cette écharpe me rappelle ma mère

What are fleurs de coton?  White flowers?