French Conversation and Composition
4. Trop de Zèle
A-t-il un livre? Has he a book?
A. 1. Molière is going to give a sou to the beggar. 2. Honesty is a
good thing.[1] 3. He rewarded the beggar's honesty. 4. Voltaire's
name is well known. 5. He was Piron's friend. 6. He spent some time
at Piron's house.[2] 7. They[3] gave[4] a fête on the occasion of the
dauphin's birth. 8. The soldier's appetite was prodigious. 9. The
king's officers were at Molière's house. 10. The man with the
insatiable stomach approaches[5] the buffet. 11. The beggar
notices[6] Molière's mistake. 12. Will you be at the dauphin's castle?
13. I shall be at the queen's castle. 14. Does he give the beggar a
sou?
[Footnotes 1: chose (f.). 2: omit. 3: on. 4: past indefinite. 5: s'approcher de. 6: s'apercevoir de (become aware of).]
B. 1. The king's officers did not laugh at[1] the joke. 2. The surprise
of the old courtiers was[2] great. 3. Voltaire was a famous author. 4.
The servant's master will not be at the castle. 5. He wouldn't have[3]
gone to[4] see the servant. 6. The man with[5] the yellow mask had
gone to the château. 7. The beggar does not notice[6] the mistake at
once. 8. I wondered[7] who was the man with[5] the insatiable
stomach. 9. The king winked at[8] the prank. 10. They noticed[9] the
soldier in the room for the fifth time. 11. When he had[10] eaten, he
withdrew. 12. He is mistaken,[11] he did not see the king. 13. I have
been to[4] see John. 14. The soldiers disappear in turns.[12] 15. The
officer was put in charge of the château. 16. He will see to the
replenishment of the provisions. 17. He is the biggest eater I
have[13] ever seen.
[Footnotes 1: de. 2: past definite. 3: être. 4: omit. 5: à. 6: s'apercevoir de. 7: se demander. 8: fermer les yeux sur. 9: apercevoir (perceive concretely). 10: eut. 11: se tromper. 12: à tour de rôle. 13: Why subjunctive?]
4. TROP DE ZÈLE