1) Indicate if the following statements are true or false by circling TRUE or FALSE.

Claude has been unemployed for eight months.

FALSE

Claude has been unemployed for four months

(“quatre mois”).

People are unhappy about the government’s plans to raise the retirement age.

TRUE

Claude enjoys being unemployed because he has more time to himself.

FALSE

Claude indicates that work has always been an important part of his life and that he feels useless since becoming unemployed

(“Le travail a toujours t une partie importante de ma vie et depuis que je suis sans emploi, je me sens inutile“).

2) Why does Claude have to move house?

Claude must sell his house and move into a smaller property as he is no longer able to pay his mortgage off

(“Ayant perdu son travail, Claude est maintenant incapable de repayer son hypothque.“)

3) What reason does Claude give for increasing unemployment rates in France?

He believes that unemployment rates are increasing because many jobs that were once local are now overseas in countries such as China, where labourers are cheaper

(“…beaucoup d’emplois sont exports vers l’tranger, par exemple en Chine, o les ouvriers sont moins chers“).

4) What is the French term for ‘moving house/home’ that you can identify in the text?

‘Dmnager’

5) Claude is described as being a(n):

c. optimist