Le dimanche au zoo
Sunday at the Zoo
A boy's class trip to the zoo in Réunion ends with a wonderful discovery: a giant tortoise named Georgette.
- animals
- school trip
Tap an underlined word to see its meaning.
What you'll encounter
- Grammar
- present tense
- Vocabulary
- animal vocabulary
- school-trip vocabulary
- Skills
- reading a descriptive discovery scene
- following a guided group activity narrative
Ce dimanche, toute la classe de Noah part en sortie spéciale au jardin zoologique de Saint-Denis, à la Réunion. Noah a sept ans. Dans le bus, les enfants chantent et parlent avec excitation.
Show English
This Sunday, Noah's whole class goes on a special outing to the zoo in Saint-Denis, on Réunion Island. Noah is seven years old. On the bus, the children sing and talk excitedly.
Le bus arrive devant l’entrée du zoo. Les enfants descendent, pleins d’énergie. « Restez avec moi et regardez bien la carte », dit la maîtresse, Madame Payet.
Show English
The bus arrives in front of the zoo entrance. The children get off, full of energy. "Stay with me and look carefully at the map," says the teacher, Madame Payet.
D’abord, la classe visite la zone des oiseaux colorés. Des verts et rouges parlent et crient dans leurs branches. Un perroquet répète « Bonjour ! » et tous les enfants rient.
Show English
First, the class visits the colorful bird area. Green and red parrots talk and call out from their branches. One parrot repeats "Hello!" and all the children laugh.
Puis, les enfants voient des qui sautent d’arbre en arbre. Tout le monde rit et pointe du doigt.
Show English
Then, the children see lemurs jumping from tree to tree. Everyone laughs and points.
Ensuite, la classe passe devant un avec de grands iguanes verts. Une fille a un peu peur, mais Noah trouve qu’ils sont fascinants. « Ils ne bougent presque pas ! » remarque-t-il.
Show English
Next, the class walks past a terrarium with big green iguanas. One girl is a little scared, but Noah finds them fascinating. "They almost never move!" he notices.
Plus loin, les enfants admirent aussi deux qui mangent des feuilles en haut d’un arbre. « Elles sont si grandes ! » dit une amie de Noah, impressionnée.
Show English
A little further on, the children also admire two giraffes eating leaves high up in a tree. "They're so tall!" says a friend of Noah's, impressed.
« Maintenant, suivez-moi », dit Madame Payet. « Il y a quelque chose de très spécial à voir. » Les enfants marchent jusqu’à un grand rempli d’herbe verte.
Show English
"Now, follow me," says Madame Payet. "There's something very special to see." The children walk to a large enclosure full of green grass.
Dans l’enclos, Noah voit une énorme , plus grande qu’une table. « Elle est immense ! » crie Noah, les yeux grands ouverts. « C’est la plus grande tortue du monde ! » pense-t-il, impressionné.
Show English
In the enclosure, Noah sees an enormous tortoise, bigger than a table. "It's huge!" shouts Noah, his eyes wide open. "It's the biggest tortoise in the world!" he thinks, amazed.
Madame Payet explique : « Cette tortue s’appelle Georgette. Elle a quatre-vingts ans, et elle vient d’une autre île de l’océan Indien. Elle est très calme. » Les enfants sont impressionnés par son âge.
Show English
Madame Payet explains: "This tortoise is named Georgette. She is eighty years old, and she comes from another island in the Indian Ocean. She is very calm." The children are impressed by her age.
Le gardien explique aussi que Georgette aime les fleurs d’ et qu’elle dort beaucoup, parfois dix-huit heures par jour. Les enfants trouvent ça très drôle.
Show English
The keeper also explains that Georgette loves hibiscus flowers and sleeps a lot, sometimes eighteen hours a day. The children find that very funny.
Un du zoo donne une feuille de salade à Noah. « Tu peux la donner à Georgette, doucement », dit-il. Noah tend la salade, et la tortue lentement pour la manger.
Show English
A zoo keeper gives Noah a lettuce leaf. "You can give it to Georgette, gently," he says. Noah holds out the lettuce, and the tortoise slowly moves forward to eat it.
Toute la classe prend une photo de groupe devant l’enclos de Georgette, pour se souvenir de ce moment.
Show English
The whole class takes a group photo in front of Georgette's enclosure, to remember this moment.
Avant de partir, la classe passe par la petite du zoo. Noah achète une carte postale avec une photo de tortue, pour la mettre sur son mur.
Show English
Before leaving, the class stops by the little zoo gift shop. Noah buys a postcard with a picture of a tortoise, to put up on his wall.
Noah sourit de joie. C’est le meilleur moment de sa journée. « Georgette est ma tortue préférée du zoo ! » dit-il à ses amis, tout content.
Show English
Noah smiles with joy. It's the best moment of his day. "Georgette is my favorite animal at the zoo!" he tells his friends, very happy.
Dans le bus, sur le chemin du retour, Noah raconte sa rencontre avec Georgette à tout le monde. Le soir, à la maison, il raconte encore l’histoire à ses parents, en détail. Il espère déjà revenir au zoo très vite.
Show English
On the bus, on the way home, Noah tells everyone about his meeting with Georgette. That evening, at home, he tells the story again to his parents, in detail. He already hopes to come back to the zoo very soon.
Show full English translation
This Sunday, Noah's whole class goes on a special outing to the zoo in Saint-Denis, on Réunion Island. Noah is seven years old. On the bus, the children sing and talk excitedly.
The bus arrives in front of the zoo entrance. The children get off, full of energy. "Stay with me and look carefully at the map," says the teacher, Madame Payet.
First, the class visits the colorful bird area. Green and red parrots talk and call out from their branches. One parrot repeats "Hello!" and all the children laugh.
Then, the children see lemurs jumping from tree to tree. Everyone laughs and points.
Next, the class walks past a terrarium with big green iguanas. One girl is a little scared, but Noah finds them fascinating. "They almost never move!" he notices.
A little further on, the children also admire two giraffes eating leaves high up in a tree. "They're so tall!" says a friend of Noah's, impressed.
"Now, follow me," says Madame Payet. "There's something very special to see." The children walk to a large enclosure full of green grass.
In the enclosure, Noah sees an enormous tortoise, bigger than a table. "It's huge!" shouts Noah, his eyes wide open. "It's the biggest tortoise in the world!" he thinks, amazed.
Madame Payet explains: "This tortoise is named Georgette. She is eighty years old, and she comes from another island in the Indian Ocean. She is very calm." The children are impressed by her age.
The keeper also explains that Georgette loves hibiscus flowers and sleeps a lot, sometimes eighteen hours a day. The children find that very funny.
A zoo keeper gives Noah a lettuce leaf. "You can give it to Georgette, gently," he says. Noah holds out the lettuce, and the tortoise slowly moves forward to eat it.
The whole class takes a group photo in front of Georgette's enclosure, to remember this moment.
Before leaving, the class stops by the little zoo gift shop. Noah buys a postcard with a picture of a tortoise, to put up on his wall.
Noah smiles with joy. It's the best moment of his day. "Georgette is my favorite animal at the zoo!" he tells his friends, very happy.
On the bus, on the way home, Noah tells everyone about his meeting with Georgette. That evening, at home, he tells the story again to his parents, in detail. He already hopes to come back to the zoo very soon.
Words to know
- perroquets
- — parrots
- lémuriens
- — lemurs
- terrarium
- — terrarium
- girafes
- — giraffes
- enclos
- — enclosure
- tortue
- — tortoise
- hibiscus
- — hibiscus
- gardien
- — keeper
- avance
- — moves forward
- boutique
- — gift shop