1 - What kind of place do the characters meet in ? Find 2 quotes from the text.

in a tea shop or restaurant : " tapped on the table for the waitress"; "one of those little bamboo tables decorated with a Japanese vase of paper daffodils".

2 - What season of the year is it ? Find 2 quotes from the text.

winter: "high fur collar", "muff", "you hate the cold".

3 - In your own words explain who the main characters are. (20 words)

Vera, a middle-aged woman, and a man who was in love with her six years before.

4 - "And then, after six years, she saw him again".

     a) On that particular day did they meet by chance ? (20 words)

Yes, they met by chance: Vera saw him in a tea-shop and walked up to him.

     b) using elements from the text, compare their reactions. (50 words)

- Vera: she recognized him and his little habits; she was shocked; she realized he didn't remember her.

- Man: he was surprised at her smile so he frowned. Didn't recognize her at first ("closed his eyes"), then he was very happy ("his face lit up").

5 - With quotations from the text, show that both characters have not really changed much.
Write a paragraph giving three details for each character.

- Vera still can't bear cold weather ("you hate the cold"); she keeps using the same sayings ("You still say the same things"); her voice hasn't changed at all ("I would know your voice among all other voices").

- The man: he still has "his special way [of] peeling an orange"; he stops her in mid-sentence ("his trick of interrupting her"); he still can't name flowers ("I'm still just as ignorant").

6 - Compare the two characters' memories of the first afternoon they spent together. (40 words)

- The man: he recalls her teaching him about flowers; it sounded like some wonderful language.

- Vera: an embarrassing situation when he made a fool of himself trying to chase wasps away; he was laughed at, which hurt her a lot.

7 - What is Vera's final perception of that encounter ? (40 words).

She realizes that he is right in having such sweet memories of the warm sunny afternoon they shared. It reminds her of the moment when their love affair started.