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    Life On The Seine

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    Irina Castillo
    The Seine River runs through Paris and is central to life in the city. It is used for transportation by the few hundred houseboats still living on the river. Every summer, the city closes the road along the Right Bank to create an "instant beach" with sand and amenities. However, swimming in the river is against the rules and fines can be issued or criminal charges brought for unsafe activities like jumping in to rescue someone.

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    Life On The Seine

    Uploaded by

    Irina Castillo
    45 views2 pages
    The Seine River runs through Paris and is central to life in the city. It is used for transportation by the few hundred houseboats still living on the river. Every summer, the city closes the road along the Right Bank to create an "instant beach" with sand and amenities. However, swimming in the river is against the rules and fines can be issued or criminal charges brought for unsafe activities like jumping in to rescue someone.

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    Life on the Seine

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    The Seine River runs through Paris and is central to life in the city. It is used for transportation by the few hundred houseboats still living on the river. Every summer, the city closes the road along the Right Bank to create an "instant beach" with sand and amenities. However, swimming in the river is against the rules and fines can be issued or criminal charges brought for unsafe activities like jumping in to rescue someone.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    45 views2 pages

    Life On The Seine

    Uploaded by

    Irina Castillo
    The Seine River runs through Paris and is central to life in the city. It is used for transportation by the few hundred houseboats still living on the river. Every summer, the city closes the road along the Right Bank to create an "instant beach" with sand and amenities. However, swimming in the river is against the rules and fines can be issued or criminal charges brought for unsafe activities like jumping in to rescue someone.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    of 2

    Life on the Seine

    We’re in Paris, on the Île de la Cité, in front of the Cathedral of Notre Dame next to the River Seine. This is
    point zero. The distances from Paris to all parts of France are measured from here. And at the heart of
    Paris is the Seine. ‘For Parisians the Seine is the way to know where you are in Paris,’ says the art historian
    Marina Ferretti. 

    I love my boat

    One day 34 years ago, Claude Tharreau was walking along the Seine looking for an apartment to buy when
    he saw the Cathare: a 70-foot-long boat built in 1902 and for sale. It was Sunday. On Wednesday he
    bought the boat. ‘Afterwards I noticed it was a boat with no electricity or water,’ he says. He has lived on it
    since then. It’s one of the 199 houseboats in Paris.

    Instant beach

    The beach-on-the-Seine was the idea of Paris Mayor Bertrand Delanoë. Every summer, the road on the
    Right Bank of the river is closed for four weeks. The project manager Damien Masset lists the ingredients
    for an instant beach: 5,500 tons of sand, 250 blue umbrellas, 350 deck chairs, 800 chairs, 250 loungers, 200
    tables, four ice-cream sellers, eight cafés, 250 people to build the beach and 450 people to work there.

    River rules

    It’s a hot summer day. You can see the heat rising from the road. The river looks cool. ‘Can you swim in the
    Seine?’ I ask the head of police Sandrine Berjot. ‘Non,’ she says. ’38 euros.’ That’s the fine for swimming.
    ‘What about your feet?’ ‘No, you can’t put your feet in.’ Here are some other things you can’t do: go
    waterskiing or tie your boat around a tree with rope. And if you see  a person in the water you mustn’t
    jump in. You must call the police. This is serious: the fine for jumping in may be 75,000 euros and five years
    in jail.

    The river

    All kinds of objects float in the water: plastic toys, balloons, cigarettes, empty bottles. They float past the
    famous architecture of Paris and the river changes all the time. The painters Claude Monet and Henri
    Matisse had studios on the river. In their paintings we can see the changing and dancing light on the river.

    Glossary

    o houseboat (n)  a boat that people live on permanently


    o deck chair (n) a type of chair that folds. Used outside.
    o lounger (n) a type of chair you can lie on. Used outside.

    Keywords 

    o cool (adj) a bit cold, but nice


    o danger (n) if you are in danger, it is possible that something bad will happen
    o empty (adj) with nothing inside
    o fine (n) money you must pay if you break a law or rule
    o historian (n) someone who knows a lot about history
    o ingredient (n) a thing you need to make something
    o painting (n) a picture made with paint
    o Parisian (n) a person who lives in Paris
    o studio (n) a place where an artist works
    o toy (n) a thing you play with

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