The missed calls
A short text in Arabic at level A2. The translation sits next to it: reading with a dictionary is still too early at this level, and without support it will not happen at all. In the morning there are seven calls on my phone. Six from my mother, and one from a new number. I wrote my mother a…
Text
- في الصباح سبع مكالمات في هاتفي. ست من أمي, وواحدة من رقم جديد. كتبت لأمي رسالة: كل شيء بخير, سأتصل بها في المساء. الرقم الجديد لا أرد عليه, ربما رقم آخر.фи ас-сабаах сабʿ мукялямаат фи хаатифи. ситт мин умми ва-ваахида мин ракм джадид. катабту ли-умми рисааля: куль шайʾ би-хейр, сааʾттасыль биха фи ль-масаа. ар-ракм аль-джадид ля ардд ʿалайхи, руббама ракм аахар.In the morning there are seven calls on my phone. Six from my mother, and one from a new number. I wrote my mother a message: everything is fine, I will call her in the evening. To the new number I do not answer: maybe it is a different number.
Comprehension questions
The questions are asked in Russian on purpose: we test your understanding of the text, not your ability to read the question.
- How many calls were there?
- Who were the six calls from?
- What did he write to his mother?
- Why does he not answer the new number?
Frequently asked
What level do you need to read this text in Arabic?
A2. That means: you know the letters and have a stock of everyday words — about two or three hundred.
How to read a text in an unfamiliar language usefully?
First all the way through without peeking at the translation — just to catch the familiar words. Then with the translation. Then all the way through again: the second pass brings noticeably more, and that feeling matters more than any rule.