The bicycle and the report
A text in Arabic at level B1. The translation sits next to it for checking, not for support: at this level the text is read whole, and an unknown word is usually guessed from the sentence. On the night to Saturday my bicycle was stolen at the store. I went to the police station and wrote an application. The…
Text
- ليل السبت سرقوا دراجتي أمام المتجر. ذهبت إلى مركز الشرطة وكتبت الطلب. الشرطي كتب محضرا وطلب بطاقة الهوية. وقال لي: اقرأ المحضر قبل التوقيع. وفي البيت حفظت نسخة من المحضر.лейль ас-сабт саракуу дирааджатий амаам аль-матджар. захабту иля марказ аш-шурта ва-катабту ат-таляб. аш-шуртий катаба махаддран ва-таляба баатакат аль-хувийя. ва-кааля ли: икраʾ аль-махаддр кябля ат-тавкииʿ. ва-фи аль-бейт хафизту нусха мин аль-махаддр.On the night to Saturday my bicycle was stolen at the store. I went to the police station and wrote an application. The policeman drew up a report and asked for an ID. And he told me: read the report before the signature. And at home I kept a copy of the report.
Comprehension questions
The questions are asked in Russian on purpose: we test your understanding of the text, not your ability to read the question.
- What happened on the night to Saturday?
- Where did the narrator go?
- What did the policeman ask for?
- What did the narrator do at home?
Frequently asked
What level do you need to read this text in Arabic?
B1. That means: everyday topics are behind you, you know about three thousand words, and an unknown word is more often guessed from the sentence than looked up.
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.