A hard decision
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. For a month now I have had a job offer in another city. On the one hand, the salary is bigger and the work is…
Text
- منذ شهر عندي عرض عمل في مدينة أخرى. من جهة, الراتب أكبر والعمل مهم. من جهة أخرى, الطريق طويل والصديقون هنا. صديقي يقول: أنت تبالغ, الفرق صغير. في الواقع, ربما هو على صواب, لكن لست متأكدا. غدا سأتحدث معه مرة أخرى.мунзу шахр ʿиндий аʿр ʿамаль фи мадиина ухраа. мин джиха, ар-раатиб акбар ва-ль-ʿамаль мухимм. мин джиха ухраа, ат-тариик тавииль ва-с-садиикуун хуна. садийкий йякууль: анта тубяалиг, аль-фарк сагиир. фи ль-вааʾиʿ, руббама хува аля савааб, лякинн ласту мутааккидан. гадан са-атахаддасу маʿаху марра ухраа.For a month now I have had a job offer in another city. On the one hand, the salary is bigger and the work is important. On the other hand, the road is long and the friends are here. My friend says: you exaggerate, the difference is small. In fact, maybe he is right, but I am not sure. Tomorrow I will talk to him again.
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 long has the narrator been thinking?
- What speaks for the job?
- What does the friend say?
- What will the narrator do tomorrow?
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.