An evening at the theater
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 my birthday I took a subscription to five plays at the big theater. The first play was a comedy based on a novel I…
Text
- في عيد ميلادي أخذت عضوية خمس مسرحيات في المسرح الكبير. أول مسرحية كانت كوميديا عن رواية قرأتها في المدرسة. لعب ممثل مشهور من هذه المدينة الدور الكبير. المخرج غيّر الحبكة: القصة في وقتنا، وخشبة المسرح صغيرة. في النهاية كان التصفيق طويلا جدا، وخرج الفنّانون ثلاث مرات. الآن أفهم لماذا مهرجان الموسيقى والمسرح كل صيف في مدينتنا.фи ʿиид милаади ахазту ʿудвийя ли-хамс масрахийяат фи аль-масрах аль-кябир. аувваль масрахийя кянят кумидийя ʿан риваая гараʾтуха фи аль-мадраса. ляʿиба мумсиль машхуур мин хазихи аль-мадиина ад-даур аль-кябир. аль-мудхридж гаййара аль-хибка: аль-гисса фи вактунаа, ва-хашба аль-масрах сагиира. фи ан-нихая кян ат-тасфик тауиилян джиддан, ва-харадж аль-фаннаануун саляс маррат. аль-аан афхам лимаза махраджан аль-музыка ва-ль-масрах куль сайф фи мадиинатунаа.For my birthday I took a subscription to five plays at the big theater. The first play was a comedy based on a novel I had read at school. The big role was played by a famous artist from this city. The director changed the plot: the story is set in our time, and the stage at the theater is small. At the end the applause was very long, and the artists came out three times. Now I understand why the music and theater festival is every summer in our city.
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 did she get for her birthday?
- What was the first comedy based on?
- What did the director do with the plot?
- How many times did the artists come out to the applause?
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.