The residents' meeting
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. At the residents' meeting the manager proposed replacing the old windows. And he said the cost of heating will decrease…
Text
- في اجتماع السكان اقترح المدير تغيير النوافذ القديمة. وقال إن تكلفة التدفئة تنقص ربعا. جار قديم يعارض ويرفع صوته. قال إننا دفعنا إصلاح البيت السنة الماضية وهذا لا يوافق العدالة. وافق المدير أن يقرّ بالخطأ في الحساب ووعد بعرض جديد. في النهاية اتفقنا على استطلاع، وأجّلنا القرار إلى الشتاء.фи иджтимааʿ ас-суккаан игтараха аль-мудиир тагйиир ан-наваафид аль-гадиима. ва-кааля инн такаляфат ат-тафийя тангусу рубʿан. джар гадиим йюʿаарид ва-йярфаʿ саутуху. кааля иннана дфаʿна исляах аль-бейт ас-сана аль-маадийа ва-хаза ля йюаафиг аль-ʿадааля. уаафига аль-мудиир ан йугарра би-ль-хатааʾ фи аль-хисааб ва-ваʿада би-ʿард джадиид. фи ан-нихая иттафагнаа ʿаля истибляаʿ, ва-аджжальна аль-караар иля аш-шитааʾ.At the residents' meeting the manager proposed replacing the old windows. And he said the cost of heating will decrease by a quarter. The old neighbor is against and raises his voice. He said we paid for the renovation of the house last year, and this does not match justice. The manager agreed to admit the mistake in the calculation and promised a new proposal. In the end we agreed on a poll and put off the decision to the winter.
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 the manager propose?
- By how much will the heating cost decrease?
- Why is the old neighbor against?
- How did the meeting end?
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.