Two nights in the hospital
A short in Spanish text 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. My mother fell on the staircase in the entrance hall and was taken by ambulance to the city hospital. At admissions we…
Text
- Mi madre se cayó en la escalera del portal y la llevaron en ambulancia al hospital de la ciudad. En admisión esperamos casi dos horas, y luego el cirujano dijo que había una fractura pequeña en la muñeca. La operación duró cuarenta minutos con anestesia local, y ella estuvo despierta todo el rato hablando con la enfermera. La habitación era doble, con una señora mayor que roncaba tanto que mi madre no durmió nada la primera noche. Le dieron el alta el jueves, con un tratamiento de tres semanas y un volante para el especialista.My mother fell on the staircase in the entrance hall and was taken by ambulance to the city hospital. At admissions we waited almost two hours, and then the surgeon said there was a small fracture in the wrist. The operation lasted forty minutes under local anesthesia, and she was awake the whole time talking to the nurse. The room was a double, with an elderly woman who snored so much that my mother did not sleep at all the first night. She was discharged on Thursday, with a three-week course of treatment and a referral to a specialist.
Comprehension questions
The questions are asked in Russian on purpose: we test your understanding of the text, not your ability to read the question.
- Where did the mother fall?
- What did the surgeon's examination show?
- Why did the mother not sleep the first night?
- What was she given at discharge?
Frequently asked
What level do you need to read this text in Spanish?
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.