The neighbor on the fifth floor
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. The neighbor on the fifth floor is an elderly man, tall and gray-haired, with enormous eyebrows and a mole on his…
Text
- El vecino del quinto es un señor mayor, alto y canoso, con unas cejas enormes y un lunar en la mejilla. Al principio nos pareció grosero, porque nunca decía buenos días en el ascensor y siempre iba con prisa. Un día se me cayeron las bolsas de la compra en el portal y fue el único que se paró a ayudarme. Desde entonces hablamos casi cada tarde: es callado, pero cuando coge confianza tiene un sentido del humor tremendo. Mi madre dice que la gente así no es antipática, solo tímida, y que hay que darle tiempo.The neighbor on the fifth floor is an elderly man, tall and gray-haired, with enormous eyebrows and a mole on his cheek. At first he seemed rude to us, because he never said hello in the elevator and was always in a hurry somewhere. One day my shopping bags fell in the entrance hall, and he was the only one who stopped to help. Since then we talk almost every evening: he is quiet, but once he settles in he turns out to be tremendously witty. My mother says people like that are not mean, just shy, and that you have to give them time.
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 does the neighbor look like?
- Why was he first considered rude?
- What changed the narrator's attitude?
- How does the mother explain his behavior?
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.