A talk in the corridor
A text in Persian 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. A colleague stopped me in the corridor and asked whether there was a minute. He said he had been ringing about the…
Text
- همکار سر راهم وایساد و پرسید یه دقیقه وقت داری؟ گفت در مورد پروژه زنگ زده و انقدر سریع حرف زد که خوب نشنیدم. دو بار مجبور شدم دوباره بپرسم و یک بار گفتم حرف‌به‌حرف بگه. وقتی وسط حرفم پرید، آرام گفتم حرفم تموم نشده. بعد رفتیم سراغ موضوع و در پنج دقیقه جمع‌بندی همه‌چیز مهم را کردیم. آخرش ازش یک روز فکر کردن خواستم، چون هنوز تصمیم نگرفته بودم.hamkâr sar râhâm vâysâd va pârsid ye dige vâgt dâri؟ gâft dar mârâde pârzhe zang zâde va ângadr sâri harf zâd ke khub nashenidam. dâ bâr mâdzhbur shâdam dâbâre bepârsam va yek bâr gâftam harf-be-harf bege. vâgti vesate harfâm pârid, ârâm gâftam harfâm tamâm nashâde. bâd reftim sârâge mavzu va dar pandzh dige dzham-bândi hâmechiz mâhem râ kerdim. âkhâresh azesh yek ruz fekr kardan khâstam, chân hânuz tasmim nagerefte budam.A colleague stopped me in the corridor and asked whether there was a minute. He said he had been ringing about the project, and spoke so fast that I caught little. Twice I had to ask again and once to ask him to spell it out. When he jumped into the middle of my speech, I said calmly that I had not finished. Then we came to the topic and in five minutes summed up everything important. At the end I asked him for a day to think, because I had not yet made the decision.
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 did the colleague begin?
- Why did the storyteller ask again?
- What did the storyteller say when interrupted?
- How did the talk end?
Frequently asked
What level do you need to read this text in Persian?
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.