The village after fifty years
A text in Hebrew 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. My grandmother was born in a small village. In those years there were thirty houses there, and nowadays more than a…
Text
- סבתא שלי נולדה בכפר קטן. בשנים ההן היו שם שלושים בתים, וכיום יש יותר ממאה. נקודת המפנה הייתה כשבנו כביש לעיר לפני חמישים שנה. הצעירים נסעו בהתחלה לעבוד, ואחר כך עברו לגור שם. בית הספר הישן התיישן, ולפני עשור עשו ממנו גן ילדים. סבתא אומרת שהחיים ממשיכים ושצריך להסתגל לשינויים.савта шели нолда ба-кфар катан. ба-шаним ха-хен хайу шам шлошим батим, ве-кайом йеш йотэр ми-меа. нкудат ха-мифнэ хайта ке-ше-бану квиш ла-ир лифней хамишим шаним. ха-цаирим насу ба-хатхала лаавод, ве-ахар ках авру легур шам. бейт ха-сэфэр ха-яшан хитаян, ве-лифней асор асу ми-мену ган йеладим. савта омэрэт ше-ха-хаим мемшихим ве-ше-царих леистагель ле-шинуим.My grandmother was born in a small village. In those years there were thirty houses there, and nowadays more than a hundred. The turning point came when fifty years ago the road to the city was built. The young first drove there to work, and then moved there to live. The old school became outdated, and a decade ago it was made into a kindergarten. Grandma says that life goes its own way and that one has to adapt to changes.
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 was grandma born?
- How many houses were in the village then?
- What became the turning point?
- What does grandma say?
Frequently asked
What level do you need to read this text in Hebrew?
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.