A conversation in the corridor
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. In the corridor at work a friend asked me: do you have a minute? He began to speak too fast, and I did not catch it. I…
Text
- במסדרון בעבודה חבר שאל אותי: יש לך רגע? הוא התחיל לדבר מהר מדי, ולא שמעתי טוב. שאלתי אותו שוב, וגם ביקשתי לאיות את השם. באמצע השיחה ביקשתי ממנו לא לחתוך אותי. אחר כך חזרנו לנושא, ובחמש דקות עשינו סיכום. בסוף ביקשתי יום לחשוב, עדיין לא החלטתי.бе-мисладрон бе-авода хавэр шааль оти: йеш леха рэга? ху хитхиль ледабэр магэр мидаи, ве-ло шамати тов. шаальти ото шув, ве-гам бикашти ле-ийот эт ха-шем. бе-эмца ха-сиха бикашти мимэну ло лехтов оти. ахар кач хазарну ла-носэ, ве-бе-хамэш дакот асину сихум. бе-соф бикашти йом лихшов, одайн ло хахлартти.In the corridor at work a friend asked me: do you have a minute? He began to speak too fast, and I did not catch it. I asked him again and asked him also to dictate the name letter by letter. In the middle of the conversation I asked him not to interrupt me. Then we returned to the topic and summed it up in five minutes. At the end I asked for a day to think — I have not decided yet.
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 friend ask in the corridor?
- Why did the narrator not catch it?
- What did the narrator ask in the middle of the conversation?
- What did he ask for at the end?
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.