In the new district
A short in Kazakh 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. When we moved, we did not know the district at all, and in the first week we got lost twice. Our house stands at the…
Text
- Біз көшіп келгенде ауданды мүлде білмейтінбіз және бірінші аптада екі рет адасып қалдық. Үйіміз көшенің шетінде тұр, ал дүкен саябақтың арғы жағында, оны айналып өту керек. Бір күні тіке жүрейік деп ойладық, бірақ жол тұйық көше болып шықты. Қазір бағдарымыз бар: алыстан көрінетін су мұнарасы, оның қарсы алдында аялдама. Бөлмелеріміз кең, терезеден маңайдағы төбелер көрінеді, кешке қарай жел тынады. Ең қиыны көрші үйлердің бір-біріне ұқсастығы болды: сыртынан қарағанда бәрі бірдей.When we moved, we did not know the district at all, and in the first week we got lost twice. Our house stands at the end of the street, and the shop is on the far side of the park; you have to go around it. Once we decided to go straight, but the road turned out to be a dead end. Now we have a landmark: a water tower visible from afar, and opposite it the bus stop. Our rooms are spacious, the hills of the surroundings are visible from the window, and toward evening the wind dies down. The hardest thing was the sameness of the neighboring houses: from the outside they all look alike.
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 happened in the first week?
- What did the shortcut turn out to be?
- What serves as their landmark?
- What turned out the hardest?
Frequently asked
What level do you need to read this text in Kazakh?
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.