LingoflyAn incident on the road
A text in Kazakh 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. Once I was traveling at night on a train, and the carriage was full. Just as I was falling asleep, the train suddenly…
Text
- Бір жолы мен түнде поезбен келе жатқанмын, вагон толы еді. Дәл ұйықтап бара жатқан кезде кенеттен поезд тоқтап қалды. Соның артынша жарық сөнді, ал адамдар не болғанын сұрап шулай бастады. Кондуктор түсіндірді: алда жол жөнделіп жатыр екен, бір сағат тұрамыз. Сол сәтте қасымдағы кісі әңгіме бастады, ол өз ауылы туралы әсерлі айтты. Түптеп келгенде, сол тоқтау есімде қалды, ал сапардың қалғаны ұмытылды.Bir zholy men tünde poezben kele zhatqanmyn, vagon toly edi. Däl ūiyqtap bara zhatqan kezde kenetten poezd toqtap qaldy. Sonyñ artynsha zharyq söndi, al adamdar ne bolğanyn sūrap shulai bastady. Konduktor tüsindirdi: alda zhol zhöndelip zhatyr eken, bir sağat tūramyz. Sol sätte qasymdağy kisi äñgime bastady, ol öz auyly turaly äserli aitty. Tüptep kelgende, sol toqtau esimde qaldy, al sapardyñ qalğany ūmytyldy.Once I was traveling at night on a train, and the carriage was full. Just as I was falling asleep, the train suddenly stopped. Right after that the lights went out, and people started making noise, asking what had happened. The conductor explained: the track ahead is being repaired, we will stand for an hour. At that moment the person next to me started a conversation, and he told movingly about his village. In the end it was that stop that stayed in my memory, while the rest of the trip was forgotten.
Comprehension questions
The questions are asked in Russian on purpose: we test your understanding of the text, not your ability to read the question.
- When did the train stop?
- What happened right after the stop?
- What did the conductor explain?
- What stayed in the narrator's memory?
Frequently asked
What level do you need to read this text in Kazakh?
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.