LingoflyA thunderstorm in the village
A short text in Kazakh 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. In summer, when we came to the village, toward evening the weather turned overcast. First a strong wind blew, then…
Text
- Жазда ауылға барғанымызда, кешке қарай ауа райы бұлыңғыр тартты. Алдымен қатты жел соқты, содан кейін найзағай ойнап, күн күркіреді. Нөсер жауып, көшедегі шалшық үлкейді, ал бақшадағы жүйекті су шайып кетті. Түнде дауыл бір ағашты сындырды, бірақ таңертең кемпірқосақ шығып, күн ашық болды. Атам: «Бұршақ жаумағаны жақсы, әйтпесе өнімнен айырылар едік», — деді.Zhazda auylğa barğanymyzda, keshke qarai aua raiy būlyñğyr tartty. Aldymen qatty zhel soqty, sodan keiin naizağai oinap, kün kürkiredi. Nöser zhauyp, köshedegi shalshyq ülkeidi, al baqshadağy zhüiekti su shaiyp ketti. Tünde dauyl bir ağashty syndyrdy, biraq tañerteñ kempirqosaq shyğyp, kün ashyq boldy. Atam: «Būrshaq zhaumağany zhaqsy, äitpese önimnen aiyrylar edik», — dedi.In summer, when we came to the village, toward evening the weather turned overcast. First a strong wind blew, then lightning flashed and thunder rumbled. A downpour poured, the puddles in the street grew, and the garden bed was washed out by the water. At night a storm broke one tree, but in the morning a rainbow came out and it turned sunny. Grandfather said: "Good that there was no hail, otherwise we would have lost the harvest."
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 toward evening?
- What did the downpour do?
- What happened at night?
- What was the grandfather glad about?
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.