The neighbour from the first floor
A short text in Polish 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 our building lives Mr Henryk, a grey-haired man of medium height. He has deep wrinkles around his eyes and a grey…
Text
- W naszym bloku mieszka pan Henryk, siwy mężczyzna średniego wzrostu. Ma głębokie zmarszczki wokół oczu i siwą brodę. Sąsiedzi mówią, że jest chciwy, bo nigdy nie wychodzi z nimi na kawę. Tak naprawdę jest tylko skromny i woli słuchać niż mówić o sobie. W zeszłym roku przez tydzień pomagał chorej sąsiadce i nikomu o tym nie powiedział. Dla mnie to najbardziej niezawodny człowiek w domu.In our building lives Mr Henryk, a grey-haired man of medium height. He has deep wrinkles around his eyes and a grey beard. The neighbours say he is greedy, because he never joins them for coffee. In fact he is simply modest and prefers to listen rather than talk about himself. Last year he helped a sick neighbour for a whole week and told no one about it. To me he is the most reliable person in the building.
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 does Mr Henryk look like?
- Why do the neighbours consider him greedy?
- What did he do last year?
- What did he turn out to be in fact?
Frequently asked
What level do you need to read this text in Polish?
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.