Grandma's childhood
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. Grandma was born in a small village where there was one shop. In childhood she helped in the garden, weeded the beds…
Text
- Babcia urodziła się w małej wsi, gdzie był jeden sklep. W dzieciństwie pomagała w ogrodzie, pieliła chwasty i pasła dwie kozy. Szkołę skończyła w wieku czternastu lat i szybko znalazła pierwszą pracę w mieście. W tamtych czasach nie było telefonów, więc matce pisała list co tydzień. W młodości poznała dziadka, po trzech latach założyli rodzinę. Teraz pokazuje mi stare zdjęcia i mówi, że tamte lata pamięta jak wczoraj.Grandma was born in a small village where there was one shop. In childhood she helped in the garden, weeded the beds and herded two goats. She finished school at fourteen and quickly found her first job in the city. In those times there were no telephones, so every week she wrote a letter to her mother. In her youth she met grandpa, and three years later they started a family. Now she shows me old photographs and says she remembers those years as if it were yesterday.
Comprehension questions
The questions are asked in Russian on purpose: we test your understanding of the text, not your ability to read the question.
- Where was grandma born?
- What did she do in childhood?
- How did she keep in touch with her mother?
- What does she do now?
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.