The first shift
A short text in Russian 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 shop they work in two shifts, and I came to the morning one for the first time. First we were given an induction…
Text
- В нашем цехе работают в две смены, а я впервые пришёл в утреннюю. Сначала нам провели инструктаж и выдали спецодежду со знаком завода. Моё дело было проверять каждое изделие, прежде чем оно уйдёт в тару. Если у детали дефект, я откладываю её отдельно и записываю номер партии. В полдень станок встал, и вышел простой в работе на два часа. Техник его наладил, а норму мы всё равно сделали к трём.V nashem tsekhe rabotayut v dve smeny, a ya vpervye prishyol v utrennyuyu. Snachala nam proveli instruktazh i vydali spetsodezhdu so znakom zavoda. Moyo delo bylo proveryat kazhdoe izdelie, prezhde chem ono uydyot v taru. Esli u detali defekt, ya otkladyvayu eyo otdelno i zapisyvayu nomer partii. V polden stanok vstal, i vyshel prostoy v rabote na dva chasa. Tekhnik ego naladil, a normu my vsyo ravno sdelali k tryom.In our shop they work in two shifts, and I came to the morning one for the first time. First we were given an induction and issued work clothes with the factory sign. My job was to check every item before it went into packaging. If a part has a defect, I set it aside separately and write down the batch number. At noon the machine tool stopped, and there was a two-hour downtime. The technician fixed it, and we still made the norm by three.
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 was issued at the start of the shift?
- What does he do with a defective part?
- What happened at noon?
- Did they manage to make the norm?
Frequently asked
What level do you need to read this text in Russian?
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.