The first car
A text in Russian 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. My friend has a car now. The car is old, and the engine makes noise. In the first month it often wouldn't start. My…
Text
- У друга теперь есть машина. Машина старая, и двигатель шумит. В первый месяц она часто не заводится. Отец с другом поменяли тормоза и фары. Теперь до работы он едет двадцать минут.U druga teper est mashina. Mashina staraya, i dvigatel shumit. V pervyy mesyats ona chasto ne zavoditsya. Otets s drugom pomenyali tormoza i fary. Teper do raboty on edet dvadtsat minut.My friend has a car now. The car is old, and the engine makes noise. In the first month it often wouldn't start. My friend and his father replaced the brakes and the headlights. Now it takes him twenty minutes to get to work.
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 is the friend's car like?
- What makes noise?
- What happened in the first month?
- What did the friend and his father do?
Frequently asked
What level do you need to read this text in Russian?
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.