පරණ අල්මාරිය
A short in Sinhala text at level B1. 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 the back room of the house stood an old wardrobe. Its door had warped, the lock had rusted, the surface was dusty.…
Text
- ගෙදර පිටිපස්සේ කාමරේ පරණ අල්මාරියක් තිබුණා. ඒකේ දොර ඇද වෙලා, අගුල මලකෑ එකක් වෙලා, මතුපිට දූවිලි සහිතයි. මම ඒක ඇතුළට ගෙනිච්චම තේරුණා ලීය තාම භාවිතයට සුදුසු කියලා. වඩුවා ගොරෝසු පැත්ත මට්ටම් කරලා, ස්තර දෙකක් තීන්ත ගෑවා. දැන් මතුපිට සිනිඳුයි, දොර ඇද නෑ, ඒත් ඇතුළේ තියෙන දේ තාම පරණයි.gedara piṭipassē kāmarē paraṇa almāriyak tibuṇā. ēkē dora æda velā, agula malakǣ ekak velā, matupiṭa dūvili sahitayi. mama ēka ætuḷaṭa geniccama tēruṇā līya tāma bhāvitayaṭa sudusu kiyalā. vaḍuvā gorōsu pætta maṭṭam karalā, stara dekak tīnta gǣvā. dæn matupiṭa sininduyi, dora æda nǣ, ēt ætuḷē tiyena dē tāma paraṇayi.In the back room of the house stood an old wardrobe. Its door had warped, the lock had rusted, the surface was dusty. When I carried it inside, it became clear that the wood was still sound. The carpenter leveled the rough side and applied two coats of paint. Now the surface is smooth, the door is not crooked, but the contents are still old.
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 with the lock of the wardrobe?
- What did the narrator understand upon carrying the wardrobe inside?
- What did the carpenter do?
- What remained as before?
Frequently asked
What level do you need to read this text in Sinhala?
B1. 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.