අපේ ගෙදරයි මිදුලයි
A short in Sinhala text 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. Our house is small, but the yard is wide. Outside there is a fence and a gate. By the gate stands a mailbox, but few…
Text
- අපේ ගෙදර ලොකු නෑ, හැබැයි මිදුල පළල්. එළියේ වැටකුත් ගේට්ටුවකුත් තියෙනවා. ගේට්ටුව ළඟ තැපැල් පෙට්ටියක් තියෙනවා, හැබැයි දැන් ලියුම් එන්නේ අඩුවෙන්. ඇතුළේ කාමර තුනයි: නිදන කාමරයක්, කුස්සියක් සහ පොඩි නාන කාමරයක්. වහලය පරණයි, වැහි කාලේට ටිකක් කාන්දු වෙනවා. තාත්තා කිව්වා, ලබන මාසේ හදනවා කියලා. උදේට මම මිදුල අතුගානවා, අම්මා වත්තට වතුර දානවා.apē gedara loku nǣ, hæbæyi midula paḷal. eḷiyē væṭakut gēṭṭuvakut tiyenavā. gēṭṭuva ḷanga tæpæl peṭṭiyak tiyenavā, hæbæyi dæn liyum ennē aḍuven. ætuḷē kāmara tunayi: nidana kāmarayak, kussiyak saha poḍi nāna kāmarayak. vahalaya paraṇayi, væhi kālēṭa ṭikak kāndu venavā. tāttā kivvā, labana māsē hadanavā kiyalā. udēṭa mama midula atugānavā, ammā vattaṭa vatura dānavā.Our house is small, but the yard is wide. Outside there is a fence and a gate. By the gate stands a mailbox, but few letters come now. Inside there are three rooms: a bedroom, a kitchen and a small bathroom. The roof is old; in the rainy season it leaks a little. Father said that next month he will repair it. In the mornings I sweep the yard, and Mother waters the garden.
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 their yard like?
- What is wrong with the house?
- How many rooms are inside?
- What does he do in the mornings?
Frequently asked
What level do you need to read this text in Sinhala?
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.