A rumor without proof
A short in Serbian 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. Last week word went around that the company would close the workshop, and within two days everyone knew. Nobody had…
Text
- Прошле недеље се почело причати да ће фирма затворити погон, и за два дана су сви били у току. Нико није имао доказ: сви су знали по чувењу, а извор није био веродостојан. Један колега је изнео три разлога за то и звучао убедљиво, али је сваки разлог био нагађање. Тек кад је књиговођа показао бројке, испоставило се да је реч о обичној заблуди: продаја је пала, али је погон радио пуном паром. Сад питам себе зашто сам поверовао: гласина је била глатка и лака, а истина је тражила да се удубим у папире.Prošle nedelje se počelo pričati da će firma zatvoriti pogon, i za dva dana su svi bili u toku. Niko nije imao dokaz: svi su znali po čuvenju, a izvor nije bio verodostojan. Jedan kolega je izneo tri razloga za to i zvučao ubedljivo, ali je svaki razlog bio nagađanje. Tek kad je knjigovođa pokazao brojke, ispostavilo se da je reč o običnoj zabludi: prodaja je pala, ali je pogon radio punom parom. Sad pitam sebe zašto sam poverovao: glasina je bila glatka i laka, a istina je tražila da se udubim u papire.Last week word went around that the company would close the workshop, and within two days everyone knew. Nobody had proof: everyone knew by hearsay, and the source wasn't reliable. One colleague gave three arguments and sounded convincing, but each argument was a guess. Only when the accountant showed the figures did it come out that it was an ordinary misconception: sales had fallen, but the workshop was working at full capacity. Now I ask myself why I believed it: the rumor was smooth and easy, while the truth demanded digging into the papers.
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 did the word go around about?
- How did everyone know?
- What did the colleague's three arguments turn out to be?
- Why did the narrator believe the rumor?
Frequently asked
What level do you need to read this text in Serbian?
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.