The first winter in a new city
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. The first winter in the new city was hard on me: I knew no one, and loneliness came every evening. Worst of all, I…
Text
- Прва зима у новом граду била ми је тешка: нисам никога познавао и усамљеност је стизала свако вече. Најгоре је било то што ми је недостајао разговор ни о чему, онај с пријатељима из старог краја. Онда ме је комшиница позвала на кафу и питала како сам, а ја сам се, признајем, растужио од обичног питања. Рекла ми је да се не стидим и да се то дешава свима који се доселе. Од тада имамо навику да се чујемо недељом, и град више не изгледа тако хладан.Prva zima u novom gradu bila mi je teška: nisam nikoga poznavao i usamljenost je stizala svako veče. Najgore je bilo to što mi je nedostajao razgovor ni o čemu, onaj s prijateljima iz starog kraja. Onda me je komšinica pozvala na kafu i pitala kako sam, a ja sam se, priznajem, rastužio od običnog pitanja. Rekla mi je da se ne stidim i da se to dešava svima koji se dosele. Od tada imamo naviku da se čujemo nedeljom, i grad više ne izgleda tako hladan.The first winter in the new city was hard on me: I knew no one, and loneliness came every evening. Worst of all, I missed small talk, the kind you have with friends from the old neighborhood. Then a neighbor invited me for coffee and asked how I was, and I admit I got upset over an ordinary question. She told me not to be shy, that it happens to everyone who moves. Since then we have a habit of calling each other on Sundays, and the city no longer seems so cold.
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 narrator miss most of all?
- What did the neighbor do?
- How did the narrator react to the ordinary question?
- What habit did they develop since then?
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.