Thunder over the village
A short in Serbian 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. Last summer a thunderstorm caught us in the village. The sky turned overcast in five minutes, and then the downpour…
Text
- Прошлог лета нас је на селу изненадила грмљавина. Небо је постало облачно за пет минута, а онда је почео пљусак. Деца су трчала кроз локве, а бака је покривала леје у башти. После кише је пао и град, ситан као семе, али летина је остала читава. Увече се изнад мочваре појавила дуга, и деда је рекао да сутра неће бити спарно.Prošlog leta nas je na selu iznenadila grmljavina. Nebo je postalo oblačno za pet minuta, a onda je počeo pljusak. Deca su trčala kroz lokve, a baka je pokrivala leje u bašti. Posle kiše je pao i grad, sitan kao seme, ali letina je ostala čitava. Uveče se iznad močvare pojavila duga, i deda je rekao da sutra neće biti sparno.Last summer a thunderstorm caught us in the village. The sky turned overcast in five minutes, and then the downpour began. The children ran through puddles while grandma covered the garden beds. After the rain came hail too, small as seeds, but the harvest survived. In the evening a rainbow appeared over the swamp, and grandpa said tomorrow wouldn't be muggy.
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 caught them in the village?
- What was grandma doing during the rain?
- What happened to the harvest after the hail?
- What did grandpa say about tomorrow?
Frequently asked
What level do you need to read this text in Serbian?
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.