The meeting where everyone talks
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. There were four people at the meeting, and everyone spoke at once. Every time I began a sentence, someone interrupted…
Text
- На састанку је било четворо људи и сви су причали у исто време. Кад год бих почео реченицу, неко би ми упао у реч, па нисам завршио ниједну мисао. Најзад сам рекао: пустите ме да кажем до краја, ово нам је важно. Настала је тишина, а онда је шеф рекао да се вратимо на тему, јер је пола сата отишло на нешто што нема везе с темом. На крају смо сумирали договор у три реченице, и свима је било јасно шта следи.Na sastanku je bilo četvoro ljudi i svi su pričali u isto vreme. Kad god bih počeo rečenicu, neko bi mi upao u reč, pa nisam završio nijednu misao. Najzad sam rekao: pustite me da kažem do kraja, ovo nam je važno. Nastala je tišina, a onda je šef rekao da se vratimo na temu, jer je pola sata otišlo na nešto što nema veze s temom. Na kraju smo sumirali dogovor u tri rečenice, i svima je bilo jasno šta sledi.There were four people at the meeting, and everyone spoke at once. Every time I began a sentence, someone interrupted me, and I didn't finish a single thought. Finally I said: let me speak to the end; this matters for us. Silence fell, and then the boss said to return to the topic, because half an hour had gone to things unrelated to it. At the end we summed up the agreement in three sentences, and it became clear to everyone what comes next.
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 kept the narrator from speaking?
- What did he end up saying?
- Why did the boss call for returning to the topic?
- How did the meeting end?
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.