A night without power
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. The electricity went out at eight in the evening, in the middle of the rain. The neighbor turned on a generator, but it…
Text
- Струја је нестала у осам увече, усред кише. Комшија је упалио агрегат, али је он радио само сат времена. Тражили смо батеријску лампу, а нашли смо стари будилник и термометар. Телефон је показивао да нема сигнала, па нисмо могли ником да јавимо. Ујутру је све прорадило, и први пут смо схватили колико зависимо од уређаја.Struja je nestala u osam uveče, usred kiše. Komšija je upalio agregat, ali je on radio samo sat vremena. Tražili smo baterijsku lampu, a našli smo stari budilnik i termometar. Telefon je pokazivao da nema signala, pa nismo mogli nikom da javimo. Ujutru je sve proradilo, i prvi put smo shvatili koliko zavisimo od uređaja.The electricity went out at eight in the evening, in the middle of the rain. The neighbor turned on a generator, but it worked for only an hour. We were looking for a flashlight and found an old alarm clock and a thermometer instead. The phone showed no signal, and we couldn't tell anyone. In the morning everything started working, and for the first time we understood how dependent we are on devices.
Comprehension questions
The questions are asked in Russian on purpose: we test your understanding of the text, not your ability to read the question.
- When did the power go out?
- How long did the generator work?
- Why couldn't they tell anyone?
- What did they understand in the morning?
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.