A talk in the waiting room
A text in Thai at level B1. The translation sits next to it for checking, not for support: at this level the text is read whole, and an unknown word is usually guessed from the sentence. On Monday a colleague called about a new job. He spoke very fast, and I could not keep up listening. I had to ask him…
Text
- วัน จันทร์ เพื่อน ร่วม งาน โทร มา เรื่อง งาน ใหม่ เขา พูด เร็ว มาก ผม ฟัง ไม่ ทัน ผม ต้อง ถาม ใหม่ สอง ครั้ง เขา ขัด จัง หวะ ผม พูด หนึ่ง ครั้ง ผม พูด ว่า ให้ พูด ก่อน นะ สุด ท้าย เรา สรุป ความ กัน ใน ห้า นาทีван джан пхиуан руам нган тор ма рыанг нган май кхао пхут рэо мак пхом фанг май тхан пхом тонг тхаам май сонг кхранг кхао кхат джанг ва пхом пхут нынг кхранг пхом пхут ваа хай пхут кон на сут таай рао саруп кхуам кан наи хаа натхиOn Monday a colleague called about a new job. He spoke very fast, and I could not keep up listening. I had to ask him to repeat twice. Once he interrupted me. I said: let me finish first. In the end we summed up in five minutes.
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 colleague call about?
- Why did the narrator keep asking to repeat?
- What did the narrator say when he was interrupted?
- How did the conversation end?
Frequently asked
What level do you need to read this text in Thai?
B1. That means: everyday topics are behind you, you know about three thousand words, and an unknown word is more often guessed from the sentence than looked up.
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.