Our new neighborhood
A short in Turkish 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. Last month we moved from the city center to the outskirts, because the rent is cheaper there. The neighborhood is quiet…
Text
- Geçen ay şehir merkezinden kenar mahalleye taşındık, çünkü kiralar orada daha ucuz. Semt sakin ve temiz; her köşede bir bank, kaldırımlar geniş, sokak lambaları yeni. Tek sorun ulaşım: sabahları yoğun saatte otobüs dolu geliyor, bir kere durağı bile kaçırdım. Şimdi otobüs saatlerini ezberledim, kart okutup yol parası ödüyorum ve son duraktan bir önce iniyorum. Karşıda büyük bir inşaat var, ayrıca yol çalışması yüzünden trafik bazen kilitleniyor.Last month we moved from the city center to the outskirts, because the rent is cheaper there. The neighborhood is quiet and clean; there's a bench on every corner, the sidewalks are wide, the streetlights are new. The only trouble is transport: in the morning rush hour the bus arrives full, once I even rode past my stop. Now I've memorized the bus schedule, I tap my card and pay the fare, and I get off one stop before the terminus. Opposite there's a big construction site, and because of road repairs the traffic sometimes comes to a standstill.
Comprehension questions
The questions are asked in Russian on purpose: we test your understanding of the text, not your ability to read the question.
- Why did they move to the outskirts?
- What happened once on the bus?
- Where does he get off now?
- Why does the traffic come to a standstill?
Frequently asked
What level do you need to read this text in Turkish?
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.