The missed calls
A short text in Urdu 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. In the morning there were seven calls on my phone. At night the phone was on silent. Six calls were from mother, the…
Text
- صبح میرے فون پر سات کال تھیں۔ رات کو فون خاموش تھا۔ چھ کال ماں کی تھیں، ساتویں نئے نمبر سے تھی۔ میں نے ماں کو میسج بھیجا: سب ٹھیک ہے، شام کو فون کروں گا۔ نئے نمبر سے فون نہیں اٹھایا، شاید اشتہار تھا۔subah mere fon per sat kaal thin. rat ko fon khamosh tha. chhe kaal man ki thin, satwin nae nambar se thi. main ne man ko mesedzh bhedzha: sab thik hai, sham ko fon kurun ga. nae nambar se fon nahin uthaya, shaiyad ishtihar tha.In the morning there were seven calls on my phone. At night the phone was on silent. Six calls were from mother, the seventh from a new number. I sent mother a message: all is well, I will call in the evening. I did not pick up the call from the new number — probably advertising.
Comprehension questions
The questions are asked in Russian on purpose: we test your understanding of the text, not your ability to read the question.
- How many calls were there?
- Why were the night calls not heard?
- What did he write to mother?
- Why did he not answer the seventh call?
Frequently asked
What level do you need to read this text in Urdu?
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.