The talk at the office
A text in Urdu 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. At the office a colleague stopped me and asked: have you a minute? He had barely named the topic when he began to speak…
Text
- دفتر میں ساتھی نے مجھے روکا اور پوچھا: ایک منٹ ملے گا؟ وہ بات کا موضوع بتاتے ہی تیز بولنے لگے۔ شور کی وجہ سے میں دو بار دوبارہ پوچھنا پڑا۔ جب انہوں نے بات کاٹی تو میں نے کہا: بات ادھوری ہے۔ پھر ہم بات پر آئے اور خلاصہ یہ ہوا: جواب کل تک۔daftar main sathi ne mujhe roka aur puchha: ek mint mile ga? wo bat ka mazu bitate hi tiz bolne lage. shor ki wadzha se main do bar dobara puchhna para. dzhab unhon ne bat kyati to main ne kaha: bat adhuri hai. phir hum bat per ae aur khulasa ye hua: dzhawab kal tak.At the office a colleague stopped me and asked: have you a minute? He had barely named the topic when he began to speak quickly. Because of the noise I had to ask twice. When he cut in, I said: I have not finished. Then we returned to the topic, and the upshot was this: the answer by tomorrow.
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 begin with?
- Why did he have to ask again?
- What did the narrator say when he was interrupted?
- What was the outcome of the talk?
Frequently asked
What level do you need to read this text in Urdu?
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.