A year of study
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. A year ago I signed up for evening classes. In the first month learning words was easy; pronunciation was hard. The…
Text
- ایک سال پہلے میں شام کی کلاس میں داخلہ لیا۔ پہلے مہینے لفظ سیکھنا آسان تھا، تلفظ مشکل۔ استاد کی ایک ہی تنبیہ تھی: کم لکھو، زیادہ بولو۔ گرمی کی چھٹیوں میں روز بازار جاتا اور سن کر سمجھنے کی مشق کرتا۔ اب شہر کی سڑک پر روانی سے بول سکتا ہوں۔ کورس راستے میں چھوڑ دینا میرا ارادہ نہیں۔ek sal pehle main sham ki klas main dakhila liya. pehle mahine lafz sikhna asan tha, talaffuz mushkil. ustad ki ek hi tanbih thi: kam likho, ziada bolo. garmi ki chhuttion main roz bazar dzhata aur sun kar samajhne ki mashq karta. ab sheher ki sadak per rawani se bol sakta hun. kurs raste main chhor dena mera irada nahin.A year ago I signed up for evening classes. In the first month learning words was easy; pronunciation was hard. The teacher had one remark: write less, speak more. In the summer heat I went to the bazaar every day and trained my listening. Now in the city street I can speak fluently. I do not mean to quit the course halfway.
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 narrator sign up for a year ago?
- What was hard in the first month?
- What was the teacher’s remark?
- What can the narrator do now?
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.