The residents’ meeting
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. The landlord called a meeting for Friday. In his words, the old wires had to be changed. One neighbour was against and…
Text
- مکان مالک نے جمعہ کی میٹنگ بلائی۔ ان کے بقول پرانی تاریں بدلنا ضروری تھا۔ ایک پڑوسی مخالف تھے اور آواز بلند کر دی۔ انہوں نے کہا کہ پچھلے سال چھت کا خرچ پورا ہوا تھا۔ مکان مالک نے غلطی مان لی اور نیا حساب دکھایا۔ فیصلہ اگلے مہینے کے لیے ملتوی کر دیا گیا۔makan malik ne dzhuma ki miting blai. un ke baqol parani taren badalna zaruri tha. ek parosi mukhalif the aur awaz buland kar di. unhon ne kaha ke pichhle sal chhat ka kharch pura hua tha. makan malik ne ghalti man liya aur naiya hisab dikhaya. faisla agle mehine ke lia multwi kar diya gaya.The landlord called a meeting for Friday. In his words, the old wires had to be changed. One neighbour was against and raised his voice. He said that last year the roof’s expense had been covered whole. The landlord admitted the mistake and showed a new bill. The decision was put off to the next month.
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 landlord propose?
- Why was the neighbour against?
- What did the landlord do?
- How did the meeting end?
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.