LingoflyA talk in the corridor
A text in Uzbek 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 work one colleague came close to me and asked whether I had a minute. He spoke about the new job so fast that I did…
Text
- Ishda bir ishdosh menga yaqin keldi va bir daqiqa vaqtim bormi, soʻradi. U yangi ish haqida juda tez gapirdi va men yaxshi eshitmadim. Ikki marta qayta soʻradim va bir marta ismimni harflab ayting dedim. U gapimni kesganda, men sekin aytdim: gapim tugamagan. Keyin mavzuga qaytdik va besh daqiqada xulosa qildik. Oxirda oʻylab koʻraman dedim, lekin hali qaror qilmagan edi.At work one colleague came close to me and asked whether I had a minute. He spoke about the new job so fast that I did not catch it. Twice I asked again, and once asked him to spell my name. When he cut me off, I said quietly: I had not finished. Then we returned to the topic and in five minutes summed it up. At the end I said "I will think about it", but I have not decided yet.
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 did the colleague begin?
- Why did the narrator not catch it?
- What did the narrator say when he was cut off?
- How did the talk end?
Frequently asked
What level do you need to read this text in Uzbek?
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.