Day 128: The Dry Ocean at Łeba
At sunset on Łącka Góra, a moving dune in the Słowiński National Park near Łeba, Amanda (A), who is writing a PhD on Mickiewicz, and her friends Denis (B) and Pamela (C) find that they have stayed too long.
How to study this lesson 3 steps
- Read the situation under the title. It says who is talking and how they know each other, which decides how politely they speak.
- Read the dialogue line by line with its translation, until every line makes sense. Point at (or tap) a Polish word to see what it means.
- Spend at least 30 minutes listening to native Polish, for example from the Resources page. It doesn't matter if you don't understand it yet.
Dialogue
Audio recordings are on the way. For now, each lesson is the dialogue with its English translation.
Keys: E hide English · ← → previous / next day · point at a word to see its meaning
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A
„Wpłynąłem na suchego przestwór oceanu”. Stoję na Łąckiej Górze i dopiero teraz rozumiem, co Mickiewicz miał na myśli.
'I have sailed out onto the dry ocean's expanse.' Standing here on Łącka Góra, only now do I understand what Mickiewicz meant.
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B
Mickiewicz pisał o stepach pod Akermanem, a nie o Łebie. Ja za to rozumiem, że ostatni melex odjechał dziesięć minut temu.
Mickiewicz was writing about the steppes near Akkerman, not about Łeba. What I understand is that the last electric cart left ten minutes ago.
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C
Mówiłam, żeby nie czekać na zachód słońca. Teraz czeka nas ponad godzina marszu przez las, i to po ciemku.
I said we shouldn't wait for the sunset. Now we've got over an hour's walk through the forest ahead of us, and in the dark.
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A
Byłabym was ostrzegła, gdybym była wiedziała, że ostatni melex odjeżdża tak wcześnie. „Już mrok zapada, nigdzie drogi ni kurhanu”.
I would have warned you, had I but known that the last cart leaves so early. 'Now dusk is falling; nowhere a road, nor a burial mound.'
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B
Litości, brzmisz jak szkolne wydanie z przypisami. Droga jest, tylko zawiało ją piaskiem, a mnie akurat padł telefon.
Spare us, you sound like a school edition with footnotes. There is a road, it's just drifted over with sand, and my phone has picked now to die.
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C
Mój też. Amanda, twój wieszcz nawigował według gwiazd, więc prowadź, skoro znasz ten sonet na pamięć.
So has mine. Amanda, your national bard navigated by the stars, so you lead the way, since you know that sonnet by heart.
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A
Z przyjemnością: „Patrzę w niebo, gwiazd szukam, przewodniczek łodzi”. Gwiazd jeszcze nie widać, ale tam coś świeci, więc idziemy za światłem.
With pleasure: 'I look to the sky, I seek the stars, the guides of my boat.' There are no stars out yet, but something's shining over there, so we follow the light.
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B
To nie żadna „lampa Akermanu”, tylko latarnia w Czołpinie, a Rąbka jest dokładnie w przeciwną stronę. Jak pójdziemy za twoim światłem, dojdziemy tam koło północy.
That's no 'lamp of Akkerman', it's the Czołpino lighthouse, and Rąbka is in exactly the opposite direction. If we follow your light, we'll get there around midnight.
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C
Czekajcie, ktoś na dole świeci latarką i macha. To chyba strażnik parku, i to w terenówce.
Wait, someone down there is shining a torch and waving. I think it's a park ranger, and he's got a four-by-four.
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A
Szkoda, bo właśnie miałam wyrecytować zakończenie: „Jedźmy, nikt nie woła”.
Shame, I was just about to recite the ending: 'Let us ride on, no one is calling.'
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B
Woła, i to przez megafon. Mówi, że mamy natychmiast zejść z wydmy, a potem odwiezie nas do Rąbki.
He is calling, through a megaphone, no less. He says we're to come down off the dune at once, and then he'll drive us back to Rąbka.
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C
No to jedźmy, skoro ktoś jednak woła. Pierwszy raz widzę, żeby ten sonet skończył się szczęśliwie.
Then let's ride, since someone's calling after all. It's the first time I've seen that sonnet end happily.
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