Day 132: Headquartered in the Shoe Cupboard
In the flat they rent in Stargard, near Szczecin, Judyta (A), a reporter at a Szczecin news website, and her flatmate Matylda (B), a law student, are going through a pile of post when their landlord (C) comes round to read the water meters.
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
Matyldo, znowu awizo dla jakiej艣 sp贸艂ki. Sprawdzi艂am w KRS: w naszym dwupokojowym mieszkaniu ma siedzib臋 ju偶 czterna艣cie firm.
Matylda, another delivery notice for some company. I checked the National Court Register: fourteen companies now have their registered office in our two-room flat.
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B
Czterna艣cie firm w dw贸ch pokojach z kuchni膮? To gdzie one maj膮 zarz膮dy, w szafce na buty?
Fourteen companies in two rooms and a kitchen? So where do they keep their boards of directors, in the shoe cupboard?
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A
Dotar艂am do trzech prezes贸w i 偶aden nie wiedzia艂, 偶e nim jest. Po艂ow臋 firm skarb贸wka ju偶 wykre艣li艂a z rejestru VAT. Klasyczne s艂upy.
I tracked down three of the managing directors, and none of them knew he was one. The tax office has already struck half the companies off the VAT register. Classic straw men.
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B
Wypada艂oby chyba powiedzie膰 o tym w艂a艣cicielowi, zanim przeczyta na twoim portalu, 偶e wynajmuje mieszkanie ca艂emu holdingowi.
We ought to tell the landlord about it, I suppose, before he reads on your news site that he's renting his flat to an entire holding company.
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C
Dzie艅 dobry, ja tylko spisa膰 wodomierze. Sk膮d ta sterta list贸w na stole? Kt贸ra艣 z pa艅 otworzy艂a biuro?
Good morning, I'm just here to read the water meters. Where did this pile of letters on the table come from? Has one of you ladies opened an office?
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A
Dzie艅 dobry. To poczta pa艅skich pozosta艂ych lokator贸w: czternastu firm z siedzib膮 w tym mieszkaniu. Kto艣 pyta艂 pana o zgod臋?
Good morning. That's the post for your other tenants: fourteen companies registered at this flat. Did anyone ask for your consent?
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C
Czternastu? Nikt mnie o nic nie pyta艂. Chyba 偶e to poprzedni lokator, kt贸ry, zap艂aciwszy got贸wk膮 za rok z g贸ry, znikn膮艂 po miesi膮cu.
Fourteen? Nobody asked me anything. Unless it was the previous tenant, who, having paid a year up front in cash, vanished after a month.
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A
Got贸wk膮 za rok z g贸ry? To mo偶e by膰 najwa偶niejszy trop w ca艂ym materiale. Ma pan jeszcze z nim umow臋?
A year up front in cash? That could be the most important lead in the whole story. Do you still have the tenancy agreement with him?
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C
Mam, w segregatorze. Tylko czy w tek艣cie musi si臋 znale藕膰 ta got贸wka? Bo urz膮d skarbowy o tamtym najmie, jakby to powiedzie膰, nie wie.
I do, in a file. Only does the cash have to go in the article? Because the tax office, how shall I put it, doesn't know about that tenancy.
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A
Got贸wka zostaje, bo tak dzia艂aj膮 ci, kt贸rzy werbuj膮 s艂upy, a prawo prasowe wymaga ode mnie szczeg贸lnej staranno艣ci i rzetelno艣ci. Pana nazwiska nie podam.
The cash stays, because that's how the people who recruit straw men operate, and press law requires me to be especially careful and accurate. I won't give your name, though.
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B
Tylko 偶e skarb贸wka i tak znajdzie pana w ksi臋dze wieczystej. Ratunkiem jest czynny 偶al: zg艂osi si臋 pan sam i zap艂aci zaleg艂y podatek, zanim urz膮d si臋 dowie.
Only the tax office will find you in the land register anyway. Your way out is what the law calls active repentance: you come forward yourself and pay the back tax before they find out.
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C
Czynny 偶al, m贸wi pani? A czy on dzia艂a hurtowo? Bo wynajmuj臋 jeszcze dwa mieszkania na Kluczewie, te偶 za got贸wk臋.
Active repentance, you say? And does it work wholesale? Because I also rent out two flats in Kluczewo, for cash as well.
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