Day 77: A Long Way to Church
At a used-car lot in Słubice, just across the Oder from Germany, Seweryn (A), a young reporter posing as a buyer, asks the owner, Mr Bogdan (B), about a silver Volkswagen Passat.
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
Dzień dobry, pytam o tego srebrnego passata. Sto dwadzieścia tysięcy przebiegu, to prawda?
Good morning, I'm here about the silver Passat. A hundred and twenty thousand kilometres on the clock: is that true?
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B
Igła, proszę pana. Z Bawarii, jeden właściciel, emerytowany nauczyciel, jeździł tylko do kościoła. Niemiec płakał, jak sprzedawał.
Mint condition, sir. From Bavaria, one owner, a retired teacher who only ever drove it to church. The German wept when he sold it.
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A
Dziwne, bo w historii serwisowej już w dziewiętnastym roku miał trzysta tysięcy. Daleko miał do tego kościoła.
Odd, because the service history shows three hundred thousand as far back as 2019. He must have had a long way to church.
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B
Pan chyba nie przyszedł tu po samochód. I proszę nie celować we mnie guzikiem: kamerkę widać z końca placu.
I don't think you came here for a car. And please stop aiming that button at me: you can see the camera from the other end of the lot.
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A
Dobrze, gram w otwarte karty. Prowadzę dziennikarskie śledztwo w sprawie kręcenia liczników w przygranicznych komisach, w związku z czym mam parę pytań.
All right, I'll put my cards on the table. I'm running a journalistic investigation into odometer tampering at used-car lots along the border, and in that connection I have a few questions.
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B
Proszę bardzo, panie redaktorze, tylko jedno zastrzeżenie: ten passat nie jest mój. Stoi w komisie, a przebieg podał właściciel.
Fire away, Mr Reporter, just one caveat: that Passat isn't mine. It's here on consignment, and the mileage came from the owner.
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A
W takim razie poproszę o dane właściciela. Po podpisaniu umowy komisu musi je pan mieć.
In that case, I'd like the owner's details. Once a consignment agreement is signed, you have to have them.
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B
Mam, tylko nie wiem, czy się pan ucieszy. To pana naczelny: wstawił go tu w marcu i też mówił, że Niemiec płakał.
I have, only I'm not sure you'll be pleased. It's your editor-in-chief: he put it in for sale here back in March, and he said the German wept too.
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A
Naczelny? Ten od cotygodniowych felietonów o uczciwości w biznesie? Gdybym był wiedział, byłbym zaczął od komisu obok.
My editor? The one with the weekly column on honesty in business? Had I known, I'd have started with the lot next door.
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B
A po co? Materiał ma pan gotowy, a tytuł dorzucę gratis: „Niemiec płakał, jak sprzedawał, a naczelny zapłacze, jak przeczyta”.
Whatever for? Your story's ready, and I'll throw in the headline for free: 'The German wept when he sold it, and the editor will weep when he reads it.'
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A
Albo ja zapłaczę, jak mnie zwolni. Nagrajmy to jeszcze raz, tylko proszę mówić prosto do guzika.
Or I'll weep when he fires me. Let's record it again, only please speak straight into the button.
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