Day 93: Declined to Comment
In her grandparents' flat in I艂awa, J贸zefina (A), nine, asks her grandfather Anzelm (B), a retired investigative reporter, to help her solve a mystery.
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
Dziadku, by艂e艣 dziennikarzem 艣ledczym, prawda? Z bombonierki od cioci ci膮gle znikaj膮 czekoladki i musz臋 znale藕膰 z艂odzieja.
Grandpa, you were an investigative journalist, weren't you? Chocolates keep disappearing from the box Auntie gave us, and I have to find the thief.
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B
By艂em, trzydzie艣ci lat. Zatem zasada pierwsza: najpierw fakty, potem wnioski. Ile czekoladek by艂o, a ile zosta艂o?
I was, for thirty years. So, rule one: facts first, conclusions later. How many chocolates were there, and how many are left?
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A
Na pude艂ku jest napisane, 偶e dwadzie艣cia cztery. W 艣rod臋 by艂o pi臋tna艣cie, a dzi艣 jedena艣cie. Zapisa艂am w zeszycie!
It says twenty-four on the box. On Wednesday there were fifteen, and today there are eleven. I wrote it in my notebook!
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B
Brawo, masz dokumentacj臋. Zasada druga: zar贸wno fakt, jak i zarzut potwierdzamy w dw贸ch niezale偶nych 藕r贸d艂ach. Jedno to jeszcze plotka.
Well done, you've got documentation. Rule two: both facts and accusations get confirmed by two independent sources. One is still just gossip.
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A
Mam dwa! Babcia s艂ysza艂a w nocy kroki w kuchni, a na kanapie le偶a艂o z艂otko. Ale babci nie mog臋 wyda膰, to tajna informatorka.
I've got two! Grandma heard footsteps in the kitchen at night, and there was a gold wrapper on the sofa. But I can't give Grandma away, she's my secret informant.
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B
W艂a艣nie j膮 wyda艂a艣, ale tajemnica dziennikarska przychodzi z wiekiem. Zasada trzecia: przed opublikowaniem prosimy podejrzanego o komentarz.
You've just given her away, but protecting your sources comes with age. Rule three: before publishing, we ask the suspect for comment.
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A
Dobrze. Dziadku, czy chcesz skomentowa膰, dlaczego w 艣rod臋 w nocy chodzi艂e艣 do kuchni w samych skarpetkach?
OK. Grandpa, would you like to comment on why you went to the kitchen in your socks on Wednesday night?
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B
Wypraszam sobie. Po obejrzeniu wiadomo艣ci poszed艂em po wod臋, po czym natychmiast wr贸ci艂em do 艂贸偶ka. Nie mam nic do dodania.
I beg your pardon. After watching the news I went to get some water, after which I went straight back to bed. I have nothing to add.
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A
Ale babcia m贸wi, 偶e ty nigdy nie pijesz wody. I masz czekolad臋 na swetrze, o, tutaj, na 艂okciu.
But Grandma says you never drink water. And you've got chocolate on your jumper, look, right here on the elbow.
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B
Wobec nowych dowod贸w odmawiam komentarza. Mimo to mam dla redakcji propozycj臋: trzy czekoladki dla ciebie, a babcia o niczym nie wie.
In view of the new evidence, I decline to comment. That said, I have an offer for the newsroom: three chocolates for you, and Grandma never finds out.
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A
Dziadku, dziennikarzy si臋 nie przekupuje, sam m贸wi艂e艣! Zreszt膮 za p贸藕no: to babcia kaza艂a mi szuka膰 z艂odzieja.
Grandpa, you can't bribe a journalist, you said so yourself! Anyway, it's too late: it was Grandma who told me to find the thief.
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