Day 104: The Voting Machine Hypothesis
During office hours at the university, political science students Konstanty (A) and Anastazja (B) tell Professor Ludmiła Kmiecik (C) what they found in a year of recordings of the town council in Przeworsk.
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
Pani profesor, prosiła pani, żebyśmy obejrzeli nagrania sesji rady miasta w Przeworsku. Obejrzeliśmy cały rok obrad.
Professor, you asked us to watch the recordings of the town council sessions in Przeworsk. We've watched a whole year's worth.
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B
Ze stu dwunastu uchwał sto osiem przeszło jednogłośnie. To nie rada, tylko maszynka do głosowania.
Of a hundred and twelve resolutions, a hundred and eight passed unanimously. That's not a council, it's a voting machine.
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A
Po odczytaniu opinii komisji nikt nawet nie zabiera głosu. Zero kontrowersji, od razu głosują.
Once the committee's opinion has been read out, nobody even asks to speak. No controversy at all, they just vote straight away.
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C
Trafna obserwacja, tylko wniosek pochopny. Stanowiska uciera się wcześniej, na komisjach, w związku z czym na sesji zostaje samo głosowanie.
A sharp observation, but a hasty conclusion. Positions are hammered out earlier, in committee, which is why all that's left for the session is the vote.
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B
Czyli ta jednomyślność jest tylko pozorna, a wszystko załatwia się za zamkniętymi drzwiami?
So the unanimity is just for show, and everything's really settled behind closed doors?
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C
Drzwi są otwarte: posiedzenia komisji są jawne. Radzę, żeby państwo pojechali na najbliższe posiedzenie komisji budżetowej.
The doors are open: committee meetings are public. I'd advise you both to go to the next meeting of the budget committee.
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A
Skąd pani profesor tak dobrze zna tę radę? Chyba nie wybrała nam pani Przeworska przypadkiem.
How do you know that council so well? I don't suppose you picked Przeworsk for us by chance.
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C
Zasiadałam w niej przez jedną kadencję. I ja naciskałam „za” jak wszyscy, tyle że zwykle po trzech godzinach burzliwej dyskusji na komisji.
I sat on it for one term. I pressed 'yes' like everyone else too, only usually after three hours of heated debate in committee.
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B
Konstanty, chyba musimy zmienić tytuł pracy. „Maszynka do głosowania” brzmi teraz trochę niezręcznie.
Konstanty, I think we need to change the title of our paper. 'A Voting Machine' sounds a bit awkward now.
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