Day 119: Militia, Not Police
Over tea in her flat in Chojnice, Łucja (A) brings up her grandson's first novel, a crime story set in 1978, with her friend of fifty years, Bogumiła (B), a retired Polish teacher who reviews books on the website Lubimyczytać.
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
Bogusiu, mój wnuk od tygodnia chodzi struty przez recenzję podpisaną „Polonistka z Chojnic”. Trzy gwiazdki na dziesięć!
Bogusia, my grandson's been moping around for a week over a review signed 'Polish Teacher from Chojnice'. Three stars out of ten!
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B
Nie wypieram się. Czterdzieści lat poprawiałam wypracowania, więc i na emeryturze czytam z czerwonym długopisem.
I don't deny it. I spent forty years marking essays, so even in retirement I read with a red pen.
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A
To jego debiut! Książka została wydana za jego oszczędności, a ty go publicznie zjechałaś.
It's his first book! It was published with his own savings, and you slated him in public.
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B
Zjechałam, Łucjo? Pochwaliłam język, ale akcja toczy się w siedemdziesiątym ósmym, a śledztwo prowadzi policja, nie milicja.
Slated him, Łucja? I praised the writing, but the story is set in 1978, and the investigation is run by the police, not the militia.
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A
Też mi zbrodnia. Czepiasz się drobiazgów, a czytelnicy, z którymi rozmawiał w bibliotece, niczego nie zauważyli.
Some crime. You're nitpicking, and the readers he talked to at the library didn't notice a thing.
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B
Bo przyszła sama młodzież. Bohater dzwoni z komórki, a myśmy na telefon czekały po dziesięć lat!
Because only young people came. His hero phones from a mobile, and we used to wait ten years for a telephone!
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A
Sama to zauważyłam, ale nie miałam serca mu powiedzieć. Musiałaś to ogłaszać całemu internetowi?
I noticed it myself, but I didn't have the heart to tell him. Did you have to announce it to the whole internet?
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B
Recenzja, która przemilcza błędy, traci wiarygodność. Zresztą napisałam, że drugi tom kupię w ciemno.
A review that keeps quiet about mistakes loses its credibility. Besides, I wrote that I'd buy the second volume sight unseen.
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A
To powiedz mu to w niedzielę przy rosole. Tylko weź czerwony długopis, bo rękopis drugiego tomu już leży na biurku.
Then tell him that over soup on Sunday. Only bring your red pen, because the manuscript of the second volume is already on his desk.
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