Day 139: A Chorus Since Puławy
In the quiet zone of an Intercity train just past Dęblin, a young woman (A) who has been trying to read turns to the woman in the next seat (B), a stranger.
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
Przepraszam, że się odzywam w strefie ciszy, ale nie ma pani może czegoś na ból głowy? Od Puław męczy mnie jeden refren.
Sorry to speak up in the quiet zone, but you wouldn't happen to have anything for a headache? There's a chorus that's been driving me mad since Puławy.
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B
Na to nie ma tabletki. W fińskiej ankiecie prawie dziewięć osób na dziesięć miewało taką natrętną melodię co tydzień.
There's no pill for that. In a Finnish survey, nearly nine people out of ten got an earworm like that every week.
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A
Siostra napisała, żebym przesłuchała całą piosenkę, bo to rzekomo pomaga. Przesłuchałam trzy razy, a zapętlony refren gra dalej.
My sister texted me to listen to the whole song, because supposedly that helps. I've listened to it three times, and the chorus is still playing on a loop.
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B
Nic dziwnego: częste słuchanie raczej go utrwala. Lepiej niech pani żuje gumę, bo badacze z Uniwersytetu w Reading wykazali, że to pomaga.
No wonder: listening to it a lot tends to make it stick. You'd do better to chew gum, because researchers at the University of Reading showed that it helps.
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A
Guma? Brzmi jak wątpliwa porada z kolorowego pisma, ale spróbuję czegokolwiek, byle pomogło.
Gum? That sounds like dubious advice from a glossy magazine, but I'll try anything, as long as it helps.
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B
To było rzetelne badanie: żucie zajmuje aparat mowy, którego używamy, kiedy w myślach coś nucimy. Proszę, miętowa.
It was a proper study: chewing occupies the speech organs we use when we hum something in our heads. Here, have a mint one.
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A
Żuję, a refren dalej słyszę, i to z prawej. Przecież to pani go nuci!
I'm chewing, but I can still hear the chorus, and it's coming from my right. It's you humming it!
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B
Ja? O rany, córka ćwiczy tę piosenkę od tygodnia i kazała mi, żebym słuchała, czy nie fałszuje.
Me? Oh gosh, my daughter's been practising that song for a week, and she told me to listen out for any wrong notes.
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A
Wobec tego to pani powinna żuć gumę do końca podróży, a cała strefa ciszy będzie pani wdzięczna.
In that case, you're the one who should be chewing gum until the end of the journey, and the whole quiet zone will thank you.
Your progress is saved in this browser only, with no sign-up. The course page and the menu show where you left off. Well done! Next up: Day 140: Syntax Under Pressure
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