Day 140: Syntax Under Pressure
In an empty classroom at a secondary school in Krynica-Zdrój, an eighteen-year-old student (A) stays behind after the last lesson to tell his Polish teacher, Mr Wieczorek (B), about his interview for a summer job at a spa hotel.
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
Panie profesorze, ma pan chwilę? Byłem wczoraj na rozmowie o pracę wakacyjną w recepcji hotelu uzdrowiskowego i to była totalna masakra.
Sir, have you got a minute? Yesterday I had an interview for a summer job on the front desk of a spa hotel, and it was a total nightmare.
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B
Siadaj i opowiadaj. Co takiego cię tam spotkało?
Sit down and tell me. What happened to you there?
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A
Najpierw kazali mi streścić życiorys po angielsku, a potem posadzili mnie przy telefonie, że niby dzwoni wściekły gość.
First they had me summarise my CV in English, and then they sat me down by a phone and pretended a furious guest was calling.
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B
Klasyczny test: sprawdzają, czy kandydat jest odporny na stres i nie straci głowy. I jak, zachowałeś zimną krew?
A classic test: they're checking whether the candidate can handle stress and keep his head. So, did you keep your cool?
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A
Zachowałem, tylko ze stresu gadałem jak w rozprawce: „Ponadto pragnę zauważyć, iż pokój posprzątano zgodnie z procedurą”.
I did, except the stress made me talk as if I was writing an essay: 'Furthermore, I wish to point out that the room was cleaned in accordance with procedure.'
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B
Czyli rozwścieczyłeś go jeszcze bardziej. Niemniej jako polonista doceniam poprawną składnię.
So you made him even angrier. Nevertheless, as a Polish teacher, I do appreciate correct syntax.
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A
Właśnie nie! Kierowniczka się roześmiała i zapytała, czy przypadkiem nie uczy mnie polskiego pan Wieczorek.
Actually, no! The manager burst out laughing and asked whether Mr Wieczorek happened to teach me Polish.
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B
Pewnie to moja dawna wychowanka, każdy rocznik wkuwał bowiem u mnie te formułki. No i co, przyjęto cię?
She must be one of my old pupils, since every year group has crammed those set phrases with me. So, did they take you on?
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A
Przyjęli mnie od lipca! A kierowniczka kazała pana pozdrowić i przekazać, że po piętnastu latach wybacza panu tróję z rozprawki.
They've taken me on from July! And the manager sends her regards and says to tell you that after fifteen years she forgives you for that C on her essay.
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