Day 83: Informer or Whistleblower?
Over a game of chess in his flat in Starachowice, Kazimierz (A), who spent his working life at the town's Star lorry factory, notices that his grandson Wiktor (B), who works at a meat plant, can't concentrate.
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
Oddajesz mi już drugą wieżę, jak gdyby cię tu w ogóle nie było. Co cię gryzie?
That's the second rook you've handed me, as if you weren't even here. What's eating you?
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B
W zakładzie przeklejają etykiety na przeterminowanym mięsie. Kierownik kazał mi przymknąć oko na to oszustwo.
At the plant they're relabelling out-of-date meat. My manager told me to turn a blind eye to the scam.
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A
Za moich czasów kto chodził na skargę do władzy, temu nikt ręki nie podawał.
In my day, if someone went running to the authorities, nobody would shake his hand.
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B
Dziś ktoś taki to sygnalista i chroni go specjalna ustawa. Mogę to zgłosić, nie ryzykując posady.
These days someone like that is a whistleblower, and there's a special law protecting them. I can report it without risking my job.
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A
Tamci donosili na ludzi, żeby im zaszkodzić. A jeśli ktokolwiek się tym mięsem zatruje, kto będzie winny?
Those people informed on others to do them harm. But if anyone gets food poisoning from that meat, who'll be to blame?
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B
Kierownik zapewnia, iż mięso jest bezpieczne, o ile się je porządnie usmaży.
My manager assures us that the meat is safe as long as it's properly fried.
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A
Przez trzydzieści lat w Starze odpowiadałem za hamulce ciężarówek. Nie podpisałem ani jednego protokołu, dopóki wszystkiego osobiście nie sprawdziłem.
For thirty years at Star I was responsible for the brakes on the lorries. I never signed a single report until I'd checked everything myself.
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B
Dobrze, zgłoszę. A teraz, dziadku, szach i mat: nie tylko ja byłem dziś myślami gdzie indziej.
All right, I'll report it. And now, Grandad, checkmate: I wasn't the only one whose mind was elsewhere today.
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