Day 91: Two Sundays for a Saturday
In the kitchen of their flat in Giżycko, sixteen-year-old Ksenia (A), who has a summer job at a kayak rental on the lake, reads her mother Anita (B) the email she has written to her boss.
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
Mamo, posłuchaj maila do szefa: „W związku z uroczystością rodzinną proszę o udzielenie mi dnia wolnego”.
Mum, listen to my email to the boss: 'In connection with a family celebration, I request to be granted a day off.'
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B
Brzmi jak podanie do skarbówki. Twój szef ma dwadzieścia trzy lata i podpisuje grafik emotką kajaka.
It sounds like a letter to the tax office. Your boss is twenty-three and signs off the rota with a kayak emoji.
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A
I co z tego? Marcelina napisała mu „sorki, nie będzie mnie w sobotę” i teraz ma same najgorsze zmiany.
So what? Marcelina wrote to him 'sorry, can't make Saturday', and now she gets nothing but the worst shifts.
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B
U nas zarówno prezes, jak i stażyści piszą krótko i mówią sobie po imieniu.
At my work, the CEO and the interns alike keep their messages short and are on first-name terms.
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A
I piszą „dajcie znać ASAP” albo „przegadajmy to na callu”. To nie luz, mamo, tylko korpomowa.
And they write 'let me know ASAP' or 'let's talk it over on a call'. That's not being relaxed, Mum, that's corporate-speak.
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B
To może coś pomiędzy? Napisz po prostu, że prosisz o wolną sobotę, bo kuzynka bierze ślub.
How about something in between? Just write that you're asking for Saturday off because your cousin's getting married.
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A
I że w ramach rekompensaty wezmę za Marcelinę dwie niedziele. To mój as w rękawie.
And that, by way of compensation, I'll cover two Sundays for Marcelina. That's my trump card.
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B
Dwie niedziele za jedną sobotę? Negocjujesz jak prezes, szkoda tylko, że piszesz jak urzędnik.
Two Sundays for one Saturday? You negotiate like a CEO; it's just a shame you write like a civil servant.
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