Day 98: Three Captains and a Summary
At the top of the Stilo lighthouse near Łeba, where he worked for thirty years, retired keeper Bronisław (B) is asked by his twelve-year-old granddaughter Marysia (A) how he got the job.
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
Dziadku, czytamy w szkole „Latarnika”. Ciebie też od razu przyjęli do pracy w latarni, jak Skawińskiego?
Grandad, we're reading The Lighthouse Keeper at school. Did they give you the job at the lighthouse straight away too, like Skawiński?
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B
Skąd! Trzech kapitanów, przed którymi stanąłem w Urzędzie Morskim, maglowało mnie przez trzy godziny.
Far from it! The three captains I went before at the Maritime Office grilled me for three hours.
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A
Trzy godziny? A o co pytali, czy umiesz pływać?
Three hours? What did they ask you, whether you could swim?
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B
O wszystko, od soczewek w lampie po sygnały dla statków. Wypytywali mnie tak długo, aż zaschło mi w gardle.
About everything, from the lenses in the lamp to the signals for ships. They kept questioning me until my throat went dry.
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A
A ty się nie bałeś? Ja na klasówce zawsze mam spocone ręce.
Weren't you scared? My hands always get sweaty in tests.
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B
Bałem się jak nigdy w życiu. Na koniec najstarszy kapitan spojrzał na mnie, jak gdyby przejrzał mnie na wylot, i zapytał, czy czytałem „Latarnika”.
I've never been so scared in my life. At the end the oldest captain looked at me as if he could see right through me, and asked if I'd read The Lighthouse Keeper.
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A
I co mu powiedziałeś? Że czytałeś?
And what did you tell him? That you had?
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B
Odpowiedziałem, iż czytałem i właśnie dlatego na dyżurze nie tknę żadnej książki. Tak naprawdę znałem wtedy tylko streszczenie.
I replied that I had, and that was exactly why I'd never touch a book on duty. Truth be told, back then I'd only read the summary.
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A
Dziadku, ja też przeczytałam tylko streszczenie! Ale nie mów nic pani od polskiego.
Grandad, I've only read the summary too! But don't say anything to my Polish teacher.
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