Day 23: Grandma Plays the Talk Show Host
Over Sunday coffee in Erfurt, Jana (A), a student who has been invited onto a regional talk show about student housing, rehearses with her grandmother Brigitte (B), a former city councillor, who is playing the presenter.
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 German word to see what it means.
- Spend at least 30 minutes listening to native German, 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
Oma, du sollst die Moderatorin spielen, nicht die Staatsanwältin! Ich bin mit meinem ersten Satz zur Wohnungsnot nicht mal fertig geworden.
Grandma, you're supposed to be playing the presenter, not the public prosecutor! I didn't even get to finish my first sentence on the housing shortage.
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B
Die echten Moderatoren sind schlimmer, glaub mir. Also: Die von Ihnen geforderten Wohnheimplätze, wer soll die bezahlen?
The real presenters are worse, believe me. So: the places in halls of residence you're calling for, who's supposed to pay for them?
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A
Das Land, denn das Studierendenwerk wartet seit Jahren auf Geld, und deshalb schlafen viele Erstsemester ...
The state, because the student services have been waiting for money for years, and that's why lots of first-years are sleeping ...
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B
Deshalb, deshalb! Warum ziehen die jungen Leute nicht einfach in die am Stadtrand leer stehenden Plattenbauwohnungen?
That's why, that's why! Why don't the young people simply move into the empty prefab flats on the edge of town?
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A
Weil die ... Oma, schon wieder! Wie soll ich irgendwas erklären, wenn du mich ständig unterbrichst?
Because they ... Grandma, you've done it again! How am I supposed to explain anything if you keep interrupting me?
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B
Genau das ist die Übung, mein Schatz. Es stünde dir gut an, ruhig zu bleiben und deinen Satz einfach zu Ende zu sprechen.
That's exactly the exercise, sweetheart. It would become you to stay calm and simply finish your sentence.
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A
Also gut, von vorn: Der Stadtrand hilft niemandem, weil nachts kaum eine Straßenbahn dorthin fährt und die Leute trotzdem ...
All right, from the top: the edge of town doesn't help anyone, because hardly any trams go out there at night, and people still ...
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B
Ach, die Straßenbahn! Die jungen Leute können doch Rad fahren, das hätte uns damals auch nicht geschadet ...
Oh, the tram! Young people can ride a bike, can't they? It never did us any harm back then ...
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A
... um acht im Hörsaal sitzen müssen, bei jedem Wetter. Das war mein Satz, Frau Moderatorin, und jetzt dürfen Sie.
... have to be in the lecture hall at eight, whatever the weather. That was my sentence, madam presenter, and now it's your turn.
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B
Bravo, genau so! Hätte ich im Stadtrat solche Rednerinnen gehabt, stünde in Erfurt heute ein Wohnheim mehr.
Bravo, just like that! If I'd had speakers like you on the city council, there'd be one more hall of residence standing in Erfurt today.
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