Day 66: My Brother Writes the Candidate's Lines
In Wiesbaden, the morning after a televised debate between the candidates for mayor, Jannik (A), who works on one candidate's campaign, talks about the evening with his older brother Lorenz (B).
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
Na, hast du die Debatte gestern gesehen? „Wiesbaden braucht keinen Kurschatten, sondern einen Kurswechsel“: Der Satz ist von mir!
So, did you see the debate last night? 'Wiesbaden doesn't need a Kurschatten, a spa fling, it needs a Kurswechsel, a change of course': that line was mine!
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B
Glückwunsch, das war seine einzige Minute ohne Ausweichmanöver. Hinsichtlich der Parkgebühren hat er dreimal geantwortet und nichts gesagt.
Congratulations, that was the only minute he didn't spend dodging. On parking charges he answered three times and said nothing.
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A
Er hat gesagt, angesichts der Haushaltslage verspreche er nichts, was er nicht halten könne. Das nennt man Verantwortung.
He said that given the state of the city's finances, he wouldn't promise anything he couldn't deliver. That's called responsibility.
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B
Das nennt man Schwafeln. Auf die Frage, ob das Anwohnerparken teurer wird, kam ein Exkurs über die längst beerdigte Citybahn.
That's called waffling. Asked whether residents' parking would cost more, he went off on a tangent about the Citybahn, the tram project the voters killed off years ago.
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A
Du verstehst einfach nicht, wozu eine Debatte da ist: für Clips, nicht für Antworten. Unser Clip hat seit heute früh vierzigtausend Aufrufe.
You just don't get what a debate is for: clips, not answers. Our clip has had forty thousand views since this morning.
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B
Vierzigtausend Aufrufe für einen Kalauer, dessen er sich jetzt rühmt, als wär's seiner. Seine Antwort zum Anwohnerparken entbehrte jeder Substanz.
Forty thousand views for a groan-worthy pun he's now boasting about as if it were his. His answer on residents' parking was devoid of any substance.
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A
Einer klaren Antwort bedarf es erst nach der Wahl. Vorher gewinnt man Mehrheiten mit Gefühl, nicht mit Parkgebühren.
Clear answers aren't needed until after the election. Before that, you win majorities with feelings, not with parking charges.
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B
Mit Gefühl, aha. Dann sag mir doch mal ganz ohne Gefühl: Was hält dein Kandidat von höheren Parkgebühren?
With feelings, I see. Then tell me, without any feelings at all: what does your candidate think of higher parking charges?
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A
Das bedarf, ähm, noch der internen Abstimmung. Die Umfrage dazu kommt am Freitag, und bis dahin ist er jedenfalls für einen Kurswechsel.
That, er, still needs to be agreed internally. The poll on it comes out on Friday, and until then he's for a change of course, at any rate.
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B
Verstehe, eine Debatte ist also für Clips da, und was dein Kandidat denkt, verrät ihm am Freitag eine Umfrage. Na dann, Mast- und Schotbruch beim Kurswechsel!
I see, so a debate is for clips, and on Friday a poll will tell your candidate what he thinks. Well then, fair winds for that change of course!
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