Day 135 of 159

Day 135: Forty Years of Folders

In a team meeting at the public utility company in Bonn, the manager, Hartmut Wirtz (A), raises a problem with two young employees, Samira Haddad (B) and Matteo Conti (C).

How to study this lesson 3 steps
  1. Read the situation under the title. It says who is talking and how they know each other, which decides how politely they speak.
  2. 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.
  3. 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

  1. A

    Frau Hilgers geht nächsten Monat in Rente. Wir müssen dafür sorgen, dass ihr Wissen nicht verloren geht.

    Mrs Hilgers retires next month. We have to make sure her knowledge isn't lost.

  2. B

    Ihre Ordner versteht ja außer ihr keiner. Wir könnten sie filmen, während sie ihr System erklärt.

    Nobody but her understands those folders, after all. We could film her explaining her system.

  3. C

    Da bin ich skeptisch, Samira. Sie versteckt sich ja schon beim Teamfoto in der letzten Reihe.

    I'm sceptical, Samira. She even hides in the back row for the team photo.

  4. B

    Du unterschätzt sie. Es kommt nur darauf an, wie wir sie fragen.

    You're underestimating her. It all depends on how we ask her.

  5. C

    Und wenn sie ablehnt? Dann sitzen wir vor Ordnern, in denen alles steht, und finden nichts.

    And if she refuses? Then we'll be sitting in front of folders that contain everything, and we won't find a thing.

  6. A

    Ich habe sie gestern gefragt, Herr Conti. Sie meinte, die Videos schneide sie lieber selbst.

    I asked her yesterday, Mr Conti. She said she'd rather edit the videos herself.

  7. C

    Selbst schneiden? Dann nehme ich alles zurück, was ich gesagt habe.

    Edit them herself? Then I take back everything I said.

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