Day 41 of 59

Day 41: A Doctoral Hat From Cardboard

At the university in Marburg, Luisa (A), a PhD student from Spain, asks her lecturer, Dr Monika Brückner (B), about one of the department's traditions.

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 Brückner, meine Kollegin verteidigt nächste Woche. Was hat es mit dem Doktorhut auf sich?

    Dr Brückner, my colleague is defending her thesis next week. What's the story with the doctoral hat?

  2. B

    Der muss von den Kollegen gebastelt werden, passend zur Doktorarbeit.

    It has to be made by her colleagues, to match the thesis.

  3. A

    Und wann wird er überreicht? Nachdem sie bestanden hat?

    And when is it presented? After she's passed?

  4. B

    Genau. Und bevor gefeiert wird, muss jedes Teil darauf erklärt werden.

    Exactly. And before the party starts, every item on it has to be explained.

  5. A

    Oje, wir haben bisher nur Pappe und Kleber. Reicht das denn?

    Oh dear, so far all we've got is cardboard and glue. Is that enough?

  6. B

    Meiner war auch aus Pappe. Da oben im Regal steht er heute noch.

    Mine was cardboard too. It's still up there on the shelf to this day.

Your progress is saved in this browser only, with no sign-up. The course page and the menu show where you left off. Well done! Next up: Day 42: A Room for an Apprentice 

If this free course has helped you in your German journey, please consider supporting the project. It's a one-person effort, and even small contributions help keep it running and free for everyone.