Day 1 of 20

Day 1: The Freight Yard Plan

On her balcony in Leipzig-Plagwitz, opposite an old freight yard, Theresa (B) listens as her younger sister Lina (A), a planning student, reads out the city council's new plan for the site.

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

    Hör mal: „Der vom Stadtrat beschlossene Bebauungsplan sieht auf dem Gelände des alten Güterbahnhofs einen achtstöckigen Wohnblock vor.“

    Listen to this: 'The development plan approved by the city council provides for an eight-storey block of flats on the site of the old freight yard.'

  2. B

    Na wunderbar. Dann kann ich meine Abendsonne wohl abschreiben, und die Aussicht gleich mit.

    Oh, marvellous. Then I suppose I can write off my evening sun, and the view along with it.

  3. A

    Du tust ja so, als wäre der Klotz schon fertig. Gebaut wird frühestens in drei Jahren.

    You're acting as if the monster were already built. Building won't start for three years at the earliest.

  4. B

    Drei Jahre Galgenfrist, wie tröstlich. Danach schaue ich eben in fremde Wohnzimmer statt in den Sonnenuntergang.

    A three-year stay of execution, how comforting. After that I'll just be looking into strangers' living rooms instead of at the sunset.

  5. A

    Moment, hier: „Die in der Mitte des Geländes vorgesehene Grünfläche wird als öffentlicher Park angelegt.“

    Hang on, here: 'The green space planned for the middle of the site will be laid out as a public park.'

  6. B

    Zeig mal! Das ist ja der Park, für den ich vor vier Jahren Unterschriften gesammelt habe.

    Let me see! That's the park I collected signatures for four years ago.

  7. A

    Genau der. Dann bedank dich lieber beim Stadtrat, statt über ihn herzuziehen.

    The very same. So you'd better thank the council instead of running it down.

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 2: Polishing the Stones Outside 

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.