Day 116: A Ten-Year-Old Asks the Mayor
After school in Potsdam, Ella (A), ten, who writes for the school paper, asks her teacher Antje Brandt (B), who runs the paper club, how to get an interview with the mayor.
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
Frau Brandt, wie bekommt man eigentlich ein Interview mit der Oberbürgermeisterin? Ich will wissen, warum die Tram morgens immer so voll ist.
Mrs Brandt, how do you actually get an interview with the mayor? I want to know why the tram's always so full in the mornings.
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B
Tolles Thema! Einen Termin bekommst du am ehesten, indem du der Pressestelle im Rathaus schreibst, wer du bist und worum es geht.
Great topic! You're most likely to get an appointment by writing to the press office at the town hall and saying who you are and what it's about.
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A
Und wenn sie mir eine Frage stellt, auf die ich keine Antwort weiß? Ich bin doch erst zehn.
And what if she asks me a question I don't know the answer to? I'm only ten.
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B
Du stellst die Fragen, nicht sie. Gut vorbereitet, brauchst du vor niemandem Angst zu haben.
You're the one asking the questions, not her. Well prepared, you needn't be scared of anyone.
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A
Wie viele Fragen darf ich denn stellen? Ich habe schon zwölf aufgeschrieben.
How many questions am I allowed to ask, then? I've already written down twelve.
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B
Nimm lieber fünf, Politiker reden gern lange. Und rechne mit ein paar Wochen, bis sich überhaupt jemand meldet.
Better go with five, politicians like to talk for ages. And expect it to take a few weeks before anyone even gets back to you.
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A
Ähm, der Pressestelle habe ich schon vor drei Wochen geschrieben. Am Donnerstag habe ich zwanzig Minuten bei ihr.
Um, I wrote to the press office three weeks ago. On Thursday I've got twenty minutes with her.
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B
Du hast längst einen Termin und fragst mich, wie man einen bekommt? Gut, ich begleite dich, aber fragen musst du selbst.
You've already got an appointment and you're asking me how to get one? Fine, I'll come with you, but you'll have to ask the questions yourself.
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