Day 19 of 20

Day 19: Swapping Stories After Future Day

In the school playground in Braunschweig, classmates Paul (A) and Greta (B) read each other their reports on Zukunftstag, 'Future Day', when pupils spend a day at a workplace.

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: „Meine Tante erklärte, in ihrer Firma duze man sich vom Azubi bis zur Chefin.“

    Listen: 'My aunt explained that at her company everyone is on first-name terms, from the apprentices to the boss.'

  2. B

    Meiner: „Herr Albrecht betonte, in einer Kanzlei sei das Siezen eine Frage des Respekts.“

    Mine: 'Mr Albrecht stressed that in a law firm, using the formal Sie is a matter of respect.'

  3. A

    Das Coolste, was ich gesehen habe, war der Tischkicker. Anzüge trägt da keiner.

    The coolest thing I saw was the table football. Nobody there wears a suit.

  4. B

    Bei uns hatten alle Anzüge an, und alles, was ich anfassen durfte, war der Kopierer.

    Where I was, everyone wore suits, and the only thing I was allowed to touch was the photocopier.

  5. A

    Oje. Und was schreibst du dann, außer dass der Kopierer funktioniert?

    Oh dear. So what are you writing, apart from the fact that the photocopier works?

  6. B

    Warte: „Nachmittags durfte ich mit ins Amtsgericht. Herr Albrecht meinte, ich hätte bessere Fragen gestellt als sein Referendar.“

    Wait: 'In the afternoon I was allowed to go along to the local court. Mr Albrecht said I'd asked better questions than his trainee lawyer.'

  7. A

    Okay, das schlägt jeden Tischkicker. Nächstes Jahr will ich auch in eine Kanzlei, notfalls im Anzug.

    OK, that beats any table football. Next year I want to go to a law firm too, in a suit if I have to.

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