Day 58: The Chair's Unwritten Rules
In her office at the University of Tübingen, Professor Christiane Haug (B) talks to Julius Wenzel (A), a student about to start as a research assistant in her group.
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 Haug, bevor ich als Hilfskraft anfange: Gibt es am Lehrstuhl feste Arbeitszeiten, an die ich mich halten muss?
Professor Haug, before I start as your assistant: are there fixed working hours in the group that I have to stick to?
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B
Nein, kommen Sie, wann Sie wollen, sei es um sieben oder um elf. Mich interessiert nur, was dabei herauskommt.
No, come whenever you like, be it at seven or at eleven. All I care about is the results.
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A
Das überrascht mich. In meinem letzten Nebenjob wurde jede Minute Verspätung vom Lohn abgezogen.
That surprises me. In my last part-time job, every minute I was late was docked from my pay.
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B
Ihre zehn Wochenstunden teilen Sie sich flexibel ein, da bin ich nicht kleinlich. Hauptsache, sie stehen auf dem Stundenzettel.
You can divide up your ten hours a week however you like, I'm not fussy about that. As long as they're on your timesheet.
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A
Das klingt fast zu schön, um wahr zu sein. Wo ist der Haken?
That sounds almost too good to be true. What's the catch?
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B
Die Teambesprechung montags um neun ist unantastbar. Da fehlt niemand, es sei denn, er liegt im Krankenhaus.
The team meeting at nine on Mondays is sacred. Nobody misses it, unless they're in hospital.
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A
Und wenn Sie selbst mal im Krankenhaus liegen, fällt die Besprechung dann aus?
And if you're ever in hospital yourself, is the meeting cancelled then?
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B
Keineswegs. Als ich letztes Jahr mit einer Blinddarmentzündung im Klinikum lag, habe ich mich vom Krankenbett aus zugeschaltet.
Not at all. When I was in hospital with appendicitis last year, I joined in from my hospital bed.
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