Day 8: Dad Wants to Work Until Seventy
In Rostock, Ole (A) and his older brother Lars (B) talk about their father, a captain on the Rostock-Gedser ferry, who wants to keep working three years past retirement age.
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
-
A
Papa will wirklich bis siebzig auf der Fähre bleiben. Dabei hat er sich die Rente längst verdient!
Dad really wants to stay on the ferry until he's seventy. And he earned his retirement ages ago!
-
B
Stimmt, bis dahin wird er fast fünfzig Jahre zur See gefahren sein. Ganz freiwillig ist das aber nicht.
True, by then he'll have been at sea for almost fifty years. But it isn't entirely his choice.
-
A
Wie, nicht freiwillig? Am Telefon hat er doch von nichts anderem geschwärmt.
What do you mean, not his choice? On the phone he couldn't stop raving about it.
-
B
Sein Erster Offizier hat mir erzählt, dass die Reederei seit einem Jahr vergeblich einen Nachfolger sucht.
His first officer told me the shipping company has been looking for a successor for a year without any luck.
-
A
Dann muss die Stelle eben besser bezahlt werden!
Then the job just has to be better paid!
-
B
Geld löst das Problem nicht: Junge Leute mit Kapitänspatent sind an der ganzen Küste Mangelware.
Money won't solve it: young people with a master's certificate are in short supply all along the coast.
-
A
Typisch Papa: Er wird es uns verschwiegen haben, damit wir uns keine Sorgen machen.
That's Dad all over: he'll have kept quiet about it so we wouldn't worry.
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 9: An ETF for a Newborn
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.