Day 108: The School Paper Probes the Cafeteria
At a preparatoria (high school) in Toluca, Elías (A), the student who edits the school paper, shows his teacher, Aníbal Garduño (B), an article on why the cafeteria's prices have gone up.
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 Spanish word to see what it means.
- Spend at least 30 minutes listening to native Spanish, 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
Profe, ¿tiene cinco minutos? Ya quedó la nota de la cafetería, y esta vez sí va a temblar la dirección.
Mr. Garduño, do you have five minutes? The cafeteria piece is done, and this time the principal's office really is going to shake.
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B
A ver: “La torta de tamal pasó de 30 a 45 pesos en un semestre”. Buen arranque; ahora dime de dónde sale cada dato.
Let's see: “The tamal sandwich went from 30 to 45 pesos in six months.” Good opening; now tell me where each fact comes from.
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A
Los precios, de fotos del menú. Lo demás, de fuentes, porque en la dirección, cuanto más preguntaba, menos me pelaban.
The prices, from photos of the menu. The rest, from sources, because at the principal's office, the more I asked, the less attention they paid me.
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B
Eso también es nota, si lo documentas. ¿Y quién dice que el aumento es culpa de la escuela?
That's a story too, if you document it. And who says the price hike is the school's fault?
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A
Doña Jovita, la de la cafetería, y una captura del contrato que anda en el grupo de papás: le duplicaron la renta.
Doña Jovita, who runs the cafeteria, and a screenshot of the contract that's going around the parents' group chat: they doubled her rent.
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B
¿Doña Jovita te lo dijo con todas sus letras? Porque si lo publicásemos y ella lo negase, el mentiroso serías tú, no la dirección.
Did Doña Jovita tell you that in so many words? Because if we published it and she denied it, you'd be the liar, not the principal's office.
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A
Textual, no. Me dijo que le preguntara a la dirección, y se le aguaron los ojos. Eso es un sí, ¿no?
Not word for word. She told me to ask the principal's office, and her eyes filled with tears. That's a yes, isn't it?
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B
Es un “pregúntale a la dirección”, y así se cita. Vamos a la captura: ¿ya te fijaste en el membrete?
It's an “ask the principal's office,” and that's how you quote it. Now the screenshot: have you looked at the letterhead?
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A
Membrete, sello y firma: todo en regla. Y el monto, 8,000 pesos al mes. ¿Qué más pruebas quiere, profe?
Letterhead, stamp and signature: all in order. And the amount, 8,000 pesos a month. What more proof do you want, Mr. Garduño?
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B
Que diga nuestra escuela. Hazle zoom: dice “Colegio Nevado, Metepec”. Tu contrato es de otra escuela, y de otro municipio.
For it to say our school. Zoom in: it says “Colegio Nevado, Metepec.” Your contract belongs to another school, in another town altogether.
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A
No puede ser. Toda la semana presumiendo mi primicia, y resulta que investigué la cafetería del vecino. ¿Y ahora qué, la tiro?
I don't believe it. All week showing off about my scoop, and it turns out I was investigating somebody else's cafeteria. So what now, do I toss it?
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B
Para nada: te quedan los precios y una dirección que no contesta. Si yo fuese tú, le pediría sus recibos a doña Jovita, y cuantos menos adjetivos, mejor.
Not at all: you've still got the prices and a principal's office that won't answer. If I were you, I'd ask Doña Jovita for her receipts, and the fewer adjectives, the better.
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