Day 119: Grandpa Versus the New Password
At her grandfather's house in Tepic, Nayarit, Antonia (A), aged ten, tries to get her grandfather Magdaleno (B) back into his phone after he changed the password yesterday and forgot it.
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
A ver, abuelo, préstame el celular. ¿Qué contraseña pusiste ayer? Ya te equivocaste cinco veces y la pantalla dice que esperes un minuto.
OK, Grandpa, let me have the phone. What password did you set yesterday? You've already got it wrong five times and the screen says to wait a minute.
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B
Yo no puse nada, mija. Fue este aparato el que me exigió cambiarla, muy educadito, y ahora se hace el que no me conoce.
I didn't set anything, sweetheart. It was this contraption that demanded I change it, ever so politely, and now it's pretending not to know me.
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A
Te lo pidió, pero la contraseña nueva la escogiste tú. Piensa: ¿tu cumpleaños, el de la abuela, el número de la casa?
It asked you to, but you're the one who chose the new password. Think: your birthday, Grandma's, the house number?
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B
Nada tan obvio, que los rateros de hoy estudian ingeniería. Escogí algo que solo yo sé. Otra cosa es que este traidor quiera reconocerlo.
Nothing so obvious: today's crooks have engineering degrees. I chose something only I know. Whether this traitor cares to admit it is another matter.
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A
¿Y por qué la cambiaste, si la de antes era mi fecha de nacimiento y nunca se te olvidaba?
And why did you change it, if the old one was my birthday and you never forgot it?
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B
Porque el vecino me la vio de reojo en la fila de las tortillas. Y quien espiare contraseñas ajenas, que se atenga a las consecuencias.
Because the neighbor caught a glimpse of it in the tortilla line. And whosoever shall spy on other people's passwords, let him bear the consequences.
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A
¿Cuáles consecuencias? El vecino anda de lo más tranquilo, y el que no puede mandar ni un mensaje eres tú.
What consequences? The neighbor's as relaxed as can be, and the one who can't send a single message is you.
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B
Detalles. Sea cual fuere la contraseña, tiene que ver con algo que quiero mucho. Prueba con “zarandeado”, con mayúscula.
Details. Whatever the password may be, it has to do with something I love dearly. Try “zarandeado,” like the grilled fish, with a capital Z.
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A
Tampoco, y ya van siete intentos. Cada vez el celular nos castiga más rato, y mi paciencia también tiene límite de intentos.
Wrong again, and that's seven tries. Every time, the phone punishes us for longer, and my patience has a limit on tries too.
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B
¡Espérate! Ya me acordé: la apunté precisamente para esto, en un lugar tan seguro que ni el vecino ni nadie la va a encontrar.
Hang on! Now I remember: I wrote it down for exactly this, somewhere so safe that neither the neighbor nor anybody else will find it.
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A
¡Por fin! ¿En tu cartera, en el calendario de la cocina, detrás de la foto de la abuela? Dime dónde y voy corriendo.
At last! In your wallet, on the kitchen calendar, behind Grandma's photo? Tell me where and I'll run and get it.
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B
En las notas del celular, mijita. Es ahí donde guardo todo lo importante. Y reconoce que, como escondite, no tiene falla.
In the phone's notes, sweetheart. That's where I keep everything important. And you've got to admit that, as hiding places go, it's foolproof.
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 120: A Eulogy for Our Old Bookstore
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