Day 75: Watching Her Debate Replay
In the control room of a local TV station in Torreón, after a youth debate on banning phones in schools, Natalia (A), a sixteen-year-old debater, watches the replay with Leonel (B), the producer.
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
Ya sé para qué me trajo: para enseñarme el minuto en que el público me dejó de querer.
I know why you've brought me in here: to show me the minute the audience stopped loving me.
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B
No es regaño: vas a aprender a leer una toma. Terminado el primer argumento, el estudio entero estaba contigo.
It's not a scolding: you're going to learn to read a shot. Once the first argument was done, the whole studio was with you.
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A
Obvio: dije que prohibir el celular en la escuela no es castigo sino rescate, y eso lo firma cualquier papá.
Obviously: I said banning phones at school isn't a punishment but a rescue, and any dad would sign on to that.
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B
Llegando al minuto dos, señalas las gradas y dices: “La mitad de ustedes me está grabando en vez de escucharme”.
Coming up to minute two, you point at the stands and say: “Half of you are filming me instead of listening to me.”
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A
¿Y mentí? Hágale zoom a la toma abierta: la señora de la segunda fila me estaba transmitiendo en vivo.
And was I lying? Zoom in on the wide shot: the lady in the second row was live-streaming me.
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B
No mentiste, pero nadie le aplaude a quien lo exhibe. Y ahora el otro equipo anda diciendo que te noqueó.
You weren't lying, but nobody applauds someone who shows them up. And now the other team is going around saying they knocked you out.
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A
Que digan lo que quieran. Vine a decir la verdad, no a caer bien: para aplausos, mejor un concurso de baile.
Let them say what they like. I came to tell the truth, not to be liked: for applause, a dance contest would be better.
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B
Mira, sin público la verdad es un monólogo. Terminada la grabación, votó el público, y la verdad no tiene credencial.
Look, without an audience the truth is a monologue. Once the recording was over, the audience voted, and the truth doesn't have a voter ID.
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A
Entonces enséñeme a decirla sin que me abucheen. Pero retractarme, jamás: en mi salón hay quien no aguanta un párrafo sin checar el celular.
Then teach me to say it without getting booed. But take it back? Never: in my class some people can't get through a paragraph without checking their phone.
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B
Nadie te pide eso. Dilo en primera persona: “Yo también ando checando el celular”, y el estudio es tuyo. Permíteme, que me están marcando.
Nobody's asking you to. Say it in the first person: “I'm always checking my phone too,” and the studio's yours. Excuse me, someone's calling me.
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A
Conteste, conteste. En esta plática ya checó el celular cuatro veces, y mire qué educada: esperé hasta ahorita para exhibirlo.
Go on, answer it. In this chat you've already checked your phone four times, and see how polite I am: I waited till now to show you up.
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 76: The Last Tamal Clause
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