Day 156: A Nine-Year-Old's Book Review
At a public library in Morelia, Alejandra (A), a young librarian, asks Amelia (B), a nine-year-old girl, what she thought of the picture book she has just finished.
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
Amelia, ya vi que terminaste el de la bruja. A ver, dame tu opinión de crítica literaria.
Amelia, I see you've finished the one about the witch. OK, give me your verdict as a literary critic.
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B
Los dibujos están padrísimos, maestra, pero el final no me gustó. Es como si a la autora se le acabaran las ganas en la última página.
The pictures are awesome, miss, but I didn't like the ending. It's as if the author ran out of steam on the last page.
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A
¿Tú crees? A mí me pareció tierno el desenlace: la bruja termina haciéndose amiga de los niños del pueblo.
Do you think so? I found the ending sweet: the witch ends up making friends with the village children.
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B
Pero se pasó el libro entero haciéndoles maldades y de repente hornea galletas como si fuera la abuelita de todos. Eso no es tierno, es tramposo.
But she spent the whole book playing nasty tricks on them, and suddenly she's baking cookies as if she were everyone's grandma. That's not sweet, it's a cheat.
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A
Algo de razón tienes. ¿Y tú cómo lo habrías terminado, si fueras la autora?
You've got a point there. And how would you have ended it, if you were the author?
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B
Que los niños la descubrieran y ella se arrepintiera de verdad, porque con unas galletas no se arregla todo.
The children would find her out and she'd be truly sorry, because a few cookies don't fix everything.
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A
Pues fíjate que la autora sacó una segunda parte, y creo que te va a sorprender. Espérame tantito: aquí está.
Well, as it happens the author brought out a sequel, and I think it'll surprise you. Hang on a sec: here it is.
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B
¿Y si es igual de tramposa? Además, mi mamá ya se habrá cansado de esperarme afuera.
And what if it's just as much of a cheat? Besides, my mom's probably tired of waiting for me outside by now.
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A
Llévatelo; es cortito, y para el sábado ya lo habrás leído. Si no te convence, tu reseña va en el periódico mural.
Take it home; it's short, and by Saturday you'll have read it. If it doesn't win you over, your review goes up on the bulletin board.
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 157: The Shrinking Bag of Chips
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