Day 87: Why the Staff Chant Every Morning
At a shopping center in Tlalnepantla, just outside Mexico City, Lía (A), a teenage girl waiting for a cell phone store to open, talks to Uriel (B), a young salesman who works there.
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
Disculpe, joven, ¿qué gritaban allá adentro hace rato? Parecía porra de futbol, todos con el puño arriba.
Excuse me, what were you all shouting in there a moment ago? It looked like a soccer chant, everyone with their fist in the air.
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B
Es el lema de la empresa, señorita: todas las sucursales lo gritan antes de abrir, por reglamento.
It's the company slogan, miss: every branch shouts it before opening, it's in the rules.
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A
¿Y es obligatorio? Yo me moriría de la pena si me pusieran a gritar así.
And is it mandatory? I'd die of embarrassment if they made me shout like that.
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B
El primer día, el gerente me pidió que lo gritara solo frente a todos, para medir mi “actitud”.
On my first day, the manager asked me to shout it on my own in front of everyone, to measure my “attitude.”
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A
¡Qué horror! ¿Y lo gritó, o se animó a decirle que eso no venía en su contrato?
How awful! And did you shout it, or did you dare tell him that wasn't in your contract?
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B
Lo grité, qué remedio: aquí vivimos de la comisión, y el gerente reparte los turnos.
I shouted it, what choice did I have: we live on commission here, and the manager hands out the shifts.
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A
¿Y si usted fuera el gerente, qué cambiaría? Porque dudo que un grito motive a alguien.
And if you were the manager, what would you change? Because I doubt shouting motivates anyone.
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B
Si de mí dependiera, quitaría las metas imposibles, no el lema: esas sí nos tienen gritando por dentro.
If it were up to me, I'd get rid of the impossible targets, not the slogan: those are what really leave us screaming inside.
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A
Pues ya son las once. Vengo por un celular de prepago, y quiero que la comisión sea suya.
Well, it's eleven o'clock. I've come for a prepaid phone, and I want you to get the commission.
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