Day 88: The Retired Radio Reporter
In the waiting room of the bus station in Oaxaca, Evaristo (A), an older man, and Inés (B), a young journalism student, are watching a news report on the television while they wait for their buses.
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
Fíjese nomás: diez minutos de música dramática, y el reportero no dice cuántos pueblos se quedaron sin luz.
Just look at that: ten minutes of dramatic music, and the reporter still hasn't said how many towns have lost power.
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B
Pero está transmitiendo en vivo desde la costa, en plena tormenta; hace unos años eso era impensable.
But he's broadcasting live from the coast, in the middle of the storm; a few years ago that was unthinkable.
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A
¿Impensable? Yo era reportero de radio, y en el temblor del 78 mi crónica fue transmitida en vivo por teléfono.
Unthinkable? I was a radio reporter, and in the '78 earthquake my report went out live over the phone.
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B
¡No me diga! Pero en ese entonces, ¿no salía casi todo de los boletines oficiales?
You don't say! But back then, didn't nearly everything come from official press releases?
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A
Había boletines, sí, pero nada salía al aire sin dos fuentes. Hoy cualquier rumor es noticia en cinco minutos.
There were press releases, yes, but nothing went on air without two sources. These days any rumor is news within five minutes.
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B
No se ofenda, señor, pero prefiero cien voces desordenadas a una sola, muy peinadita, que diga lo que conviene.
No offense, sir, but I'd rather have a hundred messy voices than a single, very well-groomed one that says whatever is convenient.
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A
Puede que tenga razón. En el 78, yo tendría unos veinticinco años y pensaba igualito que usted.
You may be right. In '78 I must have been about twenty-five, and I thought exactly like you.
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B
Ya anunciaron mi autobús. ¿Me deja su teléfono para que sea la primera entrevista de mi tesis?
They just called my bus. Will you give me your number so you can be the first interview for my thesis?
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