Day 99: Monarch Butterflies in a Morelia Taxi
In a taxi in Morelia, Mauricio (A), a biologist on his way to a conference, gets talking to the driver, Lauro (B), who grew up near the fir forests where monarch butterflies spend the winter.
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
Al centro de convenciones, por favor; presento mi investigaciĂłn en un congreso a las diez.
To the convention center, please; I'm presenting my research at a conference at ten.
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B
Llegamos sobrados, no se preocupe. ¿Y qué investiga usted, si se puede saber?
We'll get there with time to spare, don't worry. And what is it you research, if you don't mind my asking?
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A
Cuento mariposas monarca o, más bien, las hectáreas de bosque que ocupan sus colonias cada invierno.
I count monarch butterflies, or rather, the hectares of forest their colonies cover every winter.
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B
¡Mire nomás! CrecĂ en Angangueo, y de chamaco las veĂa cubrir los oyameles como si fueran hojas anaranjadas.
Well, how about that! I grew up in Angangueo, and as a boy I used to watch them cover the fir trees as if they were orange leaves.
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A
Pues cada vez son menos: en los noventa llegaron a ocupar más de dieciocho hectáreas, y hace unos inviernos, ni una.
Well, there are fewer and fewer: in the nineties they covered more than eighteen hectares, and a few winters ago, not even one.
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B
Yo tengo mi teorĂa, oiga: cuanto más se tala el bosque, más se congelan. Mi abuelo decĂa que el oyamel es su cobija.
I've got my own theory, you know: the more of the forest they cut down, the more of them freeze. My grandpa used to say the fir tree is their blanket.
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A
He de admitir que su abuelo tenĂa razĂłn en parte: el bosque las protege del frĂo.
I must admit your grandfather was partly right: the forest protects them from the cold.
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B
ÂżNomás en parte? Ustedes los cientĂficos nunca le dan a uno la razĂłn completa.
Only partly? You scientists never let anyone be completely right.
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A
Otra parte del problema está en Estados Unidos: allá escasea el algodoncillo que comen sus orugas. Aun asĂ, citarĂ© a su abuelo en mi ponencia.
Another part of the problem is in the United States: the milkweed their caterpillars eat is getting scarce there. Even so, I'll quote your grandfather in my talk.
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