Translating my Stories

Traffic

Paul looks at his watch. He is worried. He has fifteen minutes to get to his interview and he is stuck in a traffic jam. He looks around. Everyone is honking their horns and trying to move into the lane that seems to be moving faster. They have barely moved in the last thirty minutes. Paul looks out of the window at the people walking past him on the sidewalk. An old woman walking with a cane passed him fifteen minutes ago. He cannot be late for this interview. He grabs his suitcase, opens the door and gets out of the car. He shuts the door and begins to walk quickly down the street. All the cars behind him begin to honk and the drivers start yelling at him. One yells: “HEY! WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU’RE GOING? YOU CAN’T JUST LEAVE YOUR CAR!! HEY!!!! COME BACK!!

Below is a list of practice questions about the previous reading. Make sure you repeat them out loud to improve your spoken spanish.

Q1: Why is Paul worried?
A1:

Q2: Why does he think he will be late?
A2: 

Q3: What does he decide to do in order to get to his interview on time?
A3:

Q4: What do the drivers behind him think of that?
A4: 

Here are some more useful sentences that you may use in conversation:

1. This is rush hour. As you can see there is a lot of traffic during this time.
   
2. Before you get on the train, you have to buy a ticket and stamp it over there.
   
3. There are no buses or trains leaving at this time.
   
4. Stop the train! There is a horse on the tracks!
   
5. Sir, you have to catch the train on the other platform.
   
6. The pollution from these trucks is unbearable.
   
7. I took my car to the mechanic.
   
8. Every time I blow the horn, the radio changes stations.
   
9. I missed the last bus. Can you give me a ride to the train station?
   
10. I had a car accident. That tree appeared out of nowhere.
    
11. The breaks don’t work! How is that a minor issue?
    
12. The gear is stuck. I had to drive 12 kilometers to get here, in reverse!
    
13. My car broke down on the highway.
    
14. I didn’t have enough money to fill gas.
    
15. The parking lot was full so we parked on the street.
    
16. The battery died because I left the headlights on.
    
17. The traffic lights were damaged by the storm.
    
18. You are not allowed to make a U turn.
    
19. I locked my keys in the car.
    
20. The police gave him a ticket for speeding. 

Otra historia bonita

Work

Carolina writes an email to her friend about work:

"Hi Cristina, I am sorry I haven’t called you for so long. How are you? How is your new apartment? I have been very busy at work. I arrive at the office at 7 am and leave at around 6:30 pm. I just get half an hour for lunch and a five-minute break in the morning and in the afternoon. I am very tired when I get home so I just eat, watch some television and go to bed. In the office, I am on the phone all day, listening to customer complaints and entering them into our computer system. At the end of the day I have to write a summary of all the calls I received during the day and give my boss a status on the complaints that are not yet resolved. I do not know how much longer I can do this. I need a vacation, or even better, I need another job! I’ll call you this weekend.

Carolina”

Below is a list of practice questions about the previous reading. Make sure you repeat them out loud to improve your spoken spanish.

Q1: At what time does Carolina usually arrive at the office?
A1:

Q2: At what time does she leave?
A2:

Q3: What does she do almost all day at work?
A3:

Q4: What does she have to give her boss at the end of each work day?
A4:

Q5: Does it seem like she likes her job?
A5:

Here are some more useful sentences that you may use in conversation:

1. My job is very stressful.
   
2. I don’t make enough money.
   
3. My company has laid off 30 employees.
   
4. That company doesn’t offer good benefits.
   
5. We are allowed two weeks of vacation for the first ten years.
   
6. Some employees take more than an hour for lunch.
   
7. I need to take the day off tomorrow.
   
8. My project does not make sense.
   
9. All of us have to reboot our computers.
   
10. We have to share cubicles.
    
11. The restrooms are down the hall.
    
12. Let’s meet in the cafeteria at noon.
    
13. Ramón works from home once a week.
    
14. I am not able to connect using the wireless network.
    
15. You can connect remotely.
    
16. She remembers her user ID but she does not remember her password.
    
17. The office is being renovated.
    
18. The Air Conditioning doesn’t work.
    
19. He was fired.
    
20. I was hired.