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fluentbyear
🇷🇺 Russian · Fluency Level 2

PART 2 · LESSON 15 OF 30 · 30 MINUTES

The Car That Never Starts

Uncle Vova's old car in the grass: thirty years together, how many of those did it start, it used to be you'd come out in the morning and it won't start, open the bonnet, hit it once and off you go, once it didn't start at all, he missed the train and met his wife on the platform, no luck but bad luck helped, measure seven times, cut once.

Audio instruction: English

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THE STORY

The yard of the dacha, Uncle Vova's thirty-year-old car with its bonnet up, Sam holding the spanners. Sam and Uncle Vova are old friends, on the friendly you.

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Words and phrases

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Мы с ней тридцать лет вместе.my s NYEY TREET-sat LYET VMYES-tye.She and I, thirty years together.
А сколько лет заводилась?a SKOL-ka LYET za-va-DEE-las?And how many years did it start?
Бывало, выйдешь утром, не заводится.by-VA-la, VY-dyesh OO-tram, nye za-VO-dit-sa.Used to be: you come out, it won't start.
Откроешь капот, стукнешь раз, и поехали.at-KRO-yesh ka-POT, STOOK-nyesh RAS, i pa-YE-kha-li.Open the bonnet, hit it once, off you go.
Бывало, а дальше как сейчас. Понял.by-VA-la, a DAL-she kak si-CHAS. PO-nyal.Used to, then as if now. Got it.
Раз не завелась. Опоздал на поезд.RAS nye za-vi-LAS. a-paz-DAL na PO-yest.Once it didn't start. I missed the train.
А на платформе встретил жену.a na plat-FOR-mye FSTRYE-til zhe-NOO.And on the platform I met my wife.
да несчастье помоглоda ni-SHCHAST-ye pa-mag-LObut bad luck helped
Не было бы счастья, да несчастье помогло.nye BY-la by SHCHAST-ya, da ni-SHCHAST-ye pa-mag-LO.No luck, but bad luck helped.
Семь раз отмерь, один раз отрежь.SYEM RAS at-MYER, a-DEEN RAS at-RYEZH.Measure seven times, cut once.