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🇪🇸 Spanish · Fluency Level 2

PART 1 · LESSON 9 OF 30 · 40 MINUTES

Comparisons Are Odious

On their last night in the north, at a cider house in the hills outside San Sebastian, the cider shoots from the barrel, and Nerea's father and Julian argue about where you eat better while Sarah keeps the peace. Speak the language of the cider house and of disagreeing without offending - hold it sideways, just a splash, admit it, no offence, but, that's a low blow, it's neither better nor worse, comparisons are odious, I'll keep both, that's another league - and say goodbye to a family who took you in.

Audio instruction: English

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THE STORY

It's Wednesday, August 29th, 2029, nine in the evening, at a cider house in the hills outside San Sebastian, an hour's drive from Bilbao. It's a long barn with wooden tables and enormous barrels along the walls. Every so often, someone shouts, a barrel is opened, and everyone runs with their glass to catch the cider as it shoots out. Tomorrow, Sarah and Julian take the train back to Seville. By eleven, Nerea's father has had three glasses, and he has decided to settle an old question. Where do you eat better, in the north or in the south? This is the conversation you'll be able to say by the end of the lesson.

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Words and phrases

The lesson is for your ears. Open this afterwards, to see what you learned.
una barricaOO-nah bah-RREE-kaha barrel
la sidralah SEE-drahcider
Ponlo de lado.POHN-loh deh LAH-dohHold it sideways.
para que la sidra choquePAH-rah keh lah SEE-drah CHOH-kehso the cider hits it
un culínoon koo-LEENa splash, just the bottom of the glass
de un tragodeh oon TRAH-gohin one go
Solo un culín, que se bebe de un trago.SOH-loh oon koo-LEEN keh seh BEH-beh deh oon TRAH-gohJust a splash. You drink it in one go.
Reconócelo.rreh-koh-NOH-seh-lohAdmit it.
Aquí se come mejor que en el sur.ah-KEE seh KOH-meh meh-HOHR keh ehn ehl soorYou eat better here than in the south.
Sin ánimo de ofenderseen AH-nee-moh deh oh-fehn-DEHRNo offence, but

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