Day 67: The Plumber and the Riser
In an old building on Vasilyevsky Island in Saint Petersburg, a plumber from the housing office comes to look at a leak in a young man's flat.
How to study this lesson 3 steps
- Read the situation under the title.
- Read the dialogue and its translation. The audio for this lesson is coming soon.
- Spend at least 30 minutes listening to native Russian audio, for example from the Resources page. It doesn't matter if you don't understand it yet.
Dialogue
Audio for this lesson is coming soon. For now, read the dialogue and its translation.
Keys: E hide English · ← → previous / next day
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A
Здравствуйте, сантехник из жилконторы. Вызывали? Показывайте, где у вас течёт.
Hello, plumber from the housing office. You called? Show me where it's leaking.
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B
Здравствуйте, проходите. Вот здесь, в ванной: по стене за трубой неделю ползёт пятно, а сегодня под раковиной лужа.
Hello, do come in. It's here, in the bathroom: for a week a damp patch has been creeping down the wall behind the pipe, and today there's a puddle under the sink.
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A
Так, посмотрим... Смеситель сухой, подводка целая, американка не капает. Значит, дело не в вашей сантехнике.
Right, let's see... The mixer tap's dry, the hoses are fine, the union isn't dripping. So it's not your plumbing that's at fault.
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B
Простите, а что такое американка? Я, признаться, в ваших терминах совершенно не разбираюсь.
Sorry, what's an 'amerikanka'? I confess I don't understand your terminology at all.
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A
Соединение такое, разъёмное, с гайкой. А вот стояк, хозяин, мне не нравится: видишь, на сгоне лён из резьбы торчит, весь рыжий?
It's a kind of joint, detachable, with a nut. But that riser, boss, I don't like: see the flax sticking out of the thread on the coupling, all rusty?
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B
Вижу... кажется. Это серьёзно? Мне в семь на концерт, я скрипач в филармонии.
I see... I think. Is it serious? I've got a concert at seven, I'm a violinist at the Philharmonic.
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A
Скрипач, значит... Скрипач тут, извини, не нужен, тут сосед нужен. Стояк уходит к нему в стену, и течёт, похоже, там: резьбу съело насквозь.
A violinist, eh... Sorry, but a violinist's no use here, it's your neighbour we need. The riser goes into his wall, and that's where it seems to be leaking: the thread's rusted right through.
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B
То есть чинить нужно у соседа? Но он, насколько я знаю, до осени уехал к дочери в Мурманск.
So the repair has to be done at the neighbour's? But as far as I know, he's gone to his daughter's in Murmansk until autumn.
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A
Вот так всегда: течёт у одного, а ключи у другого. Без соседа стояк не поменяешь, а воду на всю парадную никто не перекроет.
That's how it always goes: the leak is at one man's place and the keys are with another. You can't replace the riser without the neighbour, and nobody's going to cut off the water for the whole building.
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B
Может, я могу чем-то помочь? Позвонить ему, например, или написать в управляющую компанию?
Maybe I can help somehow? Call him, for instance, or write to the management company?
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A
Звони, хозяин, звони. А я пока затяну хомут с прокладкой у самой стены: до осени продержится, если по трубе никто стучать не будет.
Call him, boss, go ahead. And meanwhile I'll put a clamp with a gasket on it right by the wall: it'll hold till autumn, as long as nobody bangs on the pipe.
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B
Стучать не будем, обещаю. У нас в доме по трубам стучат только тогда, когда я играю гаммы.
We won't bang, I promise. In our building people only bang on the pipes when I'm practising scales.
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