Day 137 of 150

Day 137: Minus Fifty on the Kolyma Highway

At a roadside café on the Kolyma Highway in January, an old truck driver and the café owner, Nikolai Mikhailovich, find a young driver whose truck won't start.

How to study this lesson 3 steps
  1. Read the situation under the title.
  2. Read the dialogue and its translation. The audio for this lesson is coming soon.
  3. 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

  1. A

    Ну что, заводится твой КамАЗ? Или так и будем до весны у Михалыча чай пить?

    Well, is your KamAZ starting? Or are we going to sit here drinking tea at Mikhalych's until spring?

  2. B

    Какое там заводится! Солярка загустела, как кисель, фильтр забило, а на улице под пятьдесят.

    Starting, my foot! The diesel's gone thick as jelly, the filter's clogged, and it's nearly minus fifty outside.

  3. A

    А я тебе ещё в Магадане говорил: заливай арктическую. Сэкономил, называется.

    I told you back in Magadan: fill up with arctic diesel. Some saving that turned out to be.

  4. B

    Да я зимнюю заливал! Кто ж знал, что на перевале мороз так прижмёт.

    I did fill up with winter diesel! Who knew the frost would bite that hard on the pass?

  5. C

    Тут, сынок, каждый январь так, это Колыма, а не Сочи. Ничего, у меня паяльная лампа есть, сейчас фильтр и трубки погреем.

    Here, son, it's like that every January, this is Kolyma, not Sochi. Never mind, I've got a blowlamp, we'll warm up the filter and the fuel lines.

  6. B

    Паяльной лампой, открытым огнём? Николай Михайлович, а мы вместе с КамАЗом не сгорим?

    With a blowlamp, an open flame? Nikolai Mikhailovich, won't we go up in flames along with the KamAZ?

  7. C

    Не сгорим, если с умом. Я на этой трассе тридцать лет, так что, поверь, не лыком шит.

    We won't, if we're smart about it. I've been on this highway for thirty years, so believe me, I know what I'm doing.

  8. A

    Он дело говорит. Как только фильтр прогреется, заведёшься с первого раза, а дальше едешь до самого Сусумана, не выключая мотор.

    He knows what he's talking about. As soon as the filter's warmed up, you'll start first time, and then you drive all the way to Susuman without switching off the engine.

  9. B

    Понял, мотор не выключать. Век живи, век учись: в следующий раз залью арктическую, даже если втридорога.

    Got it, keep the engine running. Live and learn: next time I'll fill up with arctic, even if it costs three times as much.

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