Day 92 of 150

Day 92: The Cats of the Hermitage

In the basement of the Hermitage in Saint Petersburg, a new volunteer helps the man who looks after the museum's famous cats at feeding time.

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

    Андрей Ильич, миски расставил. А правда, что коты здесь обитают с восемнадцатого века?

    Andrei Ilyich, I've set out the bowls. Is it true that cats have lived here since the eighteenth century?

  2. B

    Правда, причём появились они здесь раньше самого музея. По легенде, первого кота привёз ещё Пётр Первый.

    True, and they got here before the museum itself did. Legend has it the first cat was brought here by Peter the Great himself.

  3. A

    А я читал про каких-то казанских котов. Это тоже легенда?

    But I read something about cats from Kazan. Is that a legend too?

  4. B

    Нет, это уже история. Коты, привезённые из Казани по указу Елизаветы, ловили дворцовых мышей, и ловили, говорят, отменно.

    No, that's actual history. Cats brought from Kazan by order of Empress Elizabeth caught the palace mice, and caught them superbly, they say.

  5. A

    А нынешние чем заняты? Что-то вот этот рыжий лежебока на грозу мышей не тянет.

    And what do today's cats do? This ginger lazybones doesn't look much like the terror of mice.

  6. B

    Это Тициан, названный так за масть, а не за талант. Впрочем, мышей при нём нет: боятся, видимо, одного его вида.

    That's Titian, named for his colouring, not his talent. Then again, there are no mice while he's around: the mere sight of him must scare them off.

  7. A

    А этого пушистого малыша в коробке как зовут? Вид у него, прямо скажем, не музейный.

    And what's this fluffy little one in the box called? He doesn't exactly look like museum material, to be honest.

  8. B

    Пока никак, его только вчера подбросили. Обычно мы называем их в честь художников, но ты его первым накормил, значит, будет Артёмом.

    Nothing yet, someone left him on our doorstep only yesterday. We usually name them after painters, but you were the first to feed him, so he'll be Artyom.

  9. A

    Серьёзно? Выходит, я и недели не проработал, а моё имя в Эрмитаже уже увековечено.

    Seriously? So I haven't even worked here a week, and my name's already immortalised in the Hermitage.

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