Introduction

This should be the second of your exam exercises. Do not start with this exercise. If you have not done the passages for translation from the ab initio exam of 2004 go there first and read the introduction. You can find it here.

On this page, you will be able to see both passages at the same time. This should help to make the parallel texts work for you. Words from the English passage's first paragraph for which you can find equivalents in the German passage are in bold. The equivalents in the German passage (which are not all in the first paragraph) are also in bold. You have to find the remaining ones yourself.

The English passage has been annotated with footnotes. Read them before you translate. The German passage also has been annotated - but to avoid cluttering this page a separate document has been created. You can find it here .

There are also sample translations. Look at these once you have completed yours.

Grammatically, the translation into German requires knowledge of German modal verbs. To brush up on these click here .

Also there are quite a few references to time. Chapters 21 and 22 in Upgrade Your German include some helpful vocabulary on time.

Because of the context you will need to use quite a few words derived from English in your German translation, like Email. It is difficult to guess gender and plural forms of these, and the German passage can help, of course. One rule of thumb is: most foreign words in German are neuter and have a plural -s ending. (das Büro, -s for example). However, some, like die Software or der Computer or die Email seem to take on the gender of their German would-be equivalents.

Vocabulary related to the world of work can be found here , and in chapters 9, 32, and 52 of Blaue Blume .

Some Instructions

  • The passage for translation includes footnotes: click on the footnote number to see more information about it in the right-hand column. All column sizes can be changed by moving the borders.
  • In the CALL Facility and elsewhere via the PWF, you can use this dictionary or the following one
  • Type up your translation with a separate program alongside your web browser. Use a word processor or text editor; on a CALL Facility PC WordPad (Go to Start > Programs > Accessories > WordPad) is reccomended.
  • You can save your work on a floppy disk or send yourself (or your tutor) a copy of your translation by copying and pasting it into an email message. To simplify transmission, save your file as plain text rather than a word processor document: under Save As go for plain text. You may even wish to type your translation directly into an email message.