Unit 1
The Main Text
The Main Text
Each unit begins with its article laid out in a format mimicking a newspaper. As this version of the text does not contain diacritics (tashkeel), it presents a challenge and is the best place to start and end your study of a unit. Before you move on to the other sections of the unit, try reading the main text to see how much you understand and how well you can read the text aloud without the help of diacritics. Then read along while listening to the audio. After you have studied the article in more depth by completing the other sections of the unit, return to the main text and read it again. From time to time, as a review, you should return to previously studied units and read the main texts again.
مصر أفضل بلد للزيارة في 2020
كانت مصر الدولة الأولى في قائمة الدول الّتي اقترحت صحيفة الإندبندنت أن يزورها الناس في سنة 2020.
سيكون المتحف المصري الكبير أكبر متحف للآثار في العالم. سيضم المتحف ثلاثين ألف قطعة أثرية جديدة.
وذكرت الإندبندنت أنه كان هناك حوالي 11 مليون سائح في مصر في عام 2018. وتتوقع الصحيفة الإنجليزية أيضا عودة السياحة في مصر بقوة مرة أخرى، خاصة بعد استئناف الرحلات الجوية إلى شرم الشيخ مرة أخرى، بعد أن كانت توقفت.
كما اختارت ناشيونال جيوغرافيك مدينة أسوان في مصر كواحدة من المدن المقترحة في عام 2020.
بسبب فيروس كورونا، سيفتتح المتحف المصري الكبير في عام 2021. ولكن تم استئناف الطيران في مصر، وبدأ العديد من السياح في القدوم إلى مصر، وخاصة إلى شرم الشيخ والغردقة.
Key Words
Key Words
Several important words from the article are listed in the right-hand column. Irregular plurals of nouns and adjectives, as well as the imperfect form of verbs, are shown in parentheses. Each key word is followed by its definition in Arabic to help you work out the meaning of words that are new to you. Listen to the audio track for key words. If you feel the definitions are too challenging for your level, you can ignore them. After you have studied the key words, match them to their English translations that follow. You can easily match definitions for words you already know and then try to deduce the meaning of other key words through a process of elimination and other clues.
قائِمَةٌ (قائِماتٌ ~ قَوائِمُ): مَجْموعَةٌ مِنَ الأَشْياءِ الَّتي لَها عَلاقَةٌ بِبَعْضِها البَعْضِ
اِقْتَرَحَ (يَقْتَرِحُ): أَعْطى رَأْيَهُ
سائِحٌ / سائِحَةٌ (سُيّاحٌ): شَخْصٌ زائِرٌ لِبَلَدٍ أَوْ لِمَدِينَةٍ
صَحيفَةٌ (صُحُفٌ): مَجْموعَةُ صَفَحاتٍ تَحْتَوي عَلى الأَخْبارِ أَساسًا
تَوَقَّعَ (يَتَوَقَّعُ): خَمَّنَ في إِمْكانِيَّةِ حُصولِ شَيْءٍ ما في المُسْتَقْبَلِ
سِياحَةٌ: زِيارَةُ بَلَدٍ أَوْ مَدينَةٍ
list • newspaper • to expect • to suggest • tourism • tourist
The Article
The Article
This section presents a version of the article augmented with tools to help you read and understand it better. The article is divided into numbered lines so you can match lines to their translations in the Answer Key. The text contains diacritics. Foreign names (of people, companies, cities, and regions¬–but not countries) appear bold to help you avoid confusion thinking they are Arabic words.
- مِصْرُ أَفْضَلُ بَلَدٍ لِلزِّيارَةِ في أَلْفَيْنِ وَعِشْرينَ
- كانَتْ مِصْرُ الدَّوْلَةَ الأولى في قائِمَةِ الدُّوَلِ الَّتي اقْتَرَحَتْ صَحيفَةُ الإِنْدِبِنْدَنْتْ أَنْ يَزورَها النّاسُ في سَنَةِ أَلْفَيْنِ وَعِشْرينَ.
- سَيَكونُ المُتْحَفُ المِصْرِيُّ الكَبيرُ أَكْبَرَ مُتْحَفٍ لِلْآثارِ في العالَمِ.
- سَيَضُمُّ المُتْحَفُ ثَلاثينَ أَلْفَ قِطْعَةٍ أَثَرِيَّةٍ جَديدَةٍ.
- وَذَكَرَتِ الإِنْدِبِنْدَنْتْ أنَّهُ كانَ هُناكَ حَوالَيْ أَحْدَ عَشَرَ مِلْيونَ سائِحٍ في مِصْرَ في عامِ أَلْفَيْنِ وَثَمانِيَةَ عَشَر.
- وَتَتَوَقَّعُ الصَّحيفَةُ الإِنْجِليزِيَّةُ أَيْضًا عَوْدَةَ السِّياحَةِ في مِصْرَ بِقُوَّةٍ مَرَّةً أُخْرى، خاصَّةً بَعْدَ اسْتِئْنافِ الرَّحَلاتِ الجَوِّيَّةِ إِلى شَرْمِ الشَّيْخِ مَرَّةً أُخْرى، بَعْدَ أَنْ كانَتْ تَوَقَّفَتْ.
- كَما اخْتارَتْ ناشْيونالْ جيوغْرافيكْ مَدينَةَ أَسْوانَ في مِصْرَ كَواحِدَةٍ مِنَ المُدُنِ المُقْتَرَحَةِ في عامِ أَلْفَيْنِ وَعِشْرينَ.
- بِسَبَبِ فَيْروسِ كورونا، سَيُفْتَتَحُ المُتْحفُ المِصْرِيُّ الكَبيرُ في عامِ أَلْفَيْنِ وَواحِدٍ وَعِشْرينَ.
- وَلَكِنْ تَمَّ اسْتِئْنافُ الطَّيَرانِ في مِصْرَ، وَبَدَأَ العَديدُ مِنَ السُّيّاحِ في القُدومِ إِلى مِصْرَ، وَخاصَّةً إِلى شَرْمِ الشَّيْخِ والْغَرْدَقَةِ.
Comprehension and Discussion Questions
Comprehension and Discussion Questions
Following the article are three comprehension questions. You can find the answers by referring back to the article if needed. Five discussion questions provide ideas for discussion about the topic. If you are studying on your own, you are encouraged to answer them aloud or write your answers. English translations of the questions can be found in the Answer Key.
Comprehension Questions
- هَلِ اقْتَرَحَتِ الإِنْدِبِنْدَنْتْ أَسْوانَ ضِمْنَ المُدُنِ المُقْتَرَحَةِ لِعامِ أَلْفَيْنِ وَعِشْرينَ؟
- مَتى سَيُفْتَتحُ المُتْحَفُ المِصْرِيُّ الكَبيرُ؟
- هَلِ اسْتُؤْنِفَتِ الرَّحَلاتُ الجَوِّيَّةُ إِلى شَرْمِ الشَّيْخِ، أَمْ لَيْسَ بَعْدُ؟
Discussion Questions
- ما رَأْيُكَ في هَذا الخَبَرِ؟
- هَلْ سَبَقَ لَكَ أَنْ زُرْتَ مِصْرَ؟ إِذا كانَ الأَمْرُ كَذَلِكَ، شارِكْ تَجْرِبَتَكَ. إِذا لَمْ يَكُنْ الأَمْرُكَذَلِكَ، فَهَلْ تُريدُ زِيارَتَها؟
- كَمْ عَدَدُ الدُّوَلِ الَّتي زُرْتَها في حَياتِكَ؟
- ما هِيَ التَّغْييراتُ الَّتي أَحْدَثَها فَيْروسُ كورونا في حَياتِكَ؟
- ما أكْثَرُ شَيْءٍ تُحِبُّهُ في السَّفَرِ بِالطّائِرَةِ؟
Expressions and Structures
Expressions and Structures
This multiple-choice exercise helps you notice (and develop skills for noticing) how words work together in context and chunks of useful language. The English translations of four expressions or structures from the article are each followed by four choices in Arabic. One is correct, and three are either grammatically incorrect or do not match the translation. Take your time analyzing and comparing the choices before checking your answers in the Answer Key or searching for the answer in the article.
Try to remember the Arabic expressions and structures from the article. Each English translation is followed by four choices, only one of which is correct. Refer back to the article to check your answers.
- the largest museum
- أَكْبرُ مُتْحَفٍ
- أَكْبرُ المُتْحَفِ
- الأَكْبَرُ مُتْحَفٍ
- المُتْحَفُ الأَكْثَرَ كُبْرًا
- eleven million tourists
- إحْدى عَشَرَ مَلايينَ سائِحٍ
- إِحْدى عَشَرَ مِلْيونَ سُيّاحٍ
- إِحْدى عَشَرَ مِلْيونَ مِنَ السّائِحِ
- أَحَدَ عَشَرَ مِلْيونَ سائِحٍ
- especially
- بِالخاصَّةِ
- بِالذّاتًا
- خاصَّةً
- بِالظَّبْطِ
- because of
- بِسَبَبِ
- لِسَبَبِ
- مِنَ سَبَبٍ
- بِالسِّبابِ
Answer Key
Answer Key
The Answer Key provides the answers to the Key Word matching exercise and the Expressions and Structures multiple-choice exercise. You can also find English translations of the article and the comprehension and discussion questions. {Curly brackets} show literal translations, while [square brackets] are necessary in English but are not present in the Arabic.
Key Word Answers
- list قائِمَةٌ
- to suggest اِقْتَرَحَ
- tourist سائِحٌ
- newspaper صَحيفَةٌ
- to expect تَوَقَّعَ
- tourism سِياحَةٌ
Translation of the Article
- Egypt Is the Number One Country to Visit for 2020
- Egypt was the first country on the list of countries that {the newspaper} The Independent suggested people visit in 2020.
- The Grand Egyptian Museum will be the largest archaeology museum in the world.
- The museum will include 30,000 new artifacts {archaeological pieces}.
- The Independent said that there were about eleven million tourists in Egypt in 2018.
- The English newspaper also expects that tourism in Egypt will return strong again, especially after flights to Sharm El-Sheikh have been resumed after they were suspended.
- National Geographic also chose the city of Aswan in Egypt as one of the suggested cities in 2020.
- Because of coronavirus, the Grand Egyptian Museum will open in 2021.
- But flying has been resumed in Egypt, and many tourists have started coming to Egypt, especially to Sharm El-Sheikh and Hurghada.
Translation of the Questions
- Did the Independent recommend Aswan among its recommended cities in 2020?
- When will the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) open?
- Have flights resumed yet?
- What is your opinion of this news?
- Have you visited Egypt before? If so, share your experience. If not, would you like to visit it?
- How many countries have you visited in your life?
- What changes has/did coronavirus make in your life?
- What do you like most about traveling by plane?
Answers to Expressions and Structures
- the largest museum أَكْبرُ مُتْحَفٍ
- eleven million tourists أَحَدَ عَشَرَ مِلْيونَ سائِحٍ
- especially خاصَّةً
- because of بِسَبَبِ
Is the ebook only available as PDF file or accessible online like the Chapter 1?
Only as a PDF file. Unit 1 is just shown as a sample of the materials in the book.
Why is museum written as mutHaf rather than matHaf?
Both pronunciations are used in MSA, and this is how Ahmad says it in the audio. (In Egyptian Arabic, however, it’d always be matHaf.) See here.
Thank you for the clarification. I found it in the reference you send me. Now, I see that Cowan/Wehr gives matHuf first and within brackets “also pronounced matHaf”. But I did not find it in Oxford, ALD-Lingualism and Awde.
In the downloaded version I bought a few says ago, I have zaraaya in the title, but in the presentation here it has been changed into لِلزِّيارَةِ ziraaya. The latter is given in all my dictionaries. Is zaraaya a typo, or are both versions correct? Ahmad does not pronounce the final -ti. Is this because cases are often not pronounced?
Ahmad pronounces aw as u in الأولى (sentence 2). Is this (more) common?
Sorry to bother you, I’m only a beginner.
There are lots of variations in MSA, and Arabs will not always agree on pronunciations or even grammatical rules. The Lingualism Arabic Learners Dictionary doesn’t attempt to show all variations; instead, it presents the most common, so as not to confuse learners with ambiguity.
I checked the book, and both in it and on this page above, it is written ziraaya, with kasra. Depending on the font, kasra can appear directly under a shadda or below the letter/line. Keep in mind, that the articles are presented twice: once without any tashkeel (diacritics) and then with tashkeel in the list version of the article.
Correct, not all grammatical endings are pronounced, especially before a pause or the end of a sentence/clause. It depends on the rhythm of the sentence and is largely up to the speaker. In more casual speech, the endings aren’t pronounced at all.
Correction. After analyzing further I learned that الأولى is the fem. form with uu rather than masc. aww. Apologies.
Just received the book this week. It’s really great, the layout is excellent for self-taught learners. I can read through the article a couple of times and then check to make sure I’m understanding everything before going on to the definitions and questions. Thanks!