When Mazin announces a job change, his friend immediately suggests better options. Listening to the reasons behind the decision changes their conversation.
01Read the Arabic story
تَعَلُّمُ الْإِصْغَاءِ قَبْلَ تَقْدِيمِ النَّصِيحَةِ
جَلَسْتُ مَعَ صَدِيقِي مَازِنٍ فِي مَقْهًى قَرِيبٍ مِنْ عَمَلِهِ. قَالَ إِنَّهُ سَيَتْرُكُ وَظِيفَتَهُ فِي شَرِكَةٍ كَبِيرَةٍ لِيَعْمَلَ فِي مَكْتَبَةٍ صَغِيرَةٍ لِبَيْعِ الْكُتُبِ. قَبْلَ أَنْ يُكْمِلَ كَلَامَهُ، بَدَأْتُ أُقَدِّمُ النَّصَائِحَ. قُلْتُ إِنَّ الشَّرِكَةَ تَمْنَحُهُ رَاتِبًا أَعْلَى وَفُرَصًا أَكْثَرَ. ثُمَّ أَخْرَجْتُ هَاتِفِي لِأَبْحَثَ لَهُ عَنْ وَظِيفَةٍ أُخْرَى.
حَاوَلَ مَازِنٌ أَنْ يَتَكَلَّمَ مَرَّتَيْنِ، لَكِنَّنِي قَاطَعْتُهُ فِي كُلِّ مَرَّةٍ بِفِكْرَةٍ جَدِيدَةٍ. بَعْدَ قَلِيلٍ، تَوَقَّفَ عَنِ الْمُحَاوَلَةِ وَنَظَرَ إِلَى فِنْجَانِهِ. ظَنَنْتُ أَنَّهُ لَمْ يَفْهَمْ حَلِّي، فَشَرَحْتُهُ مَرَّةً أُخْرَى. عِنْدَئِذٍ قَالَ بِهُدُوءٍ: «هَلْ تُرِيدُ أَنْ تَسْمَعَ سَبَبَ قَرَارِي أَوَّلًا؟» أَغْلَقْتُ شَاشَةَ الْهَاتِفِ وَوَضَعْتُهُ فِي جَيْبِي.
أَخْبَرَنِي أَنَّ وَالِدَهُ يَحْتَاجُ إِلَى مُسَاعَدَةٍ فِي الْبَيْتِ بَعْدَ عَمَلِيَّةٍ جِرَاحِيَّةٍ. كَانَ مَازِنٌ يَقْضِي سَاعَتَيْنِ يَوْمِيًّا فِي الطَّرِيقِ إِلَى الشَّرِكَةِ وَالْعَوْدَةِ مِنْهَا. أَمَّا الْمَكْتَبَةُ فَهِيَ أَقْرَبُ مِنَ الشَّرِكَةِ، وَيَسْتَطِيعُ الْعَمَلَ فِيهَا صَبَاحًا فَقَطْ. كَانَ قَدْ رَاجَعَ مَصْرُوفَاتِهِ وَتَحَدَّثَ مَعَ أُسْرَتِهِ قَبْلَ قَبُولِ الْعَرْضِ.
اِنْتَظَرْتُ حَتَّى أَنْهَى كَلَامَهُ، ثُمَّ سَأَلْتُهُ عَنِ الْجُزْءِ الَّذِي يُقْلِقُهُ. قَالَ إِنَّهُ سَيَفْتَقِدُ زُمَلَاءَهُ، لَكِنَّهُ مُرْتَاحٌ لِلْقَرَارِ. قُلْتُ: «كُنْتُ أُفَكِّرُ فِي الرَّاتِبِ فَقَطْ، وَلَمْ أَفْهَمْ ظُرُوفَكَ». اِعْتَذَرْتُ عَنِ الْمُقَاطَعَةِ، وَسَأَلْتُ إِنْ كَانَ يُرِيدُ رَأْيِي أَمْ يُفَضِّلُ أَنْ يُكْمِلَ الْحَدِيثَ. اِبْتَسَمَ وَبَدَأَ يَحْكِي عَنْ زُمَلَائِهِ.
بَقِينَا فِي الْمَقْهَى نِصْفَ سَاعَةٍ أُخْرَى، وَتَحَدَّثَ مَازِنٌ أَكْثَرَ مِمَّا تَحَدَّثْتُ. لَمْ أُقَدِّمْ لَهُ خُطَّةً جَدِيدَةً. قَبْلَ أَنْ نَغَادِرَ، طَلَبَ مِنِّي أَنْ أَزُورَهُ فِي الْمَكْتَبَةِ بَعْدَ أُسْبُوعٍ. وَافَقْتُ وَسَأَلْتُهُ عَنْ أَفْضَلِ وَقْتٍ لِلزِّيَارَةِ. فِي طَرِيقِ الْعَوْدَةِ، حَذَفْتُ رِسَالَةَ النَّصَائِحِ الَّتِي كُنْتُ قَدْ بَدَأْتُ كِتَابَتَهَا فِي بِدَايَةِ اللِّقَاءِ.
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I sat with my friend Mazin in a café near his workplace. He said that he would leave his job at a large company to work in a small bookshop. Before he could finish speaking, I began giving advice. I said that the company gave him a higher salary and more opportunities. Then I took out my phone to look for another job for him.
Mazin tried to speak twice, but each time I interrupted him with a new idea. After a while, he stopped trying and looked at his cup. I thought that he had not understood my solution, so I explained it again. Then he said calmly, “Would you like to hear the reason for my decision first?” I switched off the phone screen and put it in my pocket.
He told me that his father needed help at home after surgery. Mazin spent two hours every day travelling to the company and back. The bookshop, however, was closer than the company, and he could work there only in the mornings. He had checked his expenses and spoken with his family before accepting the offer.
I waited until he had finished speaking, then asked him which part worried him. He said that he would miss his colleagues but felt comfortable with the decision. I said, “I was thinking only about the salary, and I did not understand your circumstances.” I apologised for interrupting and asked whether he wanted my opinion or preferred to continue talking. He smiled and began telling me about his colleagues.
We stayed in the café for another half hour, and Mazin spoke more than I did. I did not give him a new plan. Before we left, he asked me to visit him at the bookshop a week later. I agreed and asked him about the best time to visit. On the way home, I deleted the advice message that I had begun writing at the start of our meeting.
02Useful words from the story
| Arabic in the story | Meaning here |
|---|---|
| النَّصَائِحَ | advice; pieces of advice |
| رَاتِبًا أَعْلَى | a higher salary |
| قَاطَعْتُهُ | I interrupted him |
| فِنْجَانِهِ | his cup |
| عَمَلِيَّةٍ جِرَاحِيَّةٍ | a surgical operation |
| مَصْرُوفَاتِهِ | his expenses |
| قَبُولِ الْعَرْضِ | accepting the offer |
| سَيَفْتَقِدُ زُمَلَاءَهُ | he will miss his colleagues |
| ظُرُوفَكَ | your circumstances |
| اِعْتَذَرْتُ | I apologised |
03Check your understanding
Choose one answer for each question. Look back at the Arabic story when you need a clue. Open the English support if you need help understanding a question.
What to remember
- The same job can look different when you know a person’s travel time, family needs and priorities.
- Compare Mazin’s silence before the apology with his longer conversation afterward; his reactions support an inference about how he feels.
Explore the Arabic in this story
Related grammar and vocabularyOpen Araqick guides connected to this story.
Arabic Comparatives: Bigger Than and Better Than
أَقْرَبُ مِنَ الشَّرِكَةِ
Compare the bookshop’s distance with the company’s using a comparative followed by min.
Arabic Object Pronouns: How to Say He Opened It and I Opened It
قَاطَعْتُهُ
Separate the first-person ending from the attached object pronoun in the narrator’s action.
