The oldest learner in an evening computer class struggles with simple tasks. A group exercise gives his years of work experience an unexpected use.
01Read the Arabic story
أُسْبُوعِي الْأَوَّلُ بِوَصْفِي أَكْبَرَ طَالِبٍ فِي الصَّفِّ
فِي الرَّابِعَةِ وَالْخَمْسِينَ مِنْ عُمْرِي، سَجَّلْتُ فِي دَوْرَةٍ مَسَائِيَّةٍ لِتَعَلُّمِ الْحَاسُوبِ. كُنْتُ قَدْ تَرَكْتُ عَمَلِي فِي مَخْبَزٍ، وَأَرَدْتُ أَنْ أَتَعَلَّمَ شَيْئًا جَدِيدًا. عِنْدَمَا دَخَلْتُ الصَّفَّ، وَجَدْتُ مُعْظَمَ الطُّلَّابِ فِي سِنِّ ابْنِي. اخْتَرْتُ مَقْعَدًا فِي الْخَلْفِ وَوَضَعْتُ دَفْتَرِي أَمَامِي. كَانَ أَصْغَرُ طَالِبٍ قَرِيبًا مِنَ الْعِشْرِينَ، وَكُنْتُ أَكْبَرَهُمْ جَمِيعًا.
فِي الدَّرْسِ الْأَوَّلِ، بَحَثْتُ عَنِ الْحُرُوفِ عَلَى لَوْحَةِ الْمَفَاتِيحِ بِبُطْءٍ. بَيْنَمَا أَكْمَلَ الْآخَرُونَ جُمْلَةً، كُنْتُ مَا أَزَالُ أَكْتُبُ اسْمِي. ثُمَّ أَغْلَقْتُ مَلَفِّي دُونَ حِفْظِهِ، فَضَاعَ مَا كَتَبْتُهُ. مَالَ سَامِرٌ، زَمِيلِي فِي الْمَقْعَدِ الْمُجَاوِرِ، نَحْوِي وَشَرَحَ الْخُطُوَاتِ بِهُدُوءٍ. كَتَبْتُهَا فِي دَفْتَرِي وَجَرَّبْتُهَا مَرَّتَيْنِ قَبْلَ الْمُغَادَرَةِ.
فِي اللِّقَاءِ التَّالِي، طَلَبَتْ مِنَّا الْمُعَلِّمَةُ إِعْدَادَ جَدْوَلٍ لِمَصْرُوفَاتِ مَخْبَزٍ صَغِيرٍ. عَرَفَ سَامِرٌ كَيْفَ يُضِيفُ الْأَعْمِدَةَ وَيُغَيِّرُ أَلْوَانَهَا، لَكِنَّهُ لَمْ يَعْرِفْ مَا الَّذِي يَجِبُ أَنْ يَضَعَهُ فِيهَا. قُلْتُ إِنَّ ثَمَنَ الدَّقِيقِ لَيْسَ الْمَصْرُوفَ الْوَحِيدَ. شَرَحْتُ لَهُ أَنَّ عَلَيْنَا إِضَافَةَ تَكْلِفَةِ الْكَهْرَبَاءِ وَأَكْيَاسِ الْوَرَقِ وَنَقْلِ الْمَوَادِّ.
كَتَبْنَا قَائِمَةً عَلَى الْوَرَقِ قَبْلَ إِدْخَالِهَا فِي الْحَاسُوبِ. تَوَلَّيْتُ كِتَابَةَ الْأَرْقَامِ، وَأَرَانِي سَامِرٌ كَيْفَ أَجْمَعُهَا بِخُطْوَةٍ وَاحِدَةٍ. عِنْدَمَا عَرَضْنَا جَدْوَلَنَا، سَأَلَتْنِي الْمُعَلِّمَةُ عَنْ سَبَبِ إِضَافَةِ النَّقْلِ. شَرَحْتُ أَنَّ الْمَخْبَزَ كَانَ يَدْفَعُ لِسَائِقٍ لِيُحْضِرَ الْمَوَادَّ كُلَّ صَبَاحٍ. دَوَّنَ بَعْضُ الطُّلَّابِ هَذِهِ الْمَلْحُوظَةَ فِي جَدَاوِلِهِمْ أَيْضًا.
فِي آخِرِ الْأُسْبُوعِ، حَفِظْتُ الْجَدْوَلَ وَفَتَحْتُهُ مَرَّةً أُخْرَى لِأَتَأَكَّدَ مِنْ وُجُودِهِ. بَقِيتُ أَبْطَأَ مِنْ سَامِرٍ فِي الْكِتَابَةِ، لَكِنَّنِي لَمْ أُخْفِ دَفْتَرَ الْخُطُوَاتِ. وَعِنْدَمَا سَأَلَتِ الْمُعَلِّمَةُ مَنْ يُرِيدُ عَرْضَ الْوَاجِبِ الْقَادِمِ، رَفَعْتُ يَدِي. قَبْلَ خُرُوجِي، سَأَلْتُهَا إِنْ كَانَ يُمْكِنُنِي الْجُلُوسُ فِي الصَّفِّ الْأَوَّلِ لِأَرَى الشَّاشَةَ بِوُضُوحٍ أَكْبَرَ.
Show English translationHide English translation
At fifty-four, I enrolled in an evening computer course. I had left my job in a bakery and wanted to learn something new. When I entered the classroom, I found that most of the students were my son’s age. I chose a seat at the back and put my notebook in front of me. The youngest student was around twenty, and I was the oldest of them all.
In the first lesson, I searched slowly for the letters on the keyboard. While the others finished a sentence, I was still typing my name. Then I closed my file without saving it and lost what I had written. Samir, my classmate in the next seat, leaned towards me and calmly explained the steps. I wrote them in my notebook and tried them twice before leaving.
At the next session, the teacher asked us to prepare a spreadsheet of expenses for a small bakery. Samir knew how to add columns and change their colours, but he did not know what to put in them. I said that the price of flour was not the only expense. I explained that we needed to add the cost of electricity, paper bags and transporting supplies.
We wrote a list on paper before entering it into the computer. I took charge of typing the numbers, and Samir showed me how to add them up in one step. When we presented our spreadsheet, the teacher asked why we had included transport. I explained that the bakery used to pay a driver to bring supplies every morning. Some students noted this point in their spreadsheets too.
At the end of the week, I saved the spreadsheet and opened it again to make sure it was there. I was still slower than Samir at typing, but I did not hide my notebook of steps. When the teacher asked who wanted to present the next assignment, I raised my hand. Before leaving, I asked whether I could sit in the front row to see the screen more clearly.
02Useful words from the story
| Arabic in the story | Meaning here |
|---|---|
| مَسَائِيَّةٍ | in the evening |
| مَقْعَدًا | a seat |
| لَوْحَةِ الْمَفَاتِيحِ | the keyboard |
| حِفْظِهِ | saving it |
| الْمُجَاوِرِ | next to; neighbouring |
| لِمَصْرُوفَاتِ | for the expenses of |
| الْأَعْمِدَةَ | the columns |
| الدَّقِيقِ | flour |
| تَوَلَّيْتُ | I took charge of |
| الْوَاجِبِ الْقَادِمِ | the next assignment |
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
- Practical experience and technical skill can complement each other in a shared task.
- The narrator still types slowly at the end, but his willingness to present suggests a change in confidence.
Explore the Arabic in this story
Related grammar and vocabularyOpen Araqick guides connected to this story.
Purpose Li in Arabic: How to Say “In Order To”
لِأَتَأَكَّدَ مِنْ وُجُودِهِ
Explain the reason for reopening a saved file with li followed by a present-tense verb.
Arabic Time and Place Adverbs: Before, After, In Front and Behind
قَبْلَ إِدْخَالِهَا فِي الْحَاسُوبِ
Notice how before connects two stages of entering the group’s list.
