A student, a job applicant and a children’s reading group arrive at the same library room. Finding out what each person needs leads them beyond its four walls.
01Read the Arabic story
الْغُرْفَةُ الْهَادِئَةُ الَّتِي احْتَاجَ إِلَيْهَا الْجَمِيعُ
ذَهَبْتُ إِلَى مَكْتَبَةِ الْحَيِّ لِأُرَاجِعَ دُرُوسِي قَبْلَ الِامْتِحَانِ. كَانَ بَيْتُنَا مَلِيئًا بِالضُّيُوفِ، وَلَمْ أَجِدْ فِيهِ رُكْنًا هَادِئًا، فَحَمَلْتُ كُتُبِي إِلَى الْغُرْفَةِ الْهَادِئَةِ فِي آخِرِ الْمَكْتَبَةِ. وَجَدْتُ فِيهَا حَمْزَةَ أَمَامَ حَاسُوبِهِ، وَلَيْلَى تَضَعُ قِصَصًا مُلَوَّنَةً عَلَى الطَّاوِلَةِ. جَلَسْتُ قُرْبَ النَّافِذَةِ وَفَتَحْتُ دَفْتَرِي، وَلَكِنَّ الْهُدُوءَ لَمْ يَسْتَمِرَّ طَوِيلًا كَمَا تَوَقَّعْتُ.
بَدَأَ حَمْزَةُ يَخْتَبِرُ الصَّوْتَ فِي حَاسُوبِهِ، ثُمَّ دَخَلَ خَمْسَةُ أَطْفَالٍ لِيَسْمَعُوا قِصَّةَ لَيْلَى. قُلْتُ بِضِيقٍ: «هَذِهِ غُرْفَةٌ لِلْقِرَاءَةِ الْهَادِئَةِ». أَجَابَ حَمْزَةُ أَنَّ لَدَيْهِ مُقَابَلَةَ عَمَلٍ عَبْرَ الْإِنْتَرْنِتِ بَعْدَ نِصْفِ سَاعَةٍ. وَقَالَتْ لَيْلَى إِنَّ الْمُوَظَّفَ وَجَّهَ الْأَطْفَالَ إِلَى هُنَا لِأَنَّ قَاعَتَهُمْ تُصْلَحُ هَذَا الْأُسْبُوعَ.
اِقْتَرَحْتُ أَنْ نَضَعَ حَاجِزًا بَيْنَ الطَّاوِلَتَيْنِ، لَكِنَّ لَيْلَى قَالَتْ إِنَّهُ لَنْ يَمْنَعَ الصَّوْتَ. ذَهَبْنَا إِلَى الْمُوَظَّفَةِ وَشَرَحْنَا الْمُشْكِلَةَ. سَأَلَتْ كُلَّ وَاحِدٍ عَمَّا يَحْتَاجُ إِلَيْهِ بِالضَّبْطِ. كُنْتُ أَحْتَاجُ إِلَى الْهُدُوءِ، وَحَمْزَةُ إِلَى مَكَانٍ خَاصٍّ، أَمَّا لَيْلَى فَكَانَتْ تَحْتَاجُ إِلَى مَسَاحَةٍ يَجْلِسُ فِيهَا الْأَطْفَالُ مَعًا.
تَذَكَّرَتِ الْمُوَظَّفَةُ مَكْتَبًا صَغِيرًا يَبْقَى فَارِغًا بَعْدَ الظُّهْرِ. فَتَحَتْهُ لِحَمْزَةَ لِيُجْرِيَ مُقَابَلَتَهُ. ثُمَّ رَأَيْنَا أَنَّ السَّاحَةَ الْمُغَطَّاةَ خَلْفَ الْمَكْتَبَةِ تُنَاسِبُ الْقِرَاءَةَ لِلْأَطْفَالِ فِي ذَلِكَ الْيَوْمِ الْمُعْتَدِلِ. نَقَلْنَا الْكَرَاسِيَّ إِلَى رُكْنٍ بَعِيدٍ عَنْ نَوَافِذِ الْقُرَّاءِ. وَعَادَتِ الْغُرْفَةُ الْأُولَى مَكَانًا يَسْتَطِيعُ الْجَمِيعُ أَنْ يَقْرَأَ فِيهِ بِصَمْتٍ.
عُدْتُ إِلَى دَفْتَرِي، وَأَنْهَيْتُ مُرَاجَعَةَ فَصْلَيْنِ. بَعْدَ الْمُقَابَلَةِ، أَشَارَ حَمْزَةُ إِلَيَّ مِنْ خَلْفِ الزُّجَاجِ وَرَفَعَ إِبْهَامَهُ. وَعِنْدَمَا انْتَهَتْ قِصَّةُ الْأَطْفَالِ، أَغْلَقْتُ كِتَابِي قَلِيلًا وَخَرَجْتُ لِأُسَاعِدَ لَيْلَى فِي جَمْعِ الْكَرَاسِيِّ. سَأَلَتْنِي عَنْ دِرَاسَتِي، فَقُلْتُ إِنَّنِي تَقَدَّمْتُ جَيِّدًا. قَبْلَ الْمُغَادَرَةِ، وَضَعْنَا عِنْدَ الْمَدْخَلِ لَافِتَاتٍ تَدُلُّ عَلَى أَمَاكِنِ الْأَنْشِطَةِ.
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I went to the neighbourhood library to revise before my exam. Our home was full of guests, and I could not find a quiet corner there, so I carried my books to the quiet room at the back of the library. There I found Hamza in front of his computer and Layla putting colourful stories on the table. I sat near the window and opened my notebook, but the quiet did not last as long as I had expected.
Hamza began testing the sound on his computer, then five children came in to hear Layla’s story. I said irritably, “This is a room for quiet reading.” Hamza replied that he had an online job interview in half an hour. Layla said that a staff member had directed the children here because their hall was being repaired that week.
I suggested putting a screen between the two tables, but Layla said that it would not block the sound. We went to the librarian and explained the problem. She asked each person exactly what they needed. I needed quiet, Hamza needed a private place, and Layla needed a space where the children could sit together.
The librarian remembered a small office that stayed empty in the afternoon. She opened it for Hamza so that he could have his interview. Then we saw that the covered courtyard behind the library was suitable for reading to the children on that mild day. We moved the chairs to a corner away from the readers’ windows. The original room became a place where everyone could read silently again.
I returned to my notebook and finished revising two chapters. After the interview, Hamza gestured to me from behind the glass and gave me a thumbs-up. When the children’s story ended, I closed my book briefly and went out to help Layla collect the chairs. She asked about my studying, and I said that I had made good progress. Before leaving, we put up signs at the entrance showing the activity locations.
02Useful words from the story
| Arabic in the story | Meaning here |
|---|---|
| لِأُرَاجِعَ | to revise; to review |
| مُقَابَلَةَ عَمَلٍ | a job interview |
| بِضِيقٍ | irritably; with annoyance |
| حَاجِزًا | a screen; a barrier |
| بِالضَّبْطِ | exactly |
| مَكَانٍ خَاصٍّ | a private place |
| السَّاحَةَ الْمُغَطَّاةَ | the covered courtyard |
| بِصَمْتٍ | silently |
| إِبْهَامَهُ | his thumb |
| لَافِتَاتٍ | signs |
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
- Identifying the need behind each request makes it easier to choose an appropriate shared space.
- Compare the narrator’s irritated words with the later offer of help to infer how the situation changes the narrator’s attitude.
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”
لِأُرَاجِعَ دُرُوسِي
Use purpose li to connect going to the library with the intended studying.
Arabic Time and Place Adverbs: Before, After, In Front and Behind
خَلْفَ الْمَكْتَبَةِ
Locate an activity using behind followed by the place that acts as its reference point.
