Adil stops bringing his maths notebook to their usual table. His friend first mistakes silence for independence, then learns how impatient replies have changed their study sessions.
01Read the Arabic story
عِنْدَمَا تَوَقَّفَ صَدِيقِي عَنْ طَلَبِ الْمُسَاعَدَةِ
كَانَ صَدِيقِي عَادِلٌ يَجْلِسُ مَعِي بَعْدَ دَرْسِ الرِّيَاضِيَّاتِ لِنُرَاجِعَ التَّمَارِينَ. كُنْتُ أَفْهَمُ بَعْضَ الْمَسَائِلِ بِسُرْعَةٍ، وَكَانَ يَحْتَاجُ إِلَى وَقْتٍ أَطْوَلَ. فِي الْبِدَايَةِ، كَانَ يَسْأَلُنِي عَنْ كُلِّ خُطْوَةٍ. لَكِنَّنِي أَصْبَحْتُ أَرُدُّ بِعَجَلَةٍ: «هَذَا سَهْلٌ، شَرَحْتُهُ مِنْ قَبْلُ». وَأَحْيَانًا كُنْتُ آخُذُ قَلَمَهُ وَأَكْتُبُ الْحَلَّ بَدَلًا مِنْهُ.
بَعْدَ أَيَّامٍ، تَوَقَّفَ عَادِلٌ عَنْ إِحْضَارِ دَفْتَرِهِ إِلَى طَاوِلَتِي. ظَنَنْتُ أَنَّهُ لَمْ يَعُدْ يَحْتَاجُ إِلَيَّ، فَلَمْ أَسْأَلْهُ عَنِ السَّبَبِ. فِي حِصَّةِ الْمُرَاجَعَةِ، رَأَيْتُهُ يَمْسَحُ الْإِجَابَةَ نَفْسَهَا مِرَارًا. كَانَ دَفْتَرُهُ مَفْتُوحًا عَلَى مَسْأَلَةٍ شَرَحْتُهَا لَهُ. وَعِنْدَمَا اقْتَرَبْتُ مِنْهُ، وَضَعَ يَدَهُ عَلَى الصَّفْحَةِ وَقَالَ إِنَّهُ سَيُحَاوِلُ وَحْدَهُ.
اِنْتَظَرْتُ حَتَّى نِهَايَةِ الْحِصَّةِ، ثُمَّ سَأَلْتُهُ عَلَى انْفِرَادٍ إِنْ كُنْتُ قَدْ ضَايَقْتُهُ. تَرَدَّدَ قَلِيلًا، ثُمَّ قَالَ: «عِنْدَمَا تَقُولُ إِنَّ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ سَهْلٌ، أَشْعُرُ بِالْحَرَجِ مِنْ سُؤَالِكَ مَرَّةً أُخْرَى». تَذَكَّرْتُ نَبْرَةَ صَوْتِي، وَاعْتَذَرْتُ عَنْهَا. لَمْ أَقُلْ إِنَّنِي كُنْتُ أَمْزَحُ، بَلْ سَأَلْتُهُ عَنْ طَرِيقَةٍ تُسَاعِدُهُ فِعْلًا.
طَلَبَ أَنْ نَحُلَّ مِثَالًا وَاحِدًا مَعًا، ثُمَّ أَتْرُكَهُ يُجَرِّبُ مَسْأَلَةً مُشَابِهَةً. وَافَقْتُ، وَسَأَلْتُهُ عَنِ الْخُطْوَةِ الَّتِي لَمْ يَفْهَمْهَا. شَرَحْتُهَا بِبُطْءٍ، وَأَبْقَيْتُ الْقَلَمَ فِي يَدِهِ. عِنْدَمَا تَوَقَّفَ، اِنْتَظَرْتُ قَبْلَ الْكَلَامِ. وَبَدَلًا مِنْ إِعْطَائِهِ الْإِجَابَةَ، أَشَرْتُ إِلَى الْمِثَالِ. نَظَرَ إِلَيْهِ، وَصَحَّحَ خَطَأً فِي السَّطْرِ الثَّانِي، ثُمَّ أَكْمَلَ الْحَلَّ.
فِي صَبَاحِ الْيَوْمِ التَّالِي، أَرْسَلَ لِي عَادِلٌ صُورَةَ تَمْرِينٍ، وَوَضَعَ دَائِرَةً حَوْلَ خُطْوَةٍ وَاحِدَةٍ. كَتَبَ: «فَهِمْتُ الْبِدَايَةَ، لَكِنْ عِنْدِي سُؤَالٌ هُنَا». كُنْتُ فِي الْحَافِلَةِ، فَأَخْبَرْتُهُ أَنَّنِي سَأُرَاجِعُهَا مَعَهُ قَبْلَ الدَّرْسِ. عِنْدَمَا وَصَلْتُ، كَانَ يَنْتَظِرُنِي وَدَفْتَرُهُ مَفْتُوحٌ. جَلَسْتُ بِجَانِبِهِ وَقُلْتُ: «أَرِنِي كَيْفَ وَصَلْتَ إِلَى هَذِهِ الْخُطْوَةِ».
Show English translationHide English translation
My friend Adil used to sit with me after maths class to review the exercises. I understood some problems quickly, while he needed longer. At first, he asked me about every step. But I began replying impatiently: “This is easy. I explained it before.” Sometimes I would take his pencil and write the solution for him.
After a few days, Adil stopped bringing his notebook to my table. I thought he no longer needed me, so I did not ask why. During a revision lesson, I saw him erasing the same answer repeatedly. His notebook was open at a problem I had explained to him. When I approached, he put his hand over the page and said he would try on his own.
I waited until the end of the lesson, then asked him privately whether I had upset him. He hesitated briefly, then said, “When you say everything is easy, I feel embarrassed to ask you again.” I remembered my tone of voice and apologised for it. I did not say I had been joking; instead, I asked what approach would actually help him.
He asked us to solve one example together and then let him try a similar problem. I agreed and asked which step he had not understood. I explained it slowly and left the pencil in his hand. When he paused, I waited before speaking. Instead of giving him the answer, I pointed to the example. He looked at it, corrected an error on the second line, then completed the solution.
The next morning, Adil sent me a photograph of an exercise and circled one step. He wrote, “I understood the beginning, but I have a question here.” I was on the bus, so I told him I would review it with him before class. When I arrived, he was waiting with his notebook open. I sat beside him and said, “Show me how you reached this step.”
02Useful words from the story
| Arabic in the story | Meaning here |
|---|---|
| الرِّيَاضِيَّاتِ | maths; mathematics |
| بِعَجَلَةٍ | in a hurry; impatiently here |
| يَمْسَحُ | he erases |
| مِرَارًا | repeatedly |
| عَلَى انْفِرَادٍ | privately |
| تَرَدَّدَ | he hesitated |
| بِالْحَرَجِ | embarrassed |
| نَبْرَةَ صَوْتِي | my tone of voice |
| مَسْأَلَةً مُشَابِهَةً | a similar problem |
| صَحَّحَ | he corrected |
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
- Adil’s silence does not mean he understands; his own explanation corrects the narrator’s first assumption.
- The narrator supports Adil’s thinking by leaving him the pencil, waiting and pointing back to an example.
Explore the Arabic in this story
Related grammar and vocabularyOpen Araqick guides connected to this story.
Kana in Arabic: Was and Were
كُنْتُ فِي الْحَافِلَةِ
Locate the narrator in the past using kana with a place phrase.
Arabic Time and Place Adverbs: Before, After, In Front and Behind
قَبْلَ الْكَلَامِ
Follow the helper’s change in pace through a before expression.
