O Telefonema
Sara recebe um telefonema misterioso a dizer que o marido está em perigo e passa três horas numa espiral de pânico.
ligar—to callRead this in the PortuStories app
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Story opening — Portuguese with English Translation
Sara trabalha numa empresa de contabilidade no centro do Porto. Na quinta-feira às três da tarde, o seu telemóvel toca com um número desconhecido. Uma voz feminina diz: "A Sara é casada com o Carlos Mendes?" Sara responde que sim. A voz continua: "Sei que o seu marido está em perigo. Não consigo dizer mais. Ligue-lhe já."
Sara works at an accounting firm in the centre of Porto. On Thursday at three in the afternoon, her mobile rings with an unknown number. A female voice says: "Are you married to Carlos Mendes?" Sara says yes. The voice continues: "I know your husband is in danger. I cannot say more. Call him now."
Sara liga ao Carlos. Não responde. Liga outra vez. Nada. Envia mensagens. Silêncio. O Carlos trabalha numa obra no lado norte da cidade — um lugar com pouca rede. Sara tenta ligar para o encarregado da obra. Também não responde. Ao fim de uma hora, Sara está com as mãos a tremer.
Sara calls Carlos. No answer. She calls again. Nothing. She sends messages. Silence. Carlos works on a building site on the north side of the city — a place with poor signal. Sara tries to call the site foreman. He also does not answer. After one hour, Sara's hands are shaking.
The remaining 3 paragraphs are in the reader, with audio for every sentence and tap-to-translate on every word.
Vocabulary Glossary
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| telefonema | phone call |
| ligar | to call (phone), to connect |
| liga | calls (3rd person present of ligar) |
| casada | married (feminine) |
| marido | husband |
| perigo | danger |
| consigo | I can, I manage (1st person present of conseguir) |
| dizer | to say, to tell |
| mais | more |
| ligue | call (imperative/subjunctive of ligar) |
| já | already, right now |
| responde | answers (3rd person present of responder) |
| responder | to answer, to respond |
| não | no, not |
| outra vez | again |
| outra | other, another (feminine) |
| vez | time (occurrence) |
| nada | nothing |
| envia | sends (3rd person present of enviar) |
| enviar | to send |
| mensagens | messages (plural) |
| mensagem | message |
| silêncio | silence |
| trabalha | works (3rd person present of trabalhar) |
| trabalhar | to work |
| obra | building site, construction work |
| lado | side |
| norte | north |
| cidade | city |
| lugar | place |
| pouca | little, scarce (feminine) |
| rede | signal (mobile) |
| tenta | tries (3rd person present of tentar) |
| tentar | to try |
| encarregado de obra | building site foreman |
| também | also, too |
| ao fim de | after (a period of time) |
| fim | end |
| hora | hour |
| está | is (3rd person present of estar) |
| estar | to be (state/condition) |
| mãos | hands (plural) |
| tremer | to shake, to tremble |
| pede | asks (3rd person present of pedir) |
| pedir | to ask for, to request |
| chefe | boss |
| saia | leave (present subjunctive of sair) |
| sair | to leave, to go out |
| mais cedo | earlier |
| cedo | early |
| vai | goes (3rd person present of ir) |
| ir | to go |
| porteiro | security guard, gatekeeper |
| diz | says (3rd person present of dizer) |
| saiu | left, went out (3rd person past of sair) |
| meio-dia | midday, noon |
| almoço | lunch |
| voltou | returned (3rd person past of voltar) |
| voltar | to return, to come back |
| hospitais | hospitals (plural) |
| hospital | hospital |
| ninguém | nobody, no one |
| nome | name |
| esquadra | police station |
| pensa | thinks (3rd person present of pensar) |
| pensar | to think |
| pais | parents |
| quer | wants (3rd person present of querer) |
| querer | to want |
| preocupá-los | to worry them |
| preocupar | to worry |
| sem | without |
| razão | reason |
| quem | who |
| afinal | after all, in the end |
| autora | author (feminine) |
| misterioso | mysterious |
| durante | during, for (duration) |
| horas | hours (plural) |
| faz | does/makes (3rd person present of fazer) |
| fazer | to do, to make |
| consegue | manages, can (3rd person present of conseguir) |
| conseguir | to manage, to be able to |
| contactar | to contact |
| sei | I know (1st person present of saber) |
| saber | to know |
| seu | your (formal), his/her |
| olá | hello |
| amor | love (term of endearment) |
| estou | I am (1st person present of estar) |
| aqui | here |
| casa | house, home |
| tomei | took/had (1st person past of tomar) |
| tomar | to take, to have (food/shower) |
| banho | bath, shower |
| tomar banho | to take a bath/shower |
| jantar | dinner |
| estiveste | you were (2nd person past of estar) |
| dia | day |
| todo | all, whole |
| betoneira | concrete mixer |
| respirar fundo | to take a deep breath |
| apresentar | to introduce, to present |
| telemóvel | mobile phone |
| é | is (3rd person present of ser) |
| ser | to be (permanent/identity) |
| há | there is/are; ago |
| então | then, so |
| só | only, just |
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