Reading · B1 · Text 32

Rosa Parks

148 words2 min read84% known at B1

Manche haben vermutet: Rosa Parks war an dem einen Tag sehr müde von der Arbeit gekommen und wollte deswegen nicht aufstehen.
Some have speculated that Rosa Parks came home very tired from work that day and therefore didn't want to give up her seat.
Sie selbst hat später gesagt, dass sie sauer über die Regeln war und sich nicht mehr herumschubsen lassen wollte.
She herself later said that she was angry about the rules and didn't want to be pushed around anymore.
Es kann sein, dass sie nicht einfach erst in dem Moment auf die Idee gekommen ist.
It may be that she didn't simply come up with the idea just at that moment.
Sie war damals schon Mitglied in einem Verein, NAACP genannt, der für die Rechte von Schwarzen gekämpft hat.
At that time she was already a member of an organization called the NAACP, which fought for the rights of Black people.
Der Verein suchte Menschen, die ein Vorbild für andere sein konnten, die gegen die Rassentrennung waren.
The organization was looking for people who could be role models for others, who were against racial segregation.
Rosa Parks war klug, beliebt und schon etwas älter, verheiratet und hatte einen Beruf.
Rosa Parks was smart, popular, and a bit older, married, and had a job.
So war es für die Gegner schwieriger, sie schlecht zu machen.
This made it harder for opponents to discredit her.
Was auch immer der Grund war: Rosa Parks zeigte sehr großen Mut.
Whatever the reason was, Rosa Parks showed great courage.
Später wurde sie nämlich oft von bösen Menschen bedroht.
Later, she was often threatened by evil people.
Sie haben gesagt, dass man ihr oder ihrer Familie etwas antun würde.
They said they would do something to her or her family.

15 words above B1

Rassentrennung

racial segregation no plural

Vorbild

role model plural: Vorbilder model; exemplar (praiseworthy example); role model B2/ˈfoːɐ̯ˌbɪlt/

antun

to do (something to someone), to harm separable: tut an, tat an, hat angetan

bedroht← bedrohen

threatened past participle of 'bedrohen' (weak: bedrohte, hat bedroht) to threaten, menace C1/bəˈdʁoːən/

Gegner

opponents plural form; singular also 'Gegner'

bösen← böse

evil, bad declined form after 'von' (dative plural)

verheiratet

married past participle used as adjective

Menschen← der Mensch

people, human beings plural; dative plural form

andere

others substantivized adjective, declines like adjective

Moment

moment plural: Momente

Manche← manche

some (people) indefinite pronoun, plural

selbst

herself (for emphasis) also can mean 'even'

nämlich

you see, namely discourse particle, explains previous statement namely, specifically; used to further specify what exactly one was talking about just before; because, after all; used to follow up a statement with… B2/ˈnɛːmlɪç/

lassen

to let, allow strong verb: lässt, ließ, gelassen

gegen

against takes accusative

Grammar in this text

Passive voice with 'werden' in past tense

Später wurde sie nämlich oft von bösen Menschen bedroht.

The passive is formed with 'werden' (here 'wurde' in Präteritum) plus the past participle 'bedroht'. The agent is introduced by 'von' + dative. Recognized by the auxiliary 'wurde' and the participle at the end.

Subordinate clause with 'dass' (verb-final word order)

dass sie sauer über die Regeln war

In a 'dass' clause, the conjugated verb moves to the end. This is a basic B1 rule for subordinate clauses. The example shows 'war' after the subject and prepositional phrase.

Relative clause with relative pronoun 'der' in the nominative

der für die Rechte von Schwarzen gekämpft hat

The relative pronoun 'der' agrees with its antecedent 'Verein' (masculine) and is the subject of the relative clause. The conjugated verb 'hat' goes to the end of the relative clause.

Reflexive + 'lassen' + infinitive

sich nicht mehr herumschubsen lassen

This construction means 'to let oneself be pushed around'. It combines a reflexive pronoun, the adverb 'nicht mehr', and the infinitive 'lassen' at the end. The entire phrase follows a modal-like use of 'lassen'.

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Same text, graded forB2 version

Text from Rosa Parks — Klexikon, used under CC BY-SA 4.0. See sources.

Translation, glossary and grammar notes are machine-generated and inherit the same licence.