Fluent Fiction - Slovenian: Mystery Ballot: Uncovering Hidden Truths at Ljubljana's Polls
Find the full episode transcript, vocabulary words, and more:
fluentfiction.org/mystery-ballot-uncovering-hidden-truths-at-ljubljanas-polls

Story Transcript:

Sl: Ljubljana je bila to poletje polna življenja.
En: Ljubljana was full of life this summer.

Sl: Najbolj živahen je bil volilni center v središču mesta.
En: The busiest place was the polling center in the heart of the city.

Sl: Bojan, srednjih let, se je pred kratkim preselil nazaj v Ljubljano.
En: Bojan, a middle-aged man, had recently moved back to Ljubljana.

Sl: V vrsti za glasovanje je zagledal znan obraz.
En: In the queue for voting, he spotted a familiar face.

Sl: Petra je bila njegova stara prijateljica, zdaj pa je delala kot prostovoljka na volišču.
En: Petra, his old friend, was now working as a volunteer at the polling station.

Sl: Bojan je komaj čakal, da odda svoj glas.
En: Bojan could hardly wait to cast his vote.

Sl: Ko je bil končno na vrsti, je vzel glasovnico in stopil do kabine.
En: When it was finally his turn, he took the ballot and stepped into the booth.

Sl: Nenadoma je opazil nekaj nenavadnega.
En: Suddenly, he noticed something unusual.

Sl: Ena od glasovnic na mizi ni imela nobenih oznak.
En: One of the ballots on the table had no markings at all.

Sl: Bila je popolnoma prazna.
En: It was completely blank.

Sl: Bojan je pogledal Petro in ji pomenljivo pokimal.
En: Bojan glanced at Petra and nodded significantly.

Sl: Ona je pristopila bližje, da bi videla, kaj ga je zmotilo.
En: She came closer to see what had caught his attention.

Sl: "Kaj pa je to?
En: "What's this?"

Sl: " je vprašala.
En: she asked.

Sl: "Ne vem," je odgovoril Bojan, "ampak ni videti pravilno.
En: "I don't know," replied Bojan, "but it doesn't look right."

Sl: "Petra je vzela glasovnico v roke in jo preučila.
En: Petra took the ballot in her hands and examined it.

Sl: "To ni običajno.
En: "This is not normal.

Sl: Vse glasovnice morajo biti jasno označene.
En: All ballots should be clearly marked."

Sl: "Bojan se je namrščil.
En: Bojan frowned.

Sl: Razmišljal je, ali naj še naprej sledi svoji dolžnosti in preprosto odda svoj glas ali naj ugotovi, kaj je narobe z neoznačeno glasovnico.
En: He was pondering whether to continue with his civic duty and simply cast his vote or to find out what was wrong with the unmarked ballot.

Sl: Odločil se je, da bo ostal.
En: He decided to stay.

Sl: "Moramo ugotoviti, od kod prihaja ta glasovnica," je rekel odločno.
En: "We need to find out where this ballot came from," he said decisively.

Sl: Petra je prikimala in odšla k nadzorniku volišča.
En: Petra nodded and went to the polling station supervisor.

Sl: Po nekaj zmedenih pogledih in hitrih pogovorih je prišla nazaj z novico.
En: After a few puzzled looks and quick conversations, she came back with news.

Sl: "Ta glasovnica ne bi smela biti tukaj.
En: "This ballot shouldn't be here.

Sl: Nismo prepričani, kdo jo je prinesel.
En: We're not sure who brought it."

Sl: "Bojana je to še bolj zanimalo.
En: This intrigued Bojan even more.

Sl: Skupaj sta s Petro pregledala varnostne kamere.
En: Together with Petra, they reviewed the security cameras.

Sl: Nato sta zagledala nekaj neverjetnega.
En: Then they saw something incredible.

Sl: Na posnetku je bila oseba, ki je skrivaj položila neoznačeno glasovnico na mizo.
En: In the footage, a person was discreetly placing the unmarked ballot on the table.

Sl: Bila je zamaskirana, težko prepoznavna.
En: The person was masked, making them hard to identify.

Sl: "Ampak zakaj?
En: "But why?"

Sl: " se je vprašal Bojan glasno.
En: Bojan asked aloud.

Sl: Petra ga je pogledala resno.
En: Petra looked at him seriously.

Sl: "Morda so hoteli vplivati na volitve," je rekla.
En: "Maybe they wanted to influence the election," she said.

Sl: "Ali preprosto narediti zmedo.
En: "Or simply create confusion."

Sl: "Bojan je globoko vdihnil.
En: Bojan took a deep breath.

Sl: Njegova vrnitev v Ljubljano je nenadoma postala več kot le selitev.
En: His return to Ljubljana had suddenly become more than just a move.

Sl: Spoznal je, da njegov glas pomeni nekaj.
En: He realized that his vote mattered.

Sl: Njegova dejanja lahko vplivajo na skupnost.
En: His actions could impact the community.

Sl: S pomočjo Petre in drugih prostovoljcev so poskrbeli, da je bila neoznačena glasovnica pravilno zabeležena in umaknjena.
En: With the help of Petra and other volunteers, they ensured the unmarked ballot was properly recorded and removed.

Sl: Volitve so se nadaljevale brez nadaljnjih motenj.
En: The elections continued without further disturbances.

Sl: Ko je odhajal iz volišča, je Bojan začutil ponos.
En: As he left the polling station, Bojan felt proud.

Sl: Ni bil več zgolj opazovalec v svojem mestu.
En: He was no longer merely an observer in his city.

Sl: Postal je del njega.
En: He had become a part of it.

Sl: Včasih male skrivnosti lahko razkrijejo velike resnice.
En: Sometimes small mysteries can reveal great truths.

Sl: Bojan je vedel, da bo od zdaj naprej vedno aktiven član svoje skupnosti.
En: Bojan knew that from now on, he would always be an active member of his community.

Sl: Ljubljano je čutil kot svoj dom, še bolj kot kadar koli prej.
En: He felt Ljubljana was his home, more than ever before.


Vocabulary Words:

• polling: volilni
• volunteer: prostovoljka
• queue: vrsti
• ballot: glasovnico
• booth: kabine
• blank: prazna
• marked: označene
• frowned: namrščil
• pondering: razmišljal
• decisively: odločno
• supervisor: nadzorniku
• puzzled: zmedenih
• footage: posnetku
• discreetly: skrivaj
• masked: zamaskirana
• influence: vplivati
• confusion: zmedo
• recorded: zabeležena
• observer: opazovalec
• mysteries: skrivnosti
• truths: resnice
• civic: državljansko
• attention: pozornost
• continue: nadaljuje
• community: skupnost
• returned: vrnitev
• properly: pravilno
• disturbances: motnje
• revealed: razkrijejo
• liveliness: življenja