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Illustration for “The hotter it gets, the less I feel like doing anything”

Spanish dialogue with translation · B2 · 18 lines

Cuanto más calor hace, menos ganas tengo de nada The hotter it gets, the less I feel like doing anything

Comic · 18 panels

Panel 1 of 18 for “The hotter it gets, the less I feel like doing anything”: “Look at your phone: there's an orange heat alert in Valencia today. This afternoon there will be extreme heat.”
  1. Diego

    Mira el móvil: hoy hay alerta naranja por calor en Valencia. Esta tarde habrá calor extremo.

    Look at your phone: there's an orange heat alert in Valencia today. This afternoon there will be extreme heat.

Panel 2 of 18 for “The hotter it gets, the less I feel like doing anything”: “I can already feel it. The hotter it gets, the less I feel like doing anything.”
  1. Ana

    Ya lo noto. Cuanto más calor hace, menos ganas tengo de nada.

    I can already feel it. The hotter it gets, the less I feel like doing anything.

Panel 3 of 18 for “The hotter it gets, the less I feel like doing anything”: “Then don't go out between twelve and five. If you have to wait for the bus, wait in the shade and drink water, even if you're not thirsty.”
  1. Diego

    Pues no salgas entre las doce y las cinco. Si tienes que esperar el autobús, espera a la sombra y bebe agua, aunque no tengas sed.

    Then don't go out between twelve and five. If you have to wait for the bus, wait in the shade and drink water, even if you're not thirsty.

Panel 4 of 18 for “The hotter it gets, the less I feel like doing anything”: “I've already put down the awning on the terrace, and the fan has been on all day. Coco is sleeping on the bathroom floor and isn't moving.”
  1. Ana

    Ya he bajado el toldo de la terraza y el ventilador lleva todo el día encendido. Coco duerme en el suelo del baño y no se mueve.

    I've already put down the awning on the terrace, and the fan has been on all day. Coco is sleeping on the bathroom floor and isn't moving.

Panel 5 of 18 for “The hotter it gets, the less I feel like doing anything”: “I cooled off with a shower, but ten minutes later I'm hot again. Should we turn on the air conditioning now?”
  1. Diego

    Yo me he refrescado con una ducha, pero a los diez minutos ya tengo calor otra vez. ¿Ponemos ya el aire acondicionado?

    I cooled off with a shower, but ten minutes later I'm hot again. Should we turn on the air conditioning now?

Panel 6 of 18 for “The hotter it gets, the less I feel like doing anything”: “Better to wait. The more we use it, the more electricity it uses and the higher the bill goes.”
  1. Ana

    Mejor esperar. Cuanto más lo usamos, más luz consume y más sube la factura.

    Better to wait. The more we use it, the more electricity it uses and the higher the bill goes.

Panel 7 of 18 for “The hotter it gets, the less I feel like doing anything”: “At my office they keep it at 27 degrees, and it's quite bearable. Less electricity gets used, and there are fewer emissions.”
  1. Diego

    En mi oficina lo tienen a 27 grados y se aguanta bien. Se gasta menos luz y hay menos emisiones.

    At my office they keep it at 27 degrees, and it's quite bearable. Less electricity gets used, and there are fewer emissions.

Panel 8 of 18 for “The hotter it gets, the less I feel like doing anything”: “Then we'll set it the same way: at 27 degrees, only in the bedroom and only at night.”
  1. Ana

    Pues lo ponemos igual: a 27 grados, solo en el dormitorio y solo por la noche.

    Then we'll set it the same way: at 27 degrees, only in the bedroom and only at night.

Panel 9 of 18 for “The hotter it gets, the less I feel like doing anything”: “And open the window at dawn. But keep in mind: with the window open, mosquitoes get in.”
  1. Diego

    Y abre la ventana al amanecer. Eso sí, con la ventana abierta entran mosquitos.

    And open the window at dawn. But keep in mind: with the window open, mosquitoes get in.

Panel 10 of 18 for “The hotter it gets, the less I feel like doing anything”: “Last night four of them bit me. It's the tiger mosquito, a species that already lives here: the hotter it is, the more mosquitoes.”
  1. Ana

    Anoche me picaron cuatro. Es el mosquito tigre, una especie que ya vive aquí: cuanto más calor, más mosquitos.

    Last night four of them bit me. It's the tiger mosquito, a species that already lives here: the hotter it is, the more mosquitoes.

Panel 11 of 18 for “The hotter it gets, the less I feel like doing anything”: “Then use the hand fan. And if you feel dizzy or your head hurts, don't wait: it could be heatstroke.”
  1. Diego

    Entonces usa el abanico. Y si te mareas o te duele la cabeza, no esperes: puede ser un golpe de calor.

    Then use the hand fan. And if you feel dizzy or your head hurts, don't wait: it could be heatstroke.

Panel 12 of 18 for “The hotter it gets, the less I feel like doing anything”: “I already do: my mother bought it for me at Fallas. And if I feel dizzy, I'll cool my face with water and call 112.”
  1. Ana

    Ya lo uso: me lo compró mi madre en las Fallas. Y si me mareo, me refresco la cara con agua y llamo al 112.

    I already do: my mother bought it for me at Fallas. And if I feel dizzy, I'll cool my face with water and call 112.

Panel 13 of 18 for “The hotter it gets, the less I feel like doing anything”: “Right. And fill two bottles with water and put them in the fridge.”
  1. Diego

    Eso. Y llena dos botellas de agua y ponlas en la nevera.

    Right. And fill two bottles with water and put them in the fridge.

Panel 14 of 18 for “The hotter it gets, the less I feel like doing anything”: “Already done. And I water the plants on the terrace with the water from washing the vegetables: that way I reuse the water and don't waste…
  1. Ana

    Ya están. Y a las plantas de la terraza las riego con el agua de lavar la verdura: así reutilizo el agua y no desperdicio nada.

    Already done. And I water the plants on the terrace with the water from washing the vegetables: that way I reuse the water and don't waste anything.

Panel 15 of 18 for “The hotter it gets, the less I feel like doing anything”: “My parents say that when they were young, it wasn't this hot. It must be climate change.”
  1. Diego

    Mis padres dicen que cuando eran jóvenes no hacía tanto calor. Será el cambio climático.

    My parents say that when they were young, it wasn't this hot. It must be climate change.

Panel 16 of 18 for “The hotter it gets, the less I feel like doing anything”: “That must be it. My mother wrote to me: "The more water you drink, the better, and always sunscreen."”
  1. Ana

    Será eso. Mi madre me ha escrito: «Cuanta más agua bebas, mejor, y crema solar siempre».

    That must be it. My mother wrote to me: "The more water you drink, the better, and always sunscreen."

Panel 17 of 18 for “The hotter it gets, the less I feel like doing anything”: “Your mother's right. The sooner fall comes, the better.”
  1. Diego

    Tu madre tiene razón. Cuanto antes llegue el otoño, mejor.

    Your mother's right. The sooner fall comes, the better.

Panel 18 of 18 for “The hotter it gets, the less I feel like doing anything”: “And with fall, the rain.”
  1. Ana

    Y con el otoño, la lluvia.

    And with fall, the rain.

Grammar for this text

The more…, the more…: cuanto más…, más…. The details are in the unit grammar; here is how it works in these lines.

  • Cuanto más calor hace, menos ganas tengo de nada — "the hotter it gets, the less I feel like doing anything". Spanish has no word for the second "the": the second half starts right away with más or menos.
  • Cuanto más lo usamos, más luz consume — a verb in both halves, and más is repeated.
  • Cuanto más calor, más mosquitos — the verb can be left out.
  • Cuanta más agua bebas, mejor — cuanta because agua is feminine; bebas is the subjunctive because it's advice about the future. Cuanto antes llegue el otoño, mejor — the same: llegue is about a fall that hasn't come yet.

Other things in the text.

  • alerta naranja por calor — a weather service warning: yellow, orange, red (the danger grows); por calor — "because of the heat".
  • a 27 grados — in summer people are advised not to set the air conditioning below 27 degrees: the difference from the outside is smaller, and so is the bill.
  • luz — word for word "light", but in everyday Spanish also "electricity": más luz consume, se gasta menos luz.
  • se aguanta bien — "it's bearable" (casual).
  • llamo al 112 — 112 is the single emergency number in Spain; calls are free.
  • Será el cambio climático — the future tense as a guess: "it must be…". Será eso — "that must be it".
  • me lo compró mi madre en las Fallas — Ana's mother bought her the fan when she came for Fallas (unit 12).

Words and grammar of the unit: Save water in a drought and a heat wave.

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