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Read and listen to short Indonesian texts: conversations between two people and short news items. You can switch between Indonesian, Malay and English, play the whole thing and then test yourself with a few multiple-choice questions. Choose a text below.
- 01 ✓ Breakfast at a warung Dewi orders breakfast at a small food stall: nasi goreng, tea and a question about spice.
- 02 ✓ Asking the way to the station Tom is lost and asks a passer-by how to walk to the train station.
- 03 ✓ Meeting someone in class Anna and Rizky meet on the first day of an Indonesian course and introduce themselves.
- 04 ✓ Buying fruit at the market Lisa buys mangoes and bananas at the market and tries to get a better price.
- 05 ✓ Making weekend plans Maya and Farid arrange to meet on Saturday: what time, where, and what to do if it rains.
- 06 ✓ New park opens in the city centre A new park with a playground, a jogging track and free Wi-Fi opens this weekend.
- 07 ✓ Heavy rain expected this weekend The weather service warns of heavy rain and strong wind; residents are asked to stay alert.
- 08 ✓ Food festival in Bandung Three days of street food from all over Indonesia and Malaysia, with a cooking contest on the last day.
- 09 ✓ New train between Jakarta and Bandung A new fast train cuts the journey to under an hour; tickets go on sale online.
- 10 ✓ Village gets a new primary school Two hundred children no longer have to walk an hour to school; the new building has six classrooms and a library.
- 11 ✓ A first job interview Nadia interviews for a marketing job: experience, strengths, and the question everyone dreads — salary.
- 12 ✓ At the doctor with a fever Arif has had a fever for three days. The doctor asks about his symptoms and explains the medicine.
- 13 ✓ Looking for a room near campus A student views a boarding-house room and asks about the rent, the rules and what is included.
- 14 ✓ Complaining about an online order Yusuf's new phone arrived with a broken screen. He calls customer service to get a replacement.
- 15 ✓ Planning a surprise birthday party Two friends organise a surprise party: the guest list, the cake, the budget and how to keep it secret.
- 16 ✓ City bans single-use plastic bags From next month shops may no longer hand out plastic bags; fines apply and reusable bags are handed out for free.
- 17 ✓ Students build an app for regional languages Three university students launch a free app that teaches Javanese, Sundanese and Balinese with voice recordings from native speakers.
- 18 ✓ Chilli prices double after weeks of rain Failed harvests push the price of chilli to a record; households and warung owners look for alternatives.
- 19 ✓ Night classes help adults finish school A community centre offers free evening classes so working adults can get their high-school diploma.
- 20 ✓ Daily limit on hikers at popular volcano After problems with rubbish and rescues, the national park limits hikers to five hundred a day and requires online booking.
- 21 ✓ Negotiating a supplier contract A purchasing manager and a supplier negotiate price, delivery terms and penalties for a yearly contract.
- 22 ✓ Debating remote work at the office An HR director and a team leader disagree about bringing staff back to the office five days a week.
- 23 ✓ Interview with a coral-reef researcher A journalist questions a marine biologist about coral bleaching, its causes and whether restoration actually works.
- 24 ✓ Legal advice on a land dispute A woman who inherited land discovers a neighbour has built on part of it. A lawyer explains her options.
- 25 ✓ Newsroom discussion on a viral hoax An editor and a reporter decide how to cover a viral video that turns out to be fake — without spreading it further.
- 26 ✓ Central bank holds interest rate steady Inflation is easing but the rupiah is under pressure; the central bank keeps its benchmark rate unchanged and warns about global risks.
- 27 ✓ Parliament passes data-protection law Companies get two years to comply with new rules on personal data; critics say the supervisory body is not independent enough.
- 28 ✓ Researchers discover new frog species in Papua A tiny frog that carries its young on its back is found in the highlands; scientists warn its habitat is already shrinking.
- 29 ✓ Indonesian film wins top prize at international festival A low-budget drama about a fishing village beats big productions; the director calls it a win for regional-language cinema.
- 30 ✓ Coastal city faces clean-water crisis Over-extraction of groundwater is sinking the city and letting seawater into wells; officials weigh unpopular measures.
- 31 ✓ At the pharmacy Sam has a headache and asks the pharmacist for medicine.
- 32 ✓ Calling a friend Nina calls Dedi to ask where he is and when he will arrive.
- 33 ✓ Taking a taxi to the airport Lena takes a taxi to the airport and asks about the price and the time.
- 34 ✓ Buying a shirt Rudi tries on a shirt and asks about size, colour and price.
- 35 ✓ Talking about the weather Two neighbours chat about the hot weather and the rain that is coming.
- 36 ✓ Checking in at a hotel Mark checks in, asks about breakfast, Wi-Fi and the swimming pool.
- 37 ✓ Talking about family Two classmates show photos and talk about their brothers, sisters and parents.
- 38 ✓ Ordering food by phone Fitri orders two portions of chicken rice for delivery and gives her address.
- 39 ✓ What time is it? Two colleagues talk about the time, a meeting and plans for the evening.
- 40 ✓ Where are my keys? Adi cannot find his keys. His wife helps him look around the house.
- 41 ✓ Night market opens again The popular night market is back every Saturday with food, music and games.
- 42 ✓ New buses for the city Twenty new air-conditioned buses start running; a ticket costs four thousand rupiah.
- 43 ✓ Lost cat found after a week A family's cat went missing; a neighbour found it in a tree a week later.
- 44 ✓ Library now open on Sundays The city library opens on Sundays with a children's corner and free reading classes.
- 45 ✓ Village football team wins the cup A small village team beats the city team two to one in the final.
- 46 ✓ Fuel price goes down Petrol becomes cheaper from Monday; drivers and ojek riders are pleased.
- 47 ✓ Volunteers clean the beach Two hundred volunteers collect a ton of rubbish from the beach in one morning.
- 48 ✓ New bridge connects two villages A new bridge means children no longer cross the river by boat to get to school.
- 49 ✓ Oldest bakery in town turns fifty A family bakery celebrates fifty years with free bread for the first hundred customers.
- 50 ✓ School holidays start next week Two weeks of holiday; the city offers free swimming and a children's film programme.
- 51 ✓ Opening a bank account Rika opens a savings account and asks about fees, cards and the mobile app.
- 52 ✓ Planning a trip with friends Three friends can't agree: beach or mountains, flying or driving, and who books what.
- 53 ✓ Talking to a noisy neighbour Pak Toni politely asks his neighbour to turn down the music late at night, and they find a compromise.
- 54 ✓ Parent–teacher meeting A mother hears that her son is good at maths but struggles to concentrate, and they agree on a plan.
- 55 ✓ At the motorbike repair shop Hendra's motorbike makes a strange noise; the mechanic explains what is wrong and what it will cost.
- 56 ✓ Negotiating the rent A young couple likes a house but finds the rent high; they negotiate with the owner.
- 57 ✓ Feedback after a first presentation A manager gives a nervous junior honest, kind feedback: good content, too many slides, speak slower.
- 58 ✓ Helping a lost tourist A tourist has lost her way and her phone battery is dead; a local student helps her get back to her hotel.
- 59 ✓ Choosing an internet plan A customer compares two home-internet packages: speed, price, contract length and what happens when it breaks.
- 60 ✓ Reporting a lost wallet After losing her wallet on a bus, Sinta reports it at the police station and learns what to do next.
- 61 ✓ Electric bikes take over the city Sales of electric bicycles have tripled; the city adds charging points but worries about safety.
- 62 ✓ Café run by deaf staff opens its doors Customers order in sign language or by pointing at the menu; the owner wants to change how people see disability.
- 63 ✓ Long dry season worries rice farmers No rain for three months: wells are drying up, harvests are late and the government sends water trucks.
- 64 ✓ Hospital opens evening clinic for workers A public hospital now sees patients until nine at night so people no longer have to skip work to see a doctor.
- 65 ✓ Restaurant cuts food waste to almost zero Smaller portions, a 'take-home' box and a compost garden: how one restaurant stopped throwing food away.
- 66 ✓ Village wins national tourism award A mountain village limits visitors, bans plastic and trains locals as guides — and wins a national prize.
- 67 ✓ National exam replaced by school assessments Pupils will no longer sit one big final exam; teachers, parents and students react.
- 68 ✓ Traditional market goes digital Vendors at a traditional market now take QR payments and deliver by motorbike; older traders needed convincing.
- 69 ✓ Teenagers teach grandparents to use smartphones A weekly class pairs seniors with high-school volunteers for video calls, online banking and spotting scams.
- 70 ✓ Airport train delays spark complaints One in four airport trains ran late last month; the operator blames signal work and promises refunds.
- 71 ✓ Board meeting on cost cutting A CEO proposes closing a factory; the finance and HR directors weigh severance costs against long-term savings.
- 72 ✓ Interview with a mayoral candidate A journalist presses a candidate on flooding, public transport and how she will pay for her promises.
- 73 ✓ Doctor and patient discuss surgery A surgeon explains the risks and benefits of a heart procedure; the patient wants to understand before deciding.
- 74 ✓ Mediating an inheritance dispute Two siblings disagree over the family house; a mediator helps them separate emotions from the legal facts.
- 75 ✓ Defending a thesis A student defends her research on microplastics; the examiners challenge her sample size and conclusions.
- 76 ✓ Wage talks with the union Management offers a four percent raise; the union wants nine. They trade on overtime, health cover and a profit bonus.
- 77 ✓ Designing an energy-efficient house A couple wants a house that stays cool without air conditioning; the architect explains orientation, ventilation and solar panels.
- 78 ✓ Curating a controversial exhibition A museum director and a curator debate whether to show a provocative artwork and how to handle public reaction.
- 79 ✓ Pitching a startup to investors A founder pitches an app connecting farmers to buyers; the investor probes margins, competition and how the money will be spent.
- 80 ✓ A historian on preserving the archives A historian explains why thousands of colonial-era documents are rotting, and what digitisation can and cannot save.
- 81 ✓ Should we move abroad? A couple weighs a job offer in Singapore against ageing parents, children's schooling and the meaning of home.
- 82 ✓ Government launches carbon tax on power plants Coal plants will pay per tonne of CO₂ above a cap; industry warns of higher electricity prices while economists call the rate too low.
- 83 ✓ Study links late-night screen use to teen anxiety A three-year study of 4,000 Indonesian teenagers finds the timing of phone use matters more than the total hours.
- 84 ✓ Court revokes mining permit after villagers' lawsuit A landmark ruling finds the environmental assessment was flawed; the company will appeal.
- 85 ✓ Palm-oil exports fall as Europe tightens rules New EU deforestation rules cut Indonesian palm-oil exports by a fifth; smallholders struggle to prove their land is legal.
- 86 ✓ Eleven regional languages at risk of extinction A language survey finds speakers under thirty are vanishing; linguists push for mother-tongue teaching in early grades.
- 87 ✓ City trials four-day working week for civil servants Six months in, productivity is stable and sick leave is down, but residents complain about shorter service hours.
- 88 ✓ Dengue vaccine rollout begins in high-risk provinces Two million children will be vaccinated first; health officials stress the vaccine complements, not replaces, mosquito control.
- 89 ✓ First civil servants move to the new capital Ten thousand officials relocate to Nusantara; housing is ready but schools, hospitals and spouses' jobs lag behind.
- 90 ✓ Fishermen's weather app cuts accidents at sea A locally developed app combining satellite data with elders' knowledge halves sea accidents in two years — but its funding runs out in December.
- 91 ✓ National museum returns sacred objects to their village After a decade of negotiation, ancestral statues taken in the 1920s go home; the museum keeps 3D replicas and shares the story.
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