Intro
1. Learn Vocabulary - Learn some new vocabulary before you start the lesson.
2. Read and Prepare - Read the introduction and prepare to hear the audio.
People love their pets! Some people think of a dog or cat as their best friend or even their child. They buy their pets expensive toys, a nice, soft bed, and sometimes, clothing to keep them warm. And of course, people who devote a lot of time to their pets also want to make sure that their pets eat good food. Some new dog food is all-natural. It is so healthy that even humans can eat it!
Pet owners with money to burn don’t mind buying special food for their dogs. They want to make sure their dog has the best things in life. However, other people think that it is silly to spoil one’s dog with human food. After all, dogs aren’t people! They should not eat food for people… and they definitely shouldn’t sit at the table with their owners.
Romeo thinks it is weird how some people treat their dogs. Listen to the dialog to see if Dominique agrees with him.
Dialog
1. Listen and Read - Listen to the audio and read the dialog at the same time.
2. Study - Read the dialog again to see how the vocab words are used.
Romeo: I know this is probably a weird topic, but I can’t believe that people actually treat dogs like they’re humans and make them the same food that we eat. That’s why they have dog food.
Dominique: Yeah, but if it’s all-natural ingredients, why not? Why not treat your dog to something healthy?
Romeo: So, then it wouldn’t be called dog food. It would be called our food.
Dominique: Well, they have dog food that is healthy, that we can actually open the bag…
Romeo: Right.
Dominique: ...and eat it ourselves as a snack.
Romeo: I’m not opposed to having my dog sit at the table with me, but he should have his meal, and I would be able to have my meal.
Dominique: OK, let’s back it up...
Romeo: I just think that it’s wrong that you take beef or other animals and then feed it to another animal.
Dominique: OK, if you put it like that, that is kind of weird, and for the record, I just couldn’t have my animal sit at the table with me because then I’d be like, “Stop looking at my plate!”
Romeo: For sure!
Dominique: But um, healthy food, why not?
Romeo: Healthy food, OK, so tell me a little bit more…
Dominique: Have you seen the vet bills?
Romeo: Uhh.
Dominique: They’re crazy!
Romeo: No, I have not.
Grammar Point
Go Super to learn "Modal Verbs" from this lesson
Quizzes
Lesson MP3
The iTEP® test
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Discussion
Romeo wants to talk to Dominique about something that he thinks is pretty weird. He can’t believe that people treat their pet dogs as if they are humans. He does not think people should feed their dogs human food. After all, dog food exists for a reason.
Dominique does not see a problem with giving dogs healthy, all-natural food. She does think it is strange when people treat their dogs like humans, however. She could not eat if her dog were sitting at the table and staring at her. Romeo agrees that a dog should have its own meal and not share his meal, but he would not mind if his dog sat at the table with him. In the end, Dominique and Romeo both don’t see any problem with giving dogs healthy food.
Do you have any pets? Do you think pets should be treated like humans or like animals?