English, baby!

Pets

Date: Mar 06 2009

Themes: Family, Pets

Grammar: Definite & Indefinite Articles

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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.

There’s a saying in English that dogs are “man’s best friend.” That’s because dogs usually make loyal, affectionate companions. Plus, they love to cuddle and they never talk back to you. So in that way, maybe they’re even better than a best friend.

Dogs and cats are the most popular pets, but there’s a huge variety of pets out there, from little furry animals like rabbits or gerbils to reptiles like lizards or snakes. Some people even keep rats or spiders as pets!

But not all people are pet-people, and not all countries have pet-owning cultures. Listen to Mason try to convince Ella that owning pets is a beautiful thing.

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.

Mason

Ella

Mason: Man, I gotta clean my rabbit’s cage. It’s been sittin’ there for like a week longer than it should have.

Ella: That’s disgusting.

Mason: Well, I mean, it’s one of the hazards that you go through when you’ve got an animal that you like.

Ella: Really? Why? Why would you ever want a pet?

Mason: Well, listen, the rabbit kind of fell into my arms. It was my sister’s and she couldn’t take care of it anymore. So I was like, yeah, alright, I’ll take your rabbit. But I mean, man, that thing has grown on me.

Ella: I bet.

Mason: Not like a cancer or anything, like something that blossoms in your heart.

Ella: Well, I don’t know. I just think that animals should just be eaten. Why should we have them as pets?

Mason: Animals should just be eaten, why should we have them as pets…I have eaten rabbit. That said, I don’t think I could anymore. You know, there’s definitely something that…Like, that caring instinct. And they’re cute.

Ella: Have you ever had a dog or a cat growing up?

Mason: We grew up with dogs in my family. Cats, I have no taste for cats.

Ella: It’s a lot of responsibility?

Mason: A lot of responsibility, no… I just don’t like their personality. They’re…They don’t need me. I like things that need me, that’s kind of the point of pets, in all honesty.

Ella: Did you take it to the dog pound or get it euthanized?

Mason: The dog, we did have euthanized. We had to put it down, and it was tragic.

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Discussion

Mason tells Ella that he needs to clean his rabbit’s cage. Cleaning up after pets is one of the many responsibilities of being a pet owner. Mason thinks it’s worth it, but Ella doesn’t understand why he would ever want to own a pet.

Mason explains that he didn’t want the rabbit at first. It belonged to his sister and she asked him to take care of it for her. Now it’s really grown on him.

When he was growing up, Mason had a dog. He likes dogs better than cats because cats aren’t as affectionate or needy as dogs. Mason was really sad when he had to take his dog to be euthanized.

Do you have any pets? Or do you think being a pet owner is too much responsibility?

Comments

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Yasminne_15

Venezuela

I love all animals!! We must protect them!!

Yasminne_15

Venezuela

I love pets!! We must protect them!

SÉRGIO

Brazil

Eating habbits?? How strange!!

I need to try it!!

Athan

China

Yeah,I have a cat as my pet,it's cute.It's like she is always sleeping,day or night.Being a cat is really happy,when hungry,she's like to come to me,and miaow to me.Then I know she is hungry and I bring some food for her.When finished her food,swing her tail,then jump onto the sofa,sleep again.When you have a pet,it means a lot responsibility to you,it's like you have yourself a child,and this child is gonna never grow up,you have to take care of it all her life.But it's funny to have a pet,it makes you life more colorful.

guitar_61

Russian Federation

it was nice I like pets too and he was completely right about cats coz I have one myself and he is just ..ok feed me and I m sleepy ..finish haha

lammoos

Syrian Arab Republic

i think dogs are useful when u have a farm but not in houses this is my opinion

Nelly_l

Algeria

I like pets but I don't have any because when you have one you must take care of it and so on but the most difficult in all that is that when it dies you will get a big pain it is like if you lose a close persone to you

dalisay

Philippines

I would love to have wolves or jackals as a pet.That would be like I am a lover of the wild.

They say that wolves and jackals normally won't attack humans unless provoked,
or when they're desperate for food. But some humans kill dogs for food without being provoked
and with plenty of other foods to choose from.

dalisay

Philippines

If you love dogs on a plate, shame on you for doing that to man’s best friend.

cuiyanxin

China

do you guys eat dogs like me?

cuiyanxin

China

Hi, why you always use "its"??

something wrong with you?

yunzhaoxu

China

i love …..but i have no pets~~

leiliuqing

China

This course is to improve the English good, thank you! I have a pet dog, I at home with my pets, I like to bathe everyday. It regularly, go to see a doctor is necessary when guests come to my house, puppy will loudly call to inform us for guests to open the door.

CatherineVanilla

Taiwan

I feel the same way with Mason about dogs. That's why I love dogs. I do enjoy the feeling to be need by my dog.

Khulood

United Arab Emirates

very good lesson, and this time the lessons are more clear and organized, way to go English Baby, you are the best .. I love pets and I would love to own a monkey one day :-)

Abd'Arrahman

Tunisia

Owning pets is a give and take relationship.

You give the pet careness (feed, clean, etc.), it gives you companionship.

uplife1

South Korea

In my case, Being a pet owner needs a lot of responsiblities. As you might know, there are tons of abandoned pets on the street. At first, maybe theirs owner had lots of love toward them, but now that they want to be off the hook or something, they just throw them away. It was not any kind of pressure. As a owner of pets, they should have make a dicision about taking care of their pets. Even though the pets aren't grown on them, the owners have to have responsibility on them!