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Cats
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Cats

Learn English with this cat English lesson

Date: Nov 09 2012

Themes: Pets

Grammar: Adjectives

Intro

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For thousands of years, people have kept cats as pets. A cat is usually very independent and requires less attention than a dog. Cats can be cuddly and sweet, but they can also meow, hiss and behave badly.

Sara’s cat has been very bad lately. She decided it was time to take a very big step. Find out what it is and hear Sara and Vanessa discuss their cats.

人们将猫作为宠物来养已有数千年历史。和狗相比,猫通常十分独立,不需要太多精力照看。猫有时温柔可爱,但也有时会喵喵叫,发出嘶嘶声并且行为恶劣。

萨拉的猫近来很惹人厌。她认为是时候采取非常措施了。看看这会是什么样的措施,听听萨拉和瓦内萨谈论她们的爱猫。

Dialog

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2. Study - Read the dialog again to see how the vocab words are used.

Sara

Sara

Vanessa

Vanessa

Sara:  I just took a very big step with one of my cats the other day.

Vanessa:  What was that?

Sara:  We let him go outside. He’s always been an indoor cat.

Vanessa:  Oh, that is a big step. That can be very scary if a cat’s lived inside its whole life.

Sara:  Yeah, it was really, really scary, but he’s just always…he’s kind of bad. He’s like, always pouncing on our backs when we try to get something from the closet or attacking our guests, and he wanted to go outside really badly, so we just thought we should give him a chance.

Vanessa:  That’s the thing about cats, they’re very independent creatures.

Sara:  He’s doing a great job.

Vanessa:  Is he?

Sara:  Yeah, he is.

Vanessa:  Does he come back at night?

Sara:  Uh huh, he comes back at night. He comes back in to get food. He sits in our laps and purrs.

Vanessa:  Has he brought you any presents yet? Presents that he maybe has hunted for?

Sara:  I’m a little worried about that.

Vanessa:  That’s not a very nice thing to find on your doorstep.

Sara:  Have you ever found one of those presents on your doorstep?

Vanessa:  I have. My cat actually goes outside, but she goes on a leash. Even when she is tied up, she catches adorable little things like chipmunks and brings them to me as a present. I have to tell her what a good job she does, and then she purrs. So sometimes I end up with a few dead chipmunks, but at the same time my cat’s very loving, and she’ll crawl in my lap. It’s really nice just to have this warm, furry creature that can curl up on you.

Sara:  It’s true. Even my bad cat can be really really sweet too.

 

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Discussion

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Sara tells Vanessa that she just started to let her cat go outside on his own. She says it is scary to just let him go, but he was behaving badly in the house. Sara decided to give her cat a chance to be outdoors.

Vanessa agrees that this is a big step, and asks Sara if her cat has killed any mice or birds and brought them back to the house. Sara is worried about this, and asks Vanessa if her cat behaves this way. Vanessa explains that even though her cat goes outside on a leash, she still catches chipmunks and brings them home.

Vanessa says she doesn’t mind an occasional dead animal around the house because her cat is very loving and likes to sit on her lap. Sara agrees that cats can be very bad but also very sweet.

Do you like cats? Do you let your cat outside? Does your cat hunt like Vanessa’s?

 

Comments

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rabindra shrestha

Nepal

 some time i dont like cats you know why cause cats always shouting at night but i dont like sound of cats when i am sleeping on my bed….........and some time i like cats cause cats always hunt vanessa’s…........................thats why some time i like cats and some time i dont like cats…......

03:08 PM Nov 09 2012 |

1 person likes this

princessanika

Iran, Islamic Republic Of

i really love cats,but never black cats,i think cats are very cute animal and they are very good for a petLaughing

02:45 PM Nov 09 2012 |

i love life

Palestinian Territory, Occupied

Actually I don’t like any kind of animals , I should to be honest with myself , Really I have a big fears to have cats or dogs , But I have many friends they have cats and lots of  kind of animals , Sometimes some people have a strange behavior with them , their relationship with them has become different , some people prefer cats or dog more than the human beings , this is very exaggerated thing , we should be modest people as the same time Regardless what we have with them , we should not  change our natural mind , In my opinion It would be nice If you have a nice pet Because sometime Really you feel this animal is very friendly and understand you and feel in your suffering and, No need to see some people or your friends because your cat has become a good alternative .

02:24 PM Nov 09 2012 |

zindii

zindii

Thailand

i miss my cat too much …...she very clever

01:58 PM Nov 09 2012 |

mercylopez

India

even i too love cats but they look dangerous at nights right

01:22 PM Nov 09 2012 |

mercylopez

India

hey this is mercy and i wanted to be a part of your conversations


 

01:20 PM Nov 09 2012 |

kkannanbe

India

What Vanessa means Chipmunks?


 

01:20 PM Nov 09 2012 |

Irene Forever

Ukraine

I have forgotten to tell a story that happened to me in my childhood. I found a little chick of a sparrow. It could die. I brought it home and looked after it for about a month. Then I took it for a walk to see if it could fly. When I put it on the grass, a sudden leap of a cat spoiled our walk coz the cat killed my sparrow. I tried to take it from the cat, no success. The cat ate it up, and I couldn’t do anything. It was awful for me. I was crying, shouting and even beat the cat. :( I think, that event spoiled my good attitude to cats. Children’s memories are still in my mind.:(

12:40 PM Nov 09 2012 |

MimKun

MimKun

Yemen

Cats are cool, lovely and friendly i guess. I prefer Cats than Dogs !

The problem is : they scares me .. I had a bad dream of them before years and till now I never mess with them or get closer to them !

12:07 PM Nov 09 2012 |

1 person likes this

kotlesya

kotlesya

Belarus

I had about 8 cats or more during my lifetime. The part of them where  the outdoor cats and another part of them were indoor cats.


The last cat I kept as a pet was a girl, Anfisa. :) She was a girl with a very unpredictable character. She enjoyed attacking our guests by biting their legs to the blood.  She liked to “dance” on the dinner table while we were away, though she was told many times never do things like that. :) She liked to arrange the Halloween night for all of us from time to time by jumping from the high wardrobe into the bed on our backs or legs :) It was lots of fun for her but shock for us :D


She was an indoor girl. One day we have decided to take her for a walk. In the blink of an eye she climbed on the top of the nearest tree and nobody could take her down out of there. She spent 3 days on the top of tree, meowing. We also spent three days and nights under that tree, persuading her to come down :( We promised her that all her wishes came true.


Unwillingly, seemed to expect more tempting promises from us she slowly stepped down. :D


She was a doctor, she always knew  what part of body needs to be healed. She always treated my mother.


She was a weather forecaster.


The cartoon “Simon’s Cat” shows the exact character of my Anfisa. I adore this cartoon.


Cats are not my love. I can’t understand the motive of  their  strange behavior. I tried hardly to make friends with them but all in vain.  They and I are polar opposites that do not attract.


Dogs are my love.

Irene Forever

Ukraine

I have never had a cat. I prefer dogs. My doggy lived  about 18 years with me, my sweet baby. I am still missing her.:(


Now let’s go to the subject. Some of my students and friends have cats. They are all different both in appearance and  character. Most of  them are very calm and behave good. Their owners just adore them, but some of them spoil wallpaper, furniture and  piss into the sink in the kitchen. They choose to wander wherever they like,  for example, all over the kitchen table including plates with food. To tell the truth, I don’t like it. My doggy never did it. By the way, poodles don’t  have a specific smell. It was suitable for me.


Whenever I call at  homes with cats, they come up to me and lies on my lap. I love it and stroke them with pleasure. What I love from cats more than anything is  their purring. The best melody ever!:)


Now I don’t want to keep any animal at home. The reason is the only: I suffer after their death as if I lost a member of my family. I don’t want it anymore.

 julito

julito

Argentina

The world can be  divided between  people  who love cats  and  those who don´t have any sympathy  towards them. I don´t have pets ,but should I decide to have one I would prefer a dog  and i am not  anti cats  ,I think that they are smart  ,they know how to show  affection , purring, rubbing its  body against yours,   some people might say that  they behave that way out of self-interest, if they have to go , they go , they are very independent  and I believe that they can know what is happening  deep in our mind.Cry

11:44 AM Nov 09 2012 |

Tik Lai

Tik Lai

Taiwan

I usually playing with the street cat,it`s really warm that it curl up besides ur knee,I even can petting them for 30 minutes to 1hour.But for keeping as a pet ,I still prefer dogs at the end!I think cat is not easy to contrl,sometimes they are  too independent .

11:40 AM Nov 09 2012 |

Irene Forever

Ukraine

asala , may I ask you  which animals you like?

11:34 AM Nov 09 2012 |

nad_rome

Italy

I live with my sweet black cat, between us it’s true love

09:39 AM Nov 09 2012 |

1 person likes this

Eleniya

Eleniya

Russian Federation

asala, it’s strange that you hate cats smell when they die, usually cats go away somewhere far away from home to die. 


At least, I never saw cat’s dying. Though, our family always had cats, as I remember through all 35 years of my life we had 10 or even more cats. And all of them never died at home. They always went away.


P.S. And what did they do to you to deserve your hatred?Undecided

08:43 AM Nov 09 2012 |

merllan

merllan

Bulgaria

I don’t like cats at all.

08:31 AM Nov 09 2012 |

1 person likes this

asala

asala

Israel

i don’t like cats at all , but this lesson remind me of my mom’s cat , she was so lovely and sweet , and she was love my mom so badly , But her death was monstrosity , my mom’s dad put poison just to kill the  aggresive dog , but what a pity the cat dead because of that poison by mistake! 


but to me , i hate cats so much , i hate thier smell when they die


  

07:09 AM Nov 09 2012 |

1 person likes this

Mahtab.bp

Mahtab.bp

Iran, Islamic Republic Of

Oh CATS!


I adore all of them!(Big or small cats)


Loving cats is hereditary in our family and I remember we always had cats at  home!


But now we are living in a flat and cant let the cats in house!


Anyway I have some alley cats who are mine!:)


They are not tamed but they let me touch them and feed them behind of my room’s window!


When they have babies we care about them more ,and when the kittens become bigger their mothers bring them to us and they will be my cats too!


Of course you can guess these alley cats are professional hunters and birds cant escape from them ,but when I feed them they are not eager to catch birds like before!:)


I spoil them so much but they help me to be happy because I always miss cats!



I know cats are a little selfish and they are less loyal than dogs but cats are adorable for me!:)

05:58 AM Nov 09 2012 |

Eleniya

Eleniya

Russian Federation

My she-cat catches mice sometimes, but tom-cat … oh, he’s a fat lazy thing Laughing

05:28 AM Nov 09 2012 |

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