📕 Part 1: Animals and Pets

This episode's vocabulary

For ages (idiom) – for a very long time. → We had dogs in our family for ages.

Breed (n) – a particular type of animal produced by selective breeding. → We even had a favorite breed; they were all chow chows.

Cuddly (adj) – inspiring hugging or cuddling; soft and lovable. → They're very cuddly and they make great guard dogs.

Make a great guard dog (phrase) – to be very effective as a dog that protects a place. → Chow chows make great guard dogs.

Great company (phrase) – pleasant or enjoyable to be with. → Dogs and cats are great company.

Stripes (n) – long, narrow bands of color. → I love tigers because they look very cool with all those stripes.

Keep an eye on (idiom) – to watch or take care of someone or something. → I'd keep them in the house with me so I could keep an eye on them.

Exotic (adj) – originating in or characteristic of a distant foreign country. → It would be interesting to talk about some exotic pets, like a monkey or a snake.

Endangered species (n) – a species of animal or plant that is seriously at risk of extinction. → I don't think you can keep anacondas as pets; they're an endangered species.

Inhumane (adj) – without compassion for misery or suffering; cruel. → As we all know, dog breeding can be cruel and inhumane.

Mongrel (n) – a dog of no definable type or breed. → Maybe you want a dog that is a mixed breed or a mongrel.

Demeanor (n) – outward behavior or bearing. → Capybaras have a very relaxed demeanor.

Questions and Answers

Maria: Do you have any pets?

Rory: No. I cannot be responsible for an animal right now. And also it would be very unfair because the apartment is very high up and you cannot keep animals inside all the time.

Maria: Have you ever had a pet before?

Rory: Oh, yes. We had dogs in our family for ages. We even had a favorite breed. They were all chow chows, these big, furry dogs that come from China originally. They're very cuddly and they make great guard dogs.

Maria: What's the most popular animal in your country?

Rory: I'm not sure really. It's either dogs or cats, since those are the ones you see people with the most often. And I can see why since they're probably the most useful and are great company.

Maria: What's your favorite animal?

Rory: I used to love tigers and I still do because they look very cool with all those stripes and their size, but I doubt I'd like one as a pet. In that case, I'd prefer to have a dog, but I'm a little bit allergic, so I doubt that will happen.

Maria: Where do you prefer to keep pets, indoors or outdoors?

Rory: Well, I don't have any pets at the moment, but if I did, they'd definitely be in the house with me so I could keep an eye on them. Plus it's very cold outdoors right now so keeping them outside is a bit cruel.

Discussion

Maria: Right, dear listener. So pets and animals. So there is a difference. Animals like tigers, lions, elephants, but pets, pets are kept at home, usually. Or if you live in the countryside, you have a pet. Cats, dogs, maybe some exotic pets.

Rory: Lizards, guinea pigs.

Maria: Yeah, hedgehogs. Well, you can have a tiger as a pet.

Rory: I'm sure you can if you're a millionaire.

Maria: Yeah, but tigers are pretty expensive, right? And you have to feed them. Again, present perfect. Have you ever had a pet? What's the most exotic animal you've ever seen? And you say, yeah, I've had two cats. Just generally in your life. Or I used to have a dog, but not anymore. Yeah? Or now I have a cat, now I have a fish. And here it will be funny just to talk about some exotic pets, because everyone will talk about cats and dogs and the examiner is bored already. Okay. Cats, dogs, come on. But if you say, yeah, I have a monkey. A monkey, dear listener. And then the examiner is all into you. Oh, really? You have a monkey? Wow. And they'll be talking about you like, today I had a student and he had a monkey at home. So you will be interesting. So, I don't know, pick an interesting animal. Maybe a snake? I don't know, is it exotic to have a snake?

Rory: I think so. There are different kinds of snakes and they're not really from, well, at least they're not from the northern parts of the world.

Maria: Okay, what about this anaconda kind of snake, a huge snake. Do you remember a film with Jennifer Lopez?

Rory: Oh, I don't think you can have, yeah, although I don't think those can be kept as pets. I think they're an endangered species. People have boa constrictors as pets.

Maria: Yeah, you don't want to say anything illegal, dear listener, all right? So just keep it legal. You don't say I have a tiger, but the monkey, a small monkey, it's possible, right? Actually, when I was a child, we saw a person living in our neighborhood and he did have a monkey and he worked in a circus. Circus, yeah, and he was walking his monkey out, taking his monkey for a walk. So yeah, a monkey, a hedgehog.

Rory: They are small spiky animals.

Maria: Yeah, maybe some ferret.

Rory: However, once you've thought about a pet, then you can describe them. For example, I picked Chow Chows and I described them as big and furry and cuddly, and they make great guard dogs. If they make something, that means they are useful for something.

Maria: Yeah, we say, oh, they are cute or cuddly, right? Cuddly like they hug you, you hug them, very friendly and nice. The most popular animal in your country. But animal, could be not a pet, but an animal. A bear. What's the most popular animal in Scotland? Did you check, Rory?

Rory: No, of course I didn't.

Maria: No, but, in your country, dear listener, you should check right now, just Google. The most popular animal in Thailand, or, I don't know, where you are. The Golden Eagle, Rory, is considered Scotland's favorite wild animal.

Rory: Well that's the favorite wild animal, but what about the favorite pet?

Maria: The most popular pet in Scotland. I think it's a dog.

Rory: If you're going to describe dogs though, you can talk about the kind of dog. And if we want to talk about kinds, we can talk about the breed of dog. However, as we all know, dog breeding is cruel and inhumane, so maybe you want a dog that is mixed breed or a mongrel dog.

Maria: Dogs are great company. So a dog is a good friend, it accompanies you everywhere. It's always around. It's waiting for you. What's your favorite animal? Of course. Here, Rory talked about wild animals, so tigers, because they look cool. They have stripes.

Rory: But if you want to talk about other animals, you will need to find some specific words to describe them. Tigers have stripes, leopards have spots, cats can have both. So you can pick the feature and describe it. Or you could just steal my answer, the examiner will not know.

Maria: Yeah, absolutely. Or again, you can talk about some rare animals like snow leopards. What are the rarest animals in the world? Cheetah, what's a cheetah?

Rory: A very fast, big cat.

Maria: Yeah, the fastest cat on earth, a big cat. Cheetah, dear listener. It's an important word for you, a keyword of this episode, cheetah, C H double E T A H. So just Google cheetah, look at the picture. Yeah, you can use this everywhere. It's okay. Cheetah, gorillas, red pandas, blue whales, snow leopards. Yeah, snow leopards are my favorite. Lions, all right. Pandas, there we go. Pandas.

Rory: Oh, pandas, no.

Maria: Oh, and your favorite animal, Rory, you forgot your what's your favorite animal, Rory?

Rory: What did I forget? The capybara. The noble, majestic capybara.

Maria: How could you forget, Rory, Rory? Aiyaiyai. Tigers. Oh, you cheated on capy-

Rory: I'm allowed to change my mind.

Maria: No, no, no.

Rory: Why am I, why? Why?

Maria: Cause cause capybaras are now depressed.

Rory: They'll be okay. They're pretty chill.

Maria: Just apologize, Rory.

Rory: If I have to describe capybaras, what would I say? I'd say they look cool. They have a very relaxed demeanor and they're brown and furry. Yes. So, there we go. Some topic specific language for the capybara.

Maria: And, dear listener, if you don't have any pets, the examiner will continue. Where do you prefer to keep your pets? But you say, sorry, I don't have any pets. But if I had some pets, I'd keep them indoors or outdoors. Well, depending on the pet. I don't have any pets at the moment, but if I had a cat, if I had a cat, I'd keep it in the house. The second conditional. If I had, if I had a dog, I'd keep it in the house. If I had a huge dog, I'd keep it outside. To keep an eye on them. Keep an eye on somebody, just to watch them, to look at them, to control them. If it's cold outdoors, I'll keep them outside or inside. Certain pets should be outside, like horses. Oh, actually horses are inside. Yeah, but if it's too cold, they are inside. And we are ready for a joke. Right, dear listener, do you remember the key word of the episode? Cheetah. So, the joke is. Why shouldn't you play cards in the African Savannah?

Rory: Why?

Maria: Because it's full of cheaters.

Rory: Oh, well done Maria.

Maria: Rory explain the joke, will you?

Rory: Cheetah is the name of the animal but if you say it fast, cheetah, then it's also sounding like the word cheater, which is someone who does not play by the rules of a game. Oh, how fun.

Maria: Cheat. You see? If I cheat when I play cards, I do something not very nice and I don't play by the rules. And a person who doesn't play by the rules is a cheater. A person who behaves in a dishonest way to win something or get an advantage. So, yeah. So sometimes athletes break the rules and they are cheaters. Right, dear listener, so if you have nothing to say and you just happen to remember this joke about cheaters, you just crack a joke in the exam. You just say, you know what, I don't know what to say, but I know a joke. And then the exam goes, okay, thank you, thank you. No, no, no joke. You go, no, no, no, no, I've been preparing for this. I have to tell the joke.

Rory: Very important.

Maria: I'm an anxious person, so I have to finish it. And then you can say, if I don't tell you the joke now, I can start crying. And okay, okay, okay, okay, start the joke. Thank you so much for listening.

Rory: And we'll get back to you in our next episode.

Maria: Bye.

Rory: Bye.