节目资讯
刊物:空中英语教室
日期:2012-12-10
难易度:Medium
关键字:loyal, defend, motivation, cuddly
Welcome back, everybody.
If your kid has been begging you for a dog, think about this because it happens
a lot:
After the puppy arrives and the honeymoon stage is over, kids tend to lose
interest, and their promises to take care of the dog are forgotten.
So use your parental discretion.
OK. Let's look at some more reasons why it's great to own a dog on line 15.
Do You Want a Dog?
Plus, I could take the dog on walks.
It would get me out of the house.
That's good exercise for both of you!
I definitely need motivation for more exercise.
Caring for a dog would help me with that.
I love seeing people walk their dogs in the park.
Some of the owners let me pet their dogs, but of course, I always ask first!
Many dogs are friendly and social.
That's another reason I want a dog - I'd like a cute, cuddly companion that
makes people smile!
All right, friends.
Carrie really wants to get a dog.
And her friend Hannah is talking with her about, well, some things are good
about dogs.
They are good company, they are a lot of fun, and they will protect you.
But there are also some disadvantages as well.
Well, so far, Hannah seems to agree with Carrie.
Dogs are loyal.
They help defend your home.
We're looking at the good things first.
Now Carrie says this is true.
She's adding on.
She uses the word "plus" here.
"Plus" means in addition to or adding on to something else.
So she's adding on to the point that a dog is a good loyal friend and a
defender.
Uh huh.
And she says: On top of that, I could take the dog on walks.
And that would get me out of the house.
That's a great point.
If you have a dog, and they want to go outside, well, you need to go with them.
And that gets you outside too.
Now Kaylah, she says this will get her out of the house.
Does that mean she never leaves her home?
No, it means... it means that when she's at home, you can just be lazy and
laying on the sofa or sitting around doing nothing.
Instead, if you have a dog, to get them out of the house means you're out
exercising and being an active person.
OK. And that's what Hannah says.
That's good exercise for both of you, for Carrie and the dog.
Now I had a small dog, so walking him was not really exercise for me.
It was a short walk.
Yeah. Their legs usually (Background Noise).
But it's still good for you to get outside and experience nature instead of just
sitting on the sofa watching TV or using the Internet or playing games.
That's right. Get exercise.
And Carrie says: I definitely need motivation for more exercise.
I think we're all guilty of needing motivation to do things, especially what we
don't want to do.
Exactly.
"Motivation" is important, friends.
If you have motivation, that means you have what's called enthusiasm to do
something.
That means you really want to do something.
It gives you a new desire.
If you are motivated, it gives you that desire to get out and try something.
For example, if you are trying to get into a special program at school or at
university, you are motivated to study so that your grades are good enough to
get in.
Or if you're trying to win a race, you're motivated to win the race, so you get
up and you keep practicing.
Right.
The prize would be your motivation for winning.
That's right.
Some... you know, we all have motivation in different areas.
But I think we can agree that getting motivation for exercise is difficult for a
lot of us.
But as Carrie says caring for a dog would actually help her get that motivation.
That's right, because the dog needs to go out, she might as well go with him.
It makes sense.
OK. So Hannah looks like she's still agreeing with Carrie here.
She says: I love seeing people walk their dogs in the park.
I do too.
It's funny because I don't have a dog right now.
So it gives me the chance to play with their dogs, and they can still take care
of them.
Oh, that's good. OK.
She says: Some of the owners let me pet their dogs, but of course, I always ask
first.
Please take this as a note, friends.
Dogs, though we love them, it's important to be careful.
If you are... if you see a dog in the park with their owner, always ask before
you reach out and touch a dog.
You don't know if that dog is... is a nice dog.
You could get hurt.
And Ryan, I think you have a story about that.
Yes. I was actually attacked by a dog because I went out to touch it and pet it
- that means to touch - and it bit me.
So you have to ask.
You need to ask to make sure that you don't get hurt.
OK. Well, Carrie says many dogs are friendly and social.
What does it mean if you are social?
Well, it's kind of the idea of friendly.
"Friendly" means they're excited to see you.
And "social" means they do well with other dogs and people.
It means they relate well to someone else.
Yeah. They like spending time with you and they're very happy to see you.
That's another reason, Carrie says, I want to get a dog.
She says that's another great reason.
I like a cute, cuddling companion that also makes people smile.
Now a "cute," we know that means we like the way they look.
What does it mean to be cuddly?
If you are "cuddly," that means you like hugs, you like to touch people, and you
like to, well, cuddle.
And that means you are up against them, and you can pet them and touch them.
To cuddle means to wrap your arms around something and hold them close to you.
You cuddle a teddy bear or your favorite toy, or a child.
You can also cuddle animals, small ones usually, because you want to wrap around
them and hold onto them.
And you know a cute, cuddly dog really does make someone smile.
Yeah. You can also cuddle the people you love.
And here in this case, a companion is someone that you spend your... a lot of
your time with.
That's right.
So these seem to be all great reasons.
Maybe tomorrow we'll look at some other reasons not to get a dog.
But right now, we need to watch today's interviews.
I don't have a pet.
Well, I used to, when I was very little.
And I know how it feels to have a pet.
It was wonderful because you got company, and you got great joy.
Your pet can be with you.
You can talk to it, and you can play with it.
It was a lot of fun.
But then it was like a life-long commitment; of course, to a dog's life.
And it's not your life unless you live very short.
And uh, you have to take care of your pet.
And you have to walk it and feed it; a lot of work.
But now I'm so busy, and since I've already got that kind of joy before, I don't
really think I need to have it anymore.
Besides, I've got too much to do.
And I am a teacher; and you teach... I have a lot of work to do at home and
at... at school.
Um... if I'm very... I'm stressed out, OK.
I'm busy and then I need to talk to my friend, I just make a phone call.
I don't need to take care of my friends.
And if I'm lonely, I just need to take a walk... by... by myself.
I'm... I pretty much enjoy to be with myself.
So I think pets are more or less for the elderly or who... for whom who are
really lonely, who can not reach out,
or they have some kind of problems that they need to have somebody, I mean, like
a pet to talk to or to be with, to share their feelings.
But so far, I feel good because I can be with myself or with my friends or with
my work, everything.
So I'm fine.
Yes, I have a dog, a small dog, a funny dog.
I really like it.
I think it's quite important and referring to a dog in the sense that uh, in the
morning, he's really friendly.
He's happy with me.
He's kissing me every morning when I wake up.
And after that, I have the time to play with him, so he makes me really happy.
Um, but I think it's a big, big responsibility to have a dog in the sense that
you have to play with him, you have to feed him,
you have to... to be really close to him, to speak with him, to take care of
him.
And I really like about dogs.
It's certainly that they make me happy every day.
And I think it's very important... when you have a lot of pressure when you
work, and... he makes me happy.
So that's... that's a good thing.
(Music).
Hi, everyone. I'm Michelle.
(Chinese).
And that's all the time we have for today.
I'll see you tomorrow.
Bye-bye.
Friends, if you're thinking about getting a dog, here's a little friendly doggy
advice.
Don't get one because of how it looks, because it was in a movie you just saw.
Don't get one because it's a popular breed or because it's free.
More often than not, getting a dog for these reasons will turn doggy ownership
into a joyless burden.
What happens next is the dog gets neglected, and then eventually develops
behavior problems, so.
Because of a poor decision, the dog is given up to a shelter, or worse, is put
down.
It's sad, but it happens a lot.
Friends, we'll look at some more realities of dog ownership tomorrow.
Until then, make the rest of your Monday great. Takecare.