节目资讯
刊物:空中英语教室
日期:2012-12-11
难易度:Medium
关键字:chore, take something in account, confine, adoption, shed, animal shelter,
vet [veterinarian]
OK, friends.
I hope you had a great break.
Welcome back.
If you or your child want to get a dog, but you're afraid that it might be too
much work,
try first taking care of a smaller, more manageable pet like a fish or a guinea
pig.
If it seems doable, move on to the bigger responsibility of a dog.
OK. Back to Carrie and Hannah with a few more challenges of dog ownership on
line 18.
Do You Want a Dog?
Your apartment isn't that large.
And a friend told me that her dog was unhappy because it was confined all day.
A small dog would be happy in my apartment.
Definitely not a big one!
I do work, but I plan to go home to walk it at lunch.
That's good.
Also, don't forget how much it costs!
I'm thinking about adopting a dog from the animal shelter.
Adopting a dog is fantastic, but you still have to pay an adoption fee.
Then there's food, toys and trips to the vet.
I haven't thought much about the cost.
I guess I still have a lot to consider.
(Music).
If you're thinking about getting a dog, it's important to take the dog's
happiness into account.
If you live in a small apartment, it's important to think about the dog.
Our last question right before the break, Hannah asked: Are you planning on
getting a big dog?
This is an important question, right, Kaylah?
Because if you are... if you're in an apartment or if you're in a smaller house
and you get a big dog, they might not have enough room.
That's right.
She's... Hannah is telling Carrie here: Your apartment isn't that large.
And a friend told me that her dog was unhappy because it was confined all day.
Friends, you need to be kind.
Remember, a large dog needs a large area to play.
I grew up with a small dog because we have a full house, but we only had a small
backyard.
And a big dog really needs lots of space so they can run around.
Exactly.
And I had a big dog growing up, and we moved to a new home that had a very
big... big yard.
And we let her run all over the place, and she loved it.
But if it was much smaller, she might feel confined.
That's right.
It's important to give your dog enough space.
If they feel confined, they'll be unhappy.
Now to be "confined" means to be kept in a small, closed space often by force.
So if you are confined, places humans get confined are airplanes.
When you're stuck in your chair, and you know you really want to get up but
you're not allowed to.
That's the feeling of confinement.
Now imagine that's your whole life.
You need to be kind; think about the dog.
Yeah. You don't want the dog to feel like they're stuck in a place that's too
small.
But Carrie answers her question.
Does Carrie want a big dog, Kaylah?
She says: Oh, a small dog would be happy in my apartment.
She's not saying she's going to get a big dog.
She says: Definitely not a big one!
OK. So she does not want to get a big dog, and that's good because her apartment
is pretty small.
That's right.
So pretty small means it's... it's small, but it's not too tiny.
So her dog would be happy there if it's a small dog.
But she does point out: I do work, but I plan to go home to walk it at lunch.
Now Kaylah, this sounds like a commitment that she'd have to make to do almost
every day: Go home at lunch and walk her dog all the time.
That's right.
That's a hard thing about having a dog is if you work, you leave them at home by
themselves all day.
You don't know where they're gong to go to the bathroom.
It takes a lot of training.
Sometimes you need to get... go home and let them out for a walk.
Yeah. And it's easy to say that you'll do that before you get the dog.
And then when you get the dog, you might forget to do that every day.
Hannah has another point here.
She says: OK. That's good.
You've thought about the size of the dog.
But also, don't forget how much it costs.
Yeah, dogs cost a lot just to buy the dog, first of all, but then you have to
take care of them.
And you know you usually think: Oh, well. OK, just buying the dog is hard.
But you're right, Ryan, there's a lot of caring cost.
Though I don't think Carrie thought about this yet.
She's only thinking about buying the dog.
Exactly. So Carrie says: Well, I'm thinking of adopting a dog from an animal
shelter.
Now this is great.
Friends, we encourage you, if you're getting a dog, to go get a dog from a
shelter.
They're the kinds of dogs that need homes.
Now an "animal shelter" is a place an animal is sent if they are homeless.
And unfortunately, if an animal can't find a home, quite often there had... they
have to put the dog down.
Right. The dog can't stay there.
They can't have too many dogs so they have to get rid of them.
So friends, you can help them.
Go adopt a dog.
That's right.
Go to an animal shelter and take a homeless animal home with you.
Right. That's what it means to adopt something.
That means you bring something from somewhere else home to you to take care of
it as your own.
Hannah says: Adopting a dog is fantastic, but you know you still have to pay an
adoption fee.
Ooh. OK.
Well, we just find "to adopt" as a verb.
Now "adoption" is the noun.
Adoption means you are bringing someone else's, usually, child - in this case,
it can also be a pet - home with you, and they become yours to take care of.
That's right.
You don't adopt things, you adopt people or animals, something that is a living
breathing being.
You adopt to take them into your home to care for them.
Exactly, so.
And here you only have to pay a fee, a small fee, right?
And a fee is how much it costs; and a fee usually means it's probably a little
smaller.
OK. Now on top of buying the dog as we said before, you have to pay for taking
care of it, food, toys and trips to the vet.
Now here the word "vet" is a person with a medical degree trained to take care
of an animal, and that a short for the word veterinarian.
Now you've also heard we've talked about Veterans Day before.
So they're both shortened versions, and we're talking about animals.
"Vet" is the doctor that cares for them.
OK. So these are all costs on top of buying a dog.
And Carrie says: I haven't really thought that much about the cost.
She says: I guess I still have to... have a lot to consider.
She needs to consider, think about it.
Put those... all the reasons on a list - so the good reasons and bad reasons -
and compare.
Is it worth getting a dog or is it too much work?
OK, friends, so now it's your turn to consider.
You've seen the good things in getting a dog and the bad, and now you have to
decide.
Is it worth getting a dog?
Well, think about that for now.
But then let's go watch these interviews.
(Music).
Would I like to own a cat or a pet?
Well, many people said that pets are good friends.
They are loyal.
And they can be good company.
And they can even protect your house or protect you by... in person.
That is true.
But for me, I wouldn't like to have a pet.
The major reason is that I don't want to have the commitment with so much
trouble such as cleaning the house,
putting all the things in order and preparing food for the right thing... for
the right food for my cat... for my cat or my... for my dog.
And the worst thing is that... I think dogs or pets are human beings in another
format.
They have the soul and living stuff.
I don't want to put them away when I don't need them, and when I need it and
then I take them close to me.
Another thing is that I dislike having uh, the materials with details or death.
And that is something which would make me feel so stressful.
That's it.
Actually, I love pets, particularly dogs.
I love cats too, but I never had one, so I don't understand them so well.
When I was a... a child, I used to have a small dog.
And then later we had a bigger dog, a boxer.
And that dog was really funny and very intelligent too.
It could understand a lot of words in the human language.
But then I went abroad.
And right now I don't have a dog because I live in Taiwan in an apartment.
It's not so easy to find a nice green space to walk the dog.
So I decided not to have one because I thought it wouldn't be fair for the dog
to live in a small apartment and won't be able to go out.
But in the future, if I can have one, I would really like to have animals too,
and particularly dogs.
So maybe one day, if I have a bigger space, a garden or something,
or if I can find friends to take care of the dog when I'm away, I definitely
would have another one.
(Music).
(Chinese).
And we're running out of time.
I'll see you next time.
Bye-bye.
You know, people get dogs for all kinds of reasons.
They're cute and cuddly.
They're loyal.
They're are good listeners.
They offer a sense of security and protection.
And sometimes dogs are motivation to go out and get some exercise.
But dogs are also a lot of hard work.
They need to be trained, cleaned, walked, fed and taken to the vet.
And then there's the cost.
Just some things to think about before you bring home a furry four-legged
friend.
OK, everyone.
Have a great Tuesday.
And then join us tomorrow for some tips on how to be the perfect host.
Until then, take care.