Easy English listening Lesson 48

There are many different animals that you can have for pets.

The most common pets are cats and dogs.

I think the second most common pets are birds and fish.

You can hug a cat or a dog.

You can play with a cat or a dog, but it is difficult to play with a bird or a fish.

Some birds are very smart, and they can be taught to do things.

Parrots are very clever.

Some of them even talk.

Birds usually stay in birdcages.

Fish have to stay in the water in a tank or a fishbowl.

Some people have gerbils or guinea pigs as pets.

There are even people who have ferrets as pets.

I have a friend who has a lizard for a pet.

She has to buy live crickets for her lizard to eat.

Another friend of mine has a pet snake.

I don’t think I would like to have a pet snake.

There are different types of dogs.

Some dogs are very big,

and some are small.

A Labrador retriever is a big dog.

A poodle is usually a small dog, although there are some large poodles.

Some dogs are noisy, and they bark a lot.

Other dogs are quiet and obedient.

I once had a dog.

It was a cocker spaniel.

I used to take it for walks.

There are different types of cats too.

My favorite type of cat is a Siamese cat.

Siamese cats have blue eyes.

My mother had a Persian cat.

It was very furry.

My mother said that it used to shed fur all over the house.

Pets are a lot of fun, but they are a lot of work too.

To be a good pet owner, you have to be very responsible.

Exercise for this lesson:

What are the most common pets mentioned?
Why is it difficult to play with birds or fish?
What is a special ability of parrots mentioned in the text?
Where do birds usually stay? How about fish?
What are some examples of smaller pets mentioned?
What kind of pet does the friend in the text have, and what does she need to buy for it?
What kind of pet does another friend have that the narrator doesn’t think they would like?
How are Labrador retrievers and poodles described in terms of size?
What is the narrator’s experience with having a pet dog?
What are some examples of different types of cats mentioned, and what is special about Siamese cats?

Please comment your answers!