Pet Care
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Lucinda | Todd |
Todd: So, wait, Lucinda, you said you lived in the country, and you said you could not have pets at your house?
Lucinda: Yes, because we didn't own our house and we're on kind of a nature reserve so that any animal that could be dangerous to the wildlife like a cat or a dog or even a large rat would be a problem for the environment so we couldn't have any pets apart from chickens.
Todd: OK, but I thought that you said you had many pets and you're an animal lover!
Lucinda: Yeah, I do have pets but they didn't live with me most of the time.
Lucinda: My parents are divorced so my father lived in the city and he had a cat which he named after me and my brother, and then he also had a dog which was a schnauzer, that's quite a rare dog from Germany, and yeah, that was a really cool dog.
Todd: Oh, wait, that's cool, so at your dad's house you had a cat and a dog? (Yeah) And you said he named them after you and your brother?
Lucinda: Yeah. The cat's name is Lugi and my name is Lucinda and my brother's name is Giles so it's like "Lu-Gi". It'spretty weird?
Todd: And what did he name the dog?
Lucinda: Ah, the dog's name was Boeing? It's actually, it's father was a Australian show champion, so it's show name was Boeing 747.
Todd: Oh, cool, like the plane. Oh, sweet. So you only had pets at your father's house?
Lucinda: No, I also had pets at my auntie's and my grandparent's house.
Todd: At your auntie's and your grandparent's? What pet did you have at your auntie's house?
Lucinda: Ah, I had a horse.
Todd: A horse!
Lucinda: Yeah, my had a, she's from America and she had, she always had horses in America, and when she came to New Zealand, she, the first thing she did was buy me a pony, so I've had that pony since I was about 7 years old.
Todd: You still have the pony? What's the pony's name?
Lucinda: Lady. share her with my cousin now because my auntie has had more children so I share them, but yeah, I have a horse at my aunties house.
Todd: Is it a good pony? Is it easy to ride?
Lucinda: I can't ride it anymore. It's a bit small now. It's about the size for a seven-year old, so pet is now is about all I can do.
Todd: Well, what about your grandma's? What did you have there?
Lucinda: My grandmother had a cart horse. My grandmother used to train race horses so she actually had an old cart horse which I used to ride on the cart all the time and she also had a cat and a number of farm dogs but my grandfather wouldn't let me near the farm dogs because farm dogs are not meant to go near kids or other humans because they're meant to be taught only by they masters but I ruined about five of his dogs because the liked me better than him and so he wasn't too mad but they were really good sheep dogs until they met me because they'd actually run away from, cause I live with my grandparents for couple of months, and they'd actually run away from him when he was using them on the fields to meet me at the bus stops, so
Todd: Well, you have special gift with animals.
nature reserve
We lived on a kind of nature reserve so we couldn't have any pets.
A 'nature reserve' is a place where the land and the animals are protected from the negative effects of humans. Notice the following:
- One of the best things about where we live is all the nature reserves.
- This kind of bird only survives on nature reserves now. It is extinct in the wild.
apart from
Apart from chickens, we couldn't have any pets.
'Apart from' can be replaced by 'besides' and 'other than.' The example means that they had chickens, but didn't have any other pets. Notice the following:
- Apart from weddings she never wears dresses.
- Apart from cauliflower, I like all vegetables.
divorced
My parents are divorced, so my father lived in the city.
If you have gotten married and then ended your marriage, you are now 'divorced.' Notice the following:
- It isn't a surprise that most celebrities have been divorced at least once.
- They divorced after almost 20 years of marriage.
auntie's
I had pets at my auntie's and my grandparent's house.
'Auntie' is a friendly way of saying 'aunt.' Notice the following:
- We are going over to my auntie's for dinner tonight.
- Whenever I am home, I always make time to see my auntie.
ruined
I ruined about five of my grandfather's dogs, because they were really good sheep dogs until they met me.
When you 'ruin' something, you destroy it or negatively change it in some way so that it is never the same again. Notice the following:
- She ruined the bread she was making, because she added too much flour.
- I accidentally washed a red sock with my white clothes and ruined a few of my shirts.
Vocabulary Quiz
auntie • ruined
