Views #707 | Low-Intermediate 4

Rocky Gets a Home

Lisa talks about how she got her cat and how Rocky got her name.

Script
Vocab
Quiz


Lisa	Adrienne

Adrienne: Hey, Lisa, I was hoping you could tell me a little about this cat?

Lisa: This is my cat Rocky. Her name... her full name is Rocky Parker, and the reason for that is because she is a survivor and I'll go into that, how she's a survivor soon, and also because she climbs the walls like Peter Parker, Spiderman. How we found Rocky, was that our

friends of ours lived in this apartment complex. They were walking home one day and they heard this cat meowing in the bushes and they stopped and looked for it. They kept on hearing it meowing but they couldn't actually see where it was. So they started looking for it and it happened that there was a police officer who was in the general vicinity and came to help them look for the cat. So they finally found this little kitten who was not more than a month old, had obviously been abandoned by her mother and the police officer explained that because of the animal laws in the community that if they didn't take the cat in or find an owner within a week, they had to bring the cat back to the SPCA, they couldn't leave it out on the street again.

Adrienne: What's the SPCA?

Lisa: The SPCA is the Society for the Protection of Animals and that controls... it regulates stray animals. It also is a place where you can bring dogs or cats and they are given away free to owners, to new pet owners.

Learn Vocabulary from the Lesson

meowing

They heard this cat meowing in the bushes.

'Meowing' is the noise that a cat makes. A cat meows.

Notice the following:

There are so many cats near to where I live, and I can always hear them meowing in the night.
I think the cat must have been in distress, because it was meowing a lot.

general vicinity

There was a police officer who was in the general vicinity and came to help them look for the cat.

'General vicinity' means in the near by area.

Notice the following:

There are lots of garbage cans in the general vicinity so please make sure that you use one of them.
In the general vicinity of my house there are three cafes and two restaurants so there are lots of eating places.

take in

If they didn't take the cat in or find an owner within a week, they had to bring the cat back to the SPCA.

When you 'take an animal in,' it means that you look after it and give it a good home.

Notice the following:

She asked me if I would like to take one of the kittens in and give it a good home.
If you want you can take one of the dogs in while we look for a new owner.

leave it out

They couldn't leave it out on the street again.

If you 'leave an animal out,' it means that you leave it outside and do not let it come in.

Notice the following:

Our cat always likes to be out at night, so we always leave her out.
I don't think she should leave him out when it's raining.

give away free

You can bring dogs or cats and they are given away free to owners, to new pet owners.

When you 'give something away free,' it means that you allow someone else to take it without asking them to pay for it.

Notice the following:

My cat is always having kittens, so we give them away free to good homes.
If you want a pet, go to the pound, as they generally tend to give cats and dogs away free.

Vocabulary Quiz

meowing • vicinity • taken
leave him • gave away

I know there is a pharmacy in this general , but I don't know exactly where it is.
My wife has such a big heart that we have already in two dogs this year.
The dog had mud all over his feet, so I had to out until I could clean them.
They just most of their furniture when they moved.
There was a cat outside my window all night last night.