Intro
1. Learn Vocabulary - Learn some new vocabulary before you start the lesson.
2. Read and Prepare - Read the introduction and prepare to hear the audio.
Kittens are cute. Dogs are loyal. Even lizards and snakes can at least be held. But fish? All you can do is look at them. They’re the one pet you can’t actually pet.
Still, lots of people love having pet fish. Some will even spend tons of money on rare exotic fish and high tech tanks. Find out if Devan and Jason have any pet fish.
Dialog
1. Listen and Read - Listen to the audio and read the dialog at the same time.
2. Study - Read the dialog again to see how the vocab words are used.
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Jason: I was at the state fair last week, and you could win goldfish in some of the games.
Devan: Oh yeah. Those never last long.
Jason: I know, it’s so sad. I had one when I was a kid and it only lived like a day.
Devan: Yeah, see, I’ve always felt about pet fish that they’re more like decoration than they are like pets, because they don’t really love you, you can’t interact with them or play with them. They’re like a painting or something.
Jason: You can tap on the glass and observe their personality and behavior and stuff like that. Right?
Devan: I guess. I’m not very good at keeping them alive either.
Jason: Oh no!
Devan: I have the same problem with houseplants, where any time a friend asks me to watch their fish or watch their houseplants while they’re out of town, it’s guaranteed they’re gonna come back to no fish or no houseplants, usually.
Jason: I think the trick to keeping the fish alive might be having a really great tank, you know? Like you gotta have one with the pump that provides enough oxygen and keeps the water clean. You kinda have to invest in your fish.
Devan: It’s true. The other lesson I learned is you can overfeed them. Who knew? I certainly didn’t.
Grammar Point
Go Super to learn "Modal Verbs" from this lesson
Quizzes
Lesson MP3
The iTEP® test
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Discussion
Jason was recently at a fair where you could play a game to win a goldfish. He has a pet goldfish as a kid, but it didn’t live very long.
Devan says pet fish never live very long, especially when they’re in her care. She sees fish more as decoration than pets because you can’t interact with them or play with them like other pets.
Jason thinks that the way to keep pet fish alive is to buy them an expensive tank. A high tech tank can give them the kind of environment they need to survive.
Have you ever had a pet fish? Do you think fish make good pets?
Comments
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