Neil Hello and welcome to Real Easy English from BBC Learning English. I’m Neil.
Georgie And I’m Georgie. In this podcast we have real conversations in easy English about a different topic each week.
Neil And you can read along with the podcast using the script on our website: bbclearningenglish.com
Georgie Hi, Neil. How are things?
Neil Very good, thank you. How are you, Georgie?
Georgie Yes, I’m pretty good thank you as well. So, Neil, what are we talking about today?
Neil We are talking about animals. We’ll be talking about pets.
Georgie OK, Neil. So do you have any pets?
Neil No, I don’t have any pets. But I know you do, Georgie.
Georgie Yes, I do. I have a black dog called Rafi.
Neil Rafi? Did you choose the name?
Georgie Partly, but it was a decision we made as a family.
Neil Did you have pets as a child?
Georgie Yes, I did. We used to have cats actually, we started with cats and then we got a dog and then we also had hamsters. What about you, Neil? Did you have pets?
Neil No, we didn’t have pets when I was young. Oh, I did have a goldfish called Gilbert. But then later on when I was a teenager, my parents got a cat and a dog.
Georgie Wow! Did you have a good relationship with Gilbert?
Neil I don’t remember Gilbert, sadly. But we had a cat that I liked very much and I’ve never really liked dogs, I’m afraid.
Georgie So, Neil, you don’t have any pets now. And you said you don’t like dogs, but will you ever get one?
Neil No, Georgie. I don’t think so. I will never get a dog.
Georgie That’s OK. I mean, they’re not for everyone. What was your cat like?
Neil The cat made me feel very calm because she sat on my lap and purred.
Georgie You just used the word purr. Can you explain what that is?
Neil Yeah. Purring is the noise that cats make. Not miaow. Miaow is[makes miaow noise]. Purring is [makes purring noise]. And the cat made that noise and made me feel calm.
Georgie Neil, that was a really good purr sound. I would say it was perfect!
Neil So, Georgie, what was your first dog like?
Georgie My first dog was really lovely. I actually used to say that she was my best friend. And we actually have a common expression to describe dogs which is man’s best friend. Man here means human so human’s best friend. That’s because dogs are usually quite loyal.
Neil OK, so, Georgie, we’ve talked about dogs and cats, those kind of pets, and hamsters and goldfish. But have you ever thought about getting an exotic pet like a snake?
Georgie No, not really. When I think of pets, I think of fluffy animals with fur. But I do have a friend that got a scorpion recently, which I really don’t understand. Would you ever get an exotic pet?
Neil No, absolutely not. I think I would be scared of an exotic pet.
Georgie Yes.
Neil To be honest.
Georgie Yeah. They just seem dangerous.
Neil Let’s recap the vocabulary we learned during the conversation.
We had ever, which means at any time. And you asked me Georgie, will I ever get a dog?
Georgie We’ve had never, which means not at any time. So, Neil, you said you will never get a dog.
Neil We heard man’s best friend, which is a common expression to describe dogs.
Georgie And purring, the noise a cat makes when it’s happy.
Neil That’s it for this episode of Real Easy English. You can find more programmes and courses to improve your English at bbclearningenglish.com
Georgie In the next episode, we’ll talk all about schools.
Neil See you then, goodbye.
Georgie Bye!