CONNIE:
Oh! What a beautiful cat. What do you think?
GARY:
I think I’d rather get a dog. Dogs are more loyal than cats.
CONNIE:
Yes, but they’re so much work! Would you be willing to walk
it every single day? And clean up after it?
GARY:
Hmm. Good point. What about a bird? Or a fish?
CONNIE:
We’d have to invest a lot of money in a cage or a fish tank. And I don’t really know how to take care of a bird or a fish!
GARY:
Well, we’re obviously not ready to get a pet yet.
CONNIE:
Yeah, you’re right. Let’s go grab some coffee and talk about it.
LANGUAGE NOTES
- Oh! What a beautiful cat “Oh!” is used to show surprise or excitement. “What a …” is
an expression that means “I think this is a very …” “What a(n) …” is followed by an
adjective, which is usually emphasized. Notice the emphasis on “beautiful” here. - Dogs are more loyal than cats. Two things are being compared here (dogs and
cats). Notice the structure of the sentences: (noun/s) plus “is/are more” plus
(adjective) plus “than” plus (noun/s). The nouns and the adjective are content words
here, so they are all emphasized. - Every single day Notice that each word here is stressed. The speaker wants to make
a point, so she emphasizes each word equally. “Every single day” is a lot! - Good point here means “I agree with you.”
- Take care of This phrase is used with animals, people and things. It can mean
“watch a child while her parents are away,” “feed and house someone or
something,” or “make sure things work properly.” (I always take care of my baby
brother./ I take care of my bird by feeding it and cleaning its cage./ I need to take
care of the broken sink.) - Yeah, you’re right. Notice the pronunciation of this expression — the words all
blend together here. This casual expression is used to agree with someone that you
know well.
Souce: Embassy of the United States of America
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