Listening Comprehension for Students of English: How We Got Our Dog 1
This listening comprehension is aimed at intermediate students, however, all students of English are invited to participate. I hope you like the recording.
All you have to do is fill in the blanks 
. Some of the blanks may have more than one word missing 
.
"How We Got Our Dog 1" read by Goyo from Kentucky, USA-- Listen Here
Well, you know ____________. They spill their food, they smell bad, and they _____ hair all over the house. You have to take them on walks _________, give them _______, and take them to the vet. They tear up the furniture, _____ up your shoes, and ruin things. Some dogs bark and whine so that you _________ at night. And my wife wanted no part of it.
“No way!” she would say. “We are not having a dog under any ______________!” It didn’t matter how much the kids begged her. She ________ budge. She was ____________ against it.
But then came my daughter’s ___________ birthday party. Every girl in her class was at our house for the party, probably a dozen girls _________.
I’m sure you can _________ all these eleven year old girls running around the house. They are _____ and giggly, and, of course, as ______ as they can be. And we wanted everyone to have a good time.
Well, it was a warm day, and the girls ________ to go for a walk. And an _____ later, _____________ with a puppy! They had found it somewhere and tied a rope around its neck and _________ it home.
So now my daughter is asking, “Can I keep him? Can I keep him?” and all the girls were chiming in too, ________ persuade us to allow my daughter to keep the dog.
Of course, what we _________________ was, “No! Absolutely not! You cannot have a dog.” But we didn’t do that. ___________ we said, “Well sweety, that dog is somebody’s pet. We need to ______ out who owns him.”
So, you know what happened next, _________? Off the girls go, __________ the dog around the neighborhood from house to house, to find out whose dog it _____. And guess what? The dog was a stray. He didn’t have an ______. An hour later they are _______ at the house.
“The lady down the street said the dog is a stray. It doesn’t have an owner. Can she keep it? Can she keep it?” all the girls cried at ______.
What could we say _________ “yes”? So we gave the dog a home. And there is more to this story, but I will save that for next time.
Corrections will be provided in your own posts later in the week, so keep your eyes peeled .
2 Answers
I want to tell you the story about how we got our dog. It’s amazing that we got this dog, because my wife didn’t want a pet of any kind in the house. The kids would often beg and plead with her, “Mommy, please? Can we have a dog, please?”
Well, you know what dogs do. They spill their food, they smell bad, and they shed hair all over the house. You have to take them on walks every night, give them baths, and take them to the vet. They tear up the furniture, chew up your shoes, and ruin things. Some dogs bark and whine so that you can't sleep at night. And my wife wanted no part of it.
“No way!” she would say. “We are not having a dog under any circumstances!” It didn’t matter how much the kids begged her. She wouldn't budge. She was dead set against it.
But then came my daughter’s eleventh (11th) birthday party. Every girl in her class was at our house for the party, probably a dozen girls in all.
I’m sure you can imagine all these eleven year old girls running around the house. They are loud and giggly, and, of course, as cute as they can be. And we wanted everyone to have a good time.
Well, it was a warm day, and the girls decided to go for a walk. And an hour later, here they come with a puppy! They had found it somewhere and tied a rope around its neck and brought it home.
So now my daughter is asking, “Can I keep him? Can I keep him?” and all the girls were chiming in too, trying to persuade us to allow my daughter to keep the dog.
Of course, what we should've should have said was, “No! Absolutely not! You cannot have a dog.” But we didn’t do that. instead we said, “Well sweety, that dog is somebody’s pet. We need to find out who owns him.”
So, you know what happened next, right? Off the girls go, taking the dog around the neighborhood from house to house, to find out whose dog it was. And guess what? The dog was a stray. He didn’t have an owner. An hour later they are back at the house.
“The lady down the street said the dog is a stray. It doesn’t have an owner. Can she keep it? Can she keep it?” all the girls cried at once.
What could we say except “yes”? So we gave the dog a home. And there is more to this story, but I will save that for next time.
“Mommy, please? Can we have a dog, please?”
Awww that's cute!! lol ... thanks so much for the exercise, Goyo
Goyo, listening to you is very pleasant. You have an actor's voice. Amazing, and very funny recording !
Thanks a lot for the exercise!
I want to tell you the story about how we got our dog. It’s amazing that we got this dog, because my wife didn’t want a pet of any kind in the house. The kids would often beg and plead with her, “Mommy, please? Can we have a dog, please?”
Well, you know what dogs do? They spill their food, they smell bad, and they share shed hair all over the house. You have to take them on walks every night, give them baths, and take them to the vet. They tear up the furniture, chew up your shoes, and ruin things. Some dogs bark and whine so that you can't sleep at night. And my wife wanted no part of it.
“No way!” she would say. “We are not having a dog under any circumstances!” It didn’t matter how much the kids begged her. She wouldn't budge. She was dead set against it.
But then came my daughter’s eleventh birthday party. Every girl in her class was at our house for the party, probably a dozen girls in all.
I’m sure you can imagine all these eleven year old girls running around the house. They are loudy loud and giggly, and, of course, as curious cute as they can be. And we wanted everyone to have a good time.
Well, it was a warm day, and the girls decided to go for a walk. And an hour later, here they come with a puppy! They had found it somewhere and tied a rope around its neck and brought it home.
So now my daughter is asking, “Can I keep him? Can I keep him?” and all the girls were chiming in too, trying to persuade us to allow my daughter to keep the dog.
Of course, what we should have said was, “No! Absolutely not! You cannot have a dog.” But we didn’t do that. Instead we said, “Well sweety, that dog is somebody’s pet. We need to find out who owns him.”
So, you know what happened next, right? Off the girls go, taking the dog around the neighborhood from house to house, to find out whose dog it was. And guess what? The dog was a stray. He didn’t have an owner. An hour later they are back at the house.
“The lady down the street said the dog is a stray. It doesn’t have an owner. Can she keep it? Can she keep it?” all the girls cried at once.
What could we say except “yes”? So we gave the dog a home. And there is more to this story, but I will save that for next time.
I love these exercises!
