Hey everybody, welcome to this A1 English listening practice video. You can use this video to practice your listening and comprehension as I speak. You ready?

大家好，欢迎观看初级英语听力视频。你可以用这个视频练习听力和理解能力。

So today I’m going to talk about pets. This is a fun topic because many people have pets and like animals. Let’s start with dogs, since dogs are the most common pets in the US, so many people have dogs. You can see and hear dogs everywhere.

今天，我想聊聊宠物。这是一个有趣的话题，因为很多人都养宠物，也喜欢动物。我们从狗开始聊，因为在美国狗是最普遍的宠物。很多人养狗。你可以在任何地方看到狗或听到狗叫。

When I was younger, my family had many dogs. Some of them were big and some of them were small. They were all different kinds of dogs. I always liked our big dogs more. They were smart and fun. Our small dogs were cute, but they weren’t very smart.

我还是小伙子的时候，我家里人养了很多狗，有些大有些小。它们是不同品种的狗。我比较喜欢大狗，它们更聪明有趣。我家体型小的狗虽然可爱，但有点蠢。

All of our dogs loved to play. They wanted to play all day. I like dogs, but now I don’t want to have dogs. If you have dogs, you need to spend a lot of time with them. They need a lot of attention. In the US, people treat their dogs very well. They give them a lot of attention and they play with them a lot.

所有狗都喜欢玩，它们要玩一整天。我喜欢狗，但现在没有养。如果你养了狗，你得花很多时间在它们身上。它们需要你的关注。在美国，人们对他们的狗很好。他们很关注自己的狗还经常和它们玩。

Okay, now let’s talk about cats. Some people like cats more than dogs, but I don’t like cats at all. Actually, I’m allergic to cats, so I stay away from them. Many people like cats because they’re independent. They don’t need a lot of attention like dogs do. So if you have a cat, it’s easy. Also, cats are funny animals. There are many videos of cats doing very funny things. My family never had cats, though. What about you? Do you prefer cats or dogs?

现在，我们聊聊猫。一些人喜欢猫而不是狗，但我一点也不喜欢。其实，我对猫过敏，所以我会和它们保持距离。人们喜欢猫是因为它很独立。它们不需要你太关注它们，不像狗。所以，养猫比较容易。猫也是有趣的动物。猫有很多搞笑的视频。我家人从来没养过猫。你呢？你喜欢㺃还是猫？

Now let’s talk about other types of pets. In the US, some people like to have small pets like hamsters or Guinea pigs. These animals live in cages, so they’re easy pets to have. You just need to feed them and clean their cage. I don’t think these pets are very fun. They’re a little boring in my opinion. But many people prefer these types of pets. I’ve never had a hamster or Guinea pig before, but I ate a Guinea pig when I was in Peru. In some countries, Guinea pigs are food, not pets.

现在，我们聊聊其他宠物。在美国，有些人喜欢养很小的宠物，比如，仓鼠和豚鼠。这些宠物可以在笼子里生活，所以养起来很容易。你只要喂养它们，清理它们的笼子就行。我不知道养这些宠物有什么意思。在我看来它们有些无趣。但很多人喜欢这类宠物。我从来没有养过仓鼠和豚鼠，但我在秘鲁吃过豚鼠，在一些国家，豚鼠是食物。

Other types of pets include birds, bunny rabbits, fish, and reptiles. I had three fish when I was younger. Two of these fish died pretty fast, but one of the fish lived for several years. Fish are boring pets, though. When I was very young, my family had a gecko. I liked to watch this gecko eat. It ate live crickets and worms. That was a cool pet.

其它宠物包括鸟、小兔子、鱼和爬行动物。我年轻的时候养过三条鱼，其中两条很快就死了，但有一条活了几年。养鱼也很无聊。我小时候，家里养过壁虎。我喜欢看它吃东西。它喜欢吃活的蟋蟀和虫子。那是很酷的宠物。

In the US, there are many animal shelters. An animal shelter is a place that takes care of animals that don’t have owners. Most of these animals are dogs. Of course, if you go to an animal shelter, you can adopt these animals if you want. My family adopted several dogs from these animal shelters. Some of these dogs were nice and fun and some of these dogs were not very nice.

美国有很多动物收容所。动物收容所是照顾没有主人的动物的地方。大多数是狗。当然，如果你愿意，你可以在动物收容所领养动物。有些狗很可爱，有些不。

My favorite pet was our first dog. She was very smart and she was beautiful. I played with her and I pet her every day. She lived with us for over 10 years. I miss that dog. If I get a pet in the future, it will be a dog, but I don’t think I want a pet.

我最喜欢的宠物是我家第一只狗。她又聪明又好看。我会抚摸她，和她玩。她和我们生活了10多年，我很相信她。如果未来我想养宠物，肯定会选狗，但我现在不想养。