Listening

Warm Up

Helpful Words and Phrases

Listen and repeat.

  1. stray
    • ex. I sometimes give food to the stray cats in my neighborhood.
  2. tiny
    • ex. My mom’s hands are tiny. She can wear child-sized mittens.
  3. fortunately
    • ex. I forgot my umbrella. Fortunately, it didn’t rain.
  4. an eyepatch
    • ex. My son drew a picture of a pirate with an eyepatch.
  5. try on
    • ex. I don’t like online shopping because I prefer to try on clothes before I buy them.

Article

Read the article below and answer your tutor's questions.

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Meet Truffles, a special cat who helps children who need glasses. Truffles was a stray cat until Danielle Crull, her owner, found her five years ago. Crull, who makes and sells eyeglasses and contact lenses for children, taught Truffles various tricks. One of the tricks is to wear a tiny pair of glasses without lenses. Truffles wears them to help children feel okay about wearing their own glasses.

Fortunately, Truffles enjoys wearing the tiny glasses.  She also helps create videos that teach children about eye exams and how to properly care for glasses. The cat also sometimes wears glasses with an eyepatch to help children who need to use an eyepatch too.

Truffles has helped many of Crull’s young clients. One time, a little girl was crying because she didn’t want to wear glasses. However, when Truffles wore her tiny glasses, the girl began to laugh and wanted to try on different frames. Other  children have also shared messages and videos about how the cat helped them. One child even wrote and sang a song about Truffles.

Discussion

Choose a topic and discuss the questions with your tutor.

Cats

  • Truffles sometimes wears a tiny pair of glasses without lenses. Do you think it’s okay to put clothes and other accessories on cats? Why or why not? Discuss.
  • Imagine you found a stray cat near your home. What will you do with it (ex. make it your pet, give it some food)? Why? Discuss.
  • Some people say that dogs are friendlier and more loving than cats. Do you agree? Why or why not? Discuss.

Glasses and Contact Lenses

  • Why do you think some children don’t want to wear glasses (ex. they’re embarrassed, they think they’re uncomfortable)? Discuss.
  • In your opinion, which are better, glasses or contact lenses? Why? Discuss.
  • Glasses and contact lenses can be expensive, but they’re necessary for many people. Do you think glasses and contact lenses should be covered by health insurance? Why or why not? Discuss.