The Puppy Bowl Intermediate shadowing lesson
This short VOA Learning English story about what is popular on social media looks at the Puppy Bowl, a show on the Animal Planet channel that airs at the time of the Super Bowl. The voice is clear and the sentences are short, with names and numbers that are good to practise. It is a light topic and easy shadowing practice for intermediate learners.
- Intermediate
- Audio
- 1:48
- 21 sentences
Free, no account needed. The app plays one sentence and waits for you to say it.
The sentences
This is what's trending today.
This weekend is Super Bowl Sunday.
Two teams will play for the championship of American football.
The Carolina Panthers and Denver Broncos are busy preparing for Super Bowl 50.
The game will be played at Levi's Stadium, a newly built sports center in Santa Clara, California.
But on social media today, tweets and posts were directed at another bowl game, the Puppy Bowl.
The Animal Planet television channel created the Puppy Bowl in 2005.
The TV program shows puppies on a small field similar to a football field.
The young animals play with a football, and announcers describe their actions, just like in a real American football game.
The Puppy Bowl is set to be broadcast on Animal Planet this Sunday.
The Puppy Bowl is an alternative to the real Super Bowl.
It is for people who do not like watching American football.
On Wednesday, Animal Planet announced the starting lineup for the 2016 Puppy Bowl.
Fifty puppies will play in the game.
They are from animal shelters and are available for adoption.
Each one is in need of a good home.
On Twitter and Facebook Wednesday, people commented about their favorite puppies and made predictions for this year's Puppy Bowl.
Puppy Bowl was even a trending sports topic on Facebook.
The only concern?
Puppy football lasts only one game and not a full season like American football.
And that's what's trending today.
Words and phrases
- trending
- popular and talked about by many people right now
- championship
- the final game or contest that decides the winner
- preparing for
- getting ready for
- broadcast
- shown on TV or radio
- alternative
- another choice
- starting lineup
- the players who start a game
- animal shelters
- places that care for animals with no home
- available for adoption
- ready to go to a new family
How to practise this clip
Listen for how the speaker says names and numbers clearly, such as Super Bowl 50, Levi's Stadium and Fifty puppies, and where the longer sentences are broken up.
- Listen to a sentence before you read it.
- Say it right after, at the speaker's pace, with the same pauses.
- After the first round, hide the text and practise from the sound alone.
Source
VOA Learning English (Voice of America), public domain