Cats Rule

ESL Unit by Road To Grammar

roadtogrammar.com

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Warm-up Questions

Discuss the following questions:

1 Are cats popular in your country?

2 Do you like cats? Why or why not?
3 Have you seen any funny cat pictures or videos on the internet?

Sharing Experiences

Laura

I really like cats a lot! Cats make great pets because they do not need a lot of effort to
look after. They can wash themselves and you don’t need to take them for walks like
you do with dogs. You can keep them inside or outside the house. They love you but
they don’t follow you around everywhere.

Yen

I'm not really so keen on cats. My brother has a cat called Boris and every time I try
to pick him up, he scratches me! I don’t think cats are very affectionate animals. You
can’t train cats and they don’t even come when you call them. Also, cats cannot
provide security like dogs can.

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The Richest Cat in the World

As you drive along Bush Street in Newton, you may notice a lot of
very nice mansions. Obviously, the people who live here are very
wealthy. Some of them are doctors. Others are lawyers or successful
businesspeople. However, one of the mansions does not belong to a
person at all. It belongs to Mr Fluffycuddles, a cat.

Not only is Mr Fluffycuddles the proud owner of a mansion, but he is

also a multi-millionaire. This cute white kitty is worth over fifty
million dollars. He is the richest cat in the world.

You see, Mr Fluffycuddles used to belong to Janice Joliet, the famous fashion designer. She loved her
cat so much that when she died at age 87, she left her fortune to him. All 53 million dollars of it! She
had specified in her will that Mr Fluffycuddles would continue to live in her mansion and retain her
servants.

Of course, not everyone is happy about the multimillion-dollar cat. Mrs Joliet’s four children had been
hoping that she would leave her money to them!

Vocabulary list
mansion wealthy
fortune specify

Phrases to remember
the proud owner
to leave a fortune
multimillion-dollar

Task
Circle the correct answers:

1 This is a story about a very rich cat.

A| True
B| False

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2 This cat has his own house and even has servants.

A| True
B| False

3 Mr Fluffycuddles had a rich owner.

A| True
B| False

4 Mr Fluffycuddles has 50 million dollars.

A| True
B| False

What can I learn from this?

1 This cute white kitty is worth over fifty million dollars.

The word kitty is a ‘cute’ way to say cat. We also use the word doggie for dog!

2 Not only is Mr Fluffycuddles the proud owner of a mansion, but he is also a multi-millionaire.

We often use the phrase proud owner to show possession of something very nice. For example: Ian was
the proud owner of a brand new Ferrari.

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Listening Task 1
Listen to the story of Captain, a cat that steals things at night.

(Audio at http://roadtogrammar.com/units/cats/listening.html)

Tick the four things that Captain stole last night:

☐ a car ☐ shoes
☐ a magazine ☐ a flag
☐ a cup ☐ an umbrella
☐ a tie ☐ a toy dinosaur

Listening Task 2
Listen again and circle TRUE or FALSE

TRUE FALSE 1 Captain is a cat that likes to steal things.

TRUE FALSE 2 Captain always steals things in the daytime.

TRUE FALSE 3 Captain finds ways to enter his neighbour’s houses.

TRUE FALSE 4 Captain only steals clothes.

TRUE FALSE 5 Neighbours know where to find their stolen items.

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Superlatives
In the reading passage, we learned that Mr Fluffycuddles is the richest cat in the world.

1 The word richest is an example of a superlative. A superlative shows that something is of the
highest degree. Other examples of superlatives are:

best
biggest
oldest
cheapest
most expensive
most comfortable

Note that the last two examples are a little different. Instead of add an –est ending, we add the
word MORE at the beginning instead. We do this with long words and we use the –est ending with
shorter words.

2 We often use superlatives with the phrase ‘in ____’:

He is the richest cat in the world.

She is the prettiest girl in my class.
This is the most expensive watch in the shop.

3 Note how we use the word THE with superlatives:

He is the richest cat in the world.

She is the prettiest girl in my class.

4 A common mistake is to use MOST where it is not needed:

Wrong: It is the most oldest building in the city.

Right: It is the oldest building in the city.
Right: It is the most ancient building in the city.

5 We often use superlatives with the word ever:

This is the best cake I have ever tasted!

Juliet is the most beautiful girl I have ever seen!

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Task:

1 Which sentence is correct?

A| She is the best tennis player in the country

B| She is best tennis player in the country.

2 Which sentence is correct?

A| Rick is the smartest guy that I know.

B| Rick is smartest guy that I know.

3 Which sentence is correct?

A| Captain is the town's most biggest thief.

B| Captain is the town's biggest thief.

4 Which sentence is correct?

A| This is the comfortable bed I have ever slept on.

B| This is the most comfortable bed I have ever slept on.

5 Which sentence is correct?

A| That is the funniest joke I have ever heard.

B| That is the most funniest joke I have ever heard.

Idioms
Do you know these cat idioms? Use the words in the box to complete the sentences.

bag raining tongue fat

1 I got soaked! It was ____________ cats and dogs.

2 You told everyone the secret! You let the cat out of the ____________.

3 These ____________ cats make millions of dollars a year!

4 Why are you so quiet? Has the cat got your ____________?

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Writing Task
What are some benefits of owning a pet?

Sample language snippets:

 The main advantage of owning a pet is...

 If you own a pet,...
 Pets can help you to...
 Pets are great for...
 Pets give unconditional love.

Long Discussion

Discuss the following questions:

1 What kind of animal makes the best pet?
Explain.
2 Some people keep weird pets, such as spiders,
lizards or snakes. Would you like to have an
unusual pet?
3 Do you think it’s good for children to have pets?
Explain.
4 Did you grow up with pets in your home?
5 Which of the following would you prefer to have and why: a tortoise or a horse?
6 Which of the following would you prefer to have and why: a hamster or a goldfish?
7 Which of the following would you prefer to have and why: a rabbit or a cat?
8 What do you think should happen to people who are cruel to animals?

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Answer Key:

Reading

1 TRUE
2 TRUE
3 TRUE
4 FALSE

Listening task 1

1. a magazine
2. shoes
3. an umbrella
4. a toy dinosaur

Listening task 2

1 TRUE
2 TRUE
3 TRUE
4 FALSE
5 TRUE

Grammar and Language

1A 3B 5A
2A 4B

Idioms

1 I got soaked! It was raining cats and dogs.

2 You told everyone the secret! You let the cat out of the bag.
3 These fat cats make millions of dollars a year!
4 Why are you so quiet? Has the cat got your tongue?

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Further resources

More practice with idioms:

http://roadtogrammar.com/idioms/
http://roadtogrammar.com/?14

More practice with superlatives:

http://roadtogrammar.com/?320
http://roadtogrammar.com/?321

Notes on superlatives:

http://www.roadtogrammar.com/notes/?REF=223

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