Language Commons > Materials > English Materials > Listening
The Listening Page

Conversation

Title: Missing my dog
Speakers: Matthew

Other recording by same speaker :

 
Accent : Australian
Length : 2'47"
Speed : 155 words per minute
Key to speed of speech (words per minute)
100 - 150
SLOW
150 - 200
AVERAGE
200 - 250
FAST

[How are you finding Hong Kong?] Hong Kong – I think I’m loving it a lot. It’s at the beginning I thought, "God, it’s a lot like Sydney, very modern, very multicultural." [It’s like a big Chinatown or something in Sydney.] That’s right. We’re a multicultural city in Sydney. I find I’m actually missing Sydney for all the wrong reasons. Not because of family, not because of friends, not because of work [uhuh] but really it’s because of my dog [so really if your dog were here, everything would be fine?] That’s right. I should have brought the dog over – I don’t know how much it cost. My dog is a golden labrador. He’s only two years old but I just love him to bits. [That’s two dog years or two people years?] Two people years! [yeah] Two dog years is like six months or something like that. I first met him when he was about eight weeks old. He’s actually was given to us from the Royal Guide Dog Association. So we been training dogs for several years – all different kinds of dogs – black ones, golden retrievers and then we had Falcon, a golden labrador [Falcon – that’s the name of your dog?] That’s right, yeah, and the problem was the problem was that after one year we had to give him back, after we did training. [Oh how come? Oh you train them?] You train them and then they become you know like guide dogs for the blind people, to help people who are vision-impaired [uhuh]. But however my dog was a little bit too curious, too smart – I tend to think so – for his own good, so [Did he get like attached to your family, like is that what happens to guide dogs?] Yeah the temperament of my dog like any labrador is that they just love you to bits and you can’t but become very attached to them. I found him adorable, I go home and he’ll jump all over me [Oh he’s so gorgeous]. I’m the only one now because he’s so big – he’s 35 kilos – to be able to pick him up and surprisingly that’s what I miss. I now know when talking back home, he actually still sleeps in my room and there’s no one there and stuff like that and at night he goes to my room [So he’s like inherited your room while you’re away.] That’s right. I hope he’s not making a mess, though. Well that’s one story from Sydney and now that it’s so it brought up a bit of emotions. I’m feeling lonely.

     
 
   

Enquiries: lccommons@ust.hk        Tel: (852) 2358-7851

© Copyright 2003 Language Center, HKUST. All rights reserved.