source: Podcast in English
1 Tricia chose to live in Jordan because
A. the dogs are not aggressive.
B. there are no dogs in the country.
C. there are very few dogs on the street.
2 Tricia has been afraid of dogs since
A. her family left England.
B. she moved to Asia.
C. she was eight or nine.
3 Africans keep dogs as
A. guard dogs.
B. pets.
C. working dogs.
4 Tricia clearly remembers
A. hearing the dogs in the distance.
B. the day she was attacked by a dog.
C. walking near the dogs.
5 When Tricia goes for a walk with her cousin in Britain, she feels
A. nervous even if the dogs are on the lead.
B. okay because the dogs are always on the lead.
C. terrified when the dogs are free.
6 Both Jackie and Tricia think dogs can
A. jump very high.
B. run very fast.
C. smell very well.
7 Jackie thinks the best think for Tricia to do is
A. lose her fear of dogs.
B. stay away from street dogs.
C. stay in Jordan.
I’m talking to Tricia, hi.
Hello, Jackie.
And Tricia works here in Jordan and I understand that she… one of the reasons she chose to work in Jordan is because there are very few dogs on the street, is that true Tricia?
It is, Jackie. It sounds a bit ridiculous but ever since I was a child I’ve had a fear of dogs, and so, perhaps, one of the reasons why I’m enjoying my time in Jordan is because there are so few dogs on the streets.
So what… what was it… what, what happened to make you frightened of dogs then?
It ’s… it ’s an interesting question. I think, very possibly my first experience or memory of dogs really is from when I was a child of about eight or nine. And my family were living in Southern Africa and a lot of families around the area where we lived kept dogs as guard dogs.
For security.
For security reasons, yes, and I have very vivid memories of, for example, walking home from school, you know, thinking about my day at school, thinking about going swimming in the afternoon and in my own little world and suddenly loud barking and ferocious, fierce dogs rushing to the gates of various gardens as I walked past . And I remember feeling terribly shocked and frightened. I mean, there was no way really, the dogs could get out of the gardens and attack me but I think it was just the… the surprise of the noise and the fierceness...
No, but that’s…
…of their faces.
Yeah, no that sounds horrible. So has… has this affected your adult life now?
In a way, I suppose it has because when I go home, when I visit the UK, one of the things I love to do is go walking.
Right.
And my cousin also loves walking but he insists on bringing his three dogs with him.
Right.
And that always, to an extent, spoils my enjoyment of…
Are the dogs, sorry, are the dogs on a lead?
They are, he’s… he’s always very careful about keeping them on a lead because he knows that I have this fear of dogs. He will occasionally let them off the lead, really hoping that they’ll sort of run into the fields and chase each other and enjoy being dogs but what tends to happen, strangely, is as soon as they’ re off the lead, they go for me.
They… they can smell, can’t they, that you’re afraid of them?
I think that’s right. I think dogs have a… a real capacity to sense and smell fear.
So you’ve come to Jordan where there are hardly any dogs but may be in a way, that’s actually not helping your… your fear, is it?
I should probably go and try, you know, get a job in a… in an animal hospice or…
Or I think you should go and live in Thailand, there are street dogs on every corner there.
It might be an interesting experience. Perhaps I’ll… take you up on that suggestion, Jackie, and learn how to overcome my fear of dogs.
Great, thanks a lot Tricia.
Thanks, Jackie.
KEY:
1C 2C 3A 4B 5C 6C 7A
