It Happened to Me

The Cat--Part 2


Our friends invited us to a casual party. The hosts were people we had never met before. When they opened the door to let us in, a gorgeous cat scooted in ahead of me. I am really fond of cats, and I have two cats myself.

After we were inside, I leaned down and encouraged the cat to come to me. Our hosts seated us. We all made uneasy conversation for about an hour because when the cat wasn't hovering around me, it was climbing over the chairs, couches and tables. Finally, I mentioned to them that their cat seemed to be exceptionally friendly with visitors. Their cat? They thought it was ours! They thought that we brought it with us and were inconsiderate enough to let it climb all over everything.

Well, that cat's exit was much faster than its entrance and we had a subject of conversation that put us all at ease right away.

Adapted from a first person story by E.M., taken from The Detroit News circa 1980

Vocabulary Questions

In the first paragraph, what does casual mean?
1. Informal, like an informal party where you wear regular clothes.
2. Formal, like a formal party, where you wear special clothes.
3. Fancy, like a special party where people get dressed up.

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In the first paragraph, what does gorgeous mean?
1. Extremely pretty.
2. Extremely interesting.
3. Extremely sad.

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In the first paragraph, what does scooted mean?
1. Pushed.
2. Sat.
3. Went quickly.

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In the first paragraph, what does fond of mean?
1. Don't like.
2. Like.
3. Allergic to.

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In the second paragraph, what does encouraged the cat mean?
1. Tried to convince the cat to come.
2. Yelled at the cat to come.
3. Got angry at the cat.

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In the second paragraph, what does seated us mean?
1. Sat down with us.
2. Told us where to sit.
3. Asked us to change seats.

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In the second paragraph, what does hovering mean?
1. Running around in circles.
2. Sleeping.
3. Standing near someone waiting for attention.

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In the second paragraph, what does mentioned mean?
1. Said something briefly and casually.
2. Spoke angrily.
3. Explained.

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In the second paragraph, what does exceptionally friendly mean?
1. Very friendly; more than you would expect.
2. A little friendly.
3. Not very friendly.

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In the second paragraph, what does inconsiderate mean?
1. Stupid.
2. Interesting.
3. Impolite.

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In the third paragraph, what does put at ease mean?
1. Made something easy.
2. Made someone relax.
3. Put something down.

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Your Turn

Think about pets and how people in this country act toward their pets. Think about pets in your country too. Compare how people and pets in this country and people and pets in your native country are the same or different. Could this story have happened in your native country?

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