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Bright Lives English
Name: Date:

Pickles the Dog: The World Cup Was Stolen… and a Little Dog Found It

Level A1 (Beginner) · Watch the video and do the online quiz at https://brightlivesenglish.com/lessons/pickles-world-cup-dog/

A Match the words to their meanings

  1. football (noun)
  2. Sunday (noun)
  3. smell (verb)
  4. open (verb)
  5. party (noun)
  6. World Cup (noun)
  7. hedge (noun)
  8. thief (noun)
  1. a game where two teams kick a ball
  2. a line of small bushes that grow close together, like a green wall
  3. the day of the week after Saturday
  4. a big football competition between countries, every four years; also its gold cup
  5. a person who takes things that are not theirs
  6. to move something so you can see inside it (past: opened)
  7. a time when people eat, talk and have fun together
  8. to know something with your nose (past: smelled)

B Complete the sentences from the story

hedge · Sunday · football · thief · World Cup · smelled · party · opened

  1. Nobody saw the .
  2. Pickles something under a plant.
  3. Dave the old newspaper.
  4. The cup was under a in a garden.
  5. Pickles went to the big .
  6. In 1966, England won the .
  7. On a , Dave and Pickles went for a walk.
  8. England wanted to win the World Cup.

C Did you understand?

  1. Someone took the World Cup in London in 1966.True / False
  2. What colour was Pickles?
    1. Black and white
    2. Brown
    3. Yellow
    4. Grey
  3. Where was the cup?
    1. Under a plant in a garden
    2. In a shop
    3. At the police station
    4. In a car
  4. At first, the police asked Dave many questions.True / False
  5. Who won the World Cup in 1966?
    1. England
    2. Brazil
    3. Germany
    4. Italy

D Put the words in order

  1. Look / dog / at / little / this

E Grammar: this / that

We use it for this = near you (here, now); that = far away, or in the past (that day, that summer). Here is a dog. → Look at this little dog. · On that day, a long time ago → That Sunday, Pickles stopped near a garden.

Example from the story: Look at this little dog.

  1. Look at little dog here! (this / that / these)
  2. In 1966 England won. summer, there was a big party. (That / This / These)
  3. I have a ball in my hand. ball is new. (This / That / Those)

F Your turn

Retell Pickles the dog's story in 5–6 sentences. Use at least three words from exercise A.

Transcript

In 1966, someone took the World Cup in London.

The police could not find it.

Then a little dog went for a walk.

This is the story of Pickles.

Welcome to brightlivesenglish.com, where we teach real English using real-life stories.

Football. Football is a game with a ball.

England wanted to win the football World Cup.

Sunday. Sunday is a day of the week.

On a Sunday, Dave and Pickles went for a walk.

Smell. When you smell something, you use your nose.

The past is smelled.

Pickles smelled something under a plant.

Open. When you open something, you can see inside it.

The past is opened.

Dave opened the old newspaper.

Party. At a party, people eat, talk and have fun together.

Pickles went to the big party.

Now, one pattern: this and that.

This is for near things.

That is for far things, or past times.

Here is a dog.

Look at this little dog.

Ready? Let's begin.

Look at this little dog.

His name was Pickles.

He was black and white.

He lived in London with his owner, Dave.

England wanted to win the football World Cup.

In March 1966, the cup was at a stamp show in London.

Then someone took it!

One week later, on a Sunday, Dave and Pickles went for a walk.

That Sunday, Pickles stopped near a garden.

Pickles smelled something under a plant.

It was in old newspaper.

Dave opened the old newspaper.

He saw a small gold cup.

Is this the World Cup?

Yes, it was!

Dave took the cup to the police.

At first, the police asked Dave many questions!

That summer, England won the World Cup.

Pickles went to the big party.

He was a hero!

Let's review. England wanted to win the football World Cup.

On a Sunday, Dave and Pickles went for a walk.

Pickles smelled something under a plant.

Dave opened the old newspaper.

Pickles went to the big party.

And remember: look at this little dog.

Pickles's story teaches us: anyone can be a hero, even a little dog on a Sunday walk.

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Answer key

A. 1a 2c 3h 4f 5g 6d 7b 8e

B. 1 thief · 2 smelled · 3 opened · 4 hedge · 5 party · 6 World Cup · 7 Sunday · 8 football

C. 1 True · 2 a · 3 a · 4 True · 5 a

D. 1 Look at this little dog.

E. 1 this · 2 That · 3 This