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This worksheet opens with the lesson: 1 December 2026, 3:00 pm New York time. Back to the lesson

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Bright Lives English
Name: Date:

Smoky: Soldiers Needed a Cable Under a Runway… a Tiny Dog Did It

Level A2 (Elementary) · Watch the video and do the online quiz at https://brightlivesenglish.com/lessons/smoky-tiny-war-dog/

A Match the words to their meanings

  1. jungle (noun)
  2. tiny (adjective)
  3. cable (noun)
  4. pipe (noun)
  5. comfort (verb)
  6. Yorkshire terrier (noun)
  7. airfield (noun)
  8. runway (noun)
  1. a thick wire
  2. the long, flat road that planes use to land and take off
  3. to help someone feel better
  4. a long tube for water or gas
  5. a place where planes can land and take off
  6. a very small dog with long grey and brown hair
  7. very, very small
  8. a hot forest with many trees

B Complete the sentences from the story

airfield · tiny · runway · comforted · Yorkshire terrier · cable · pipe · jungle

  1. Smoky was a .
  2. There was a pipe under the .
  3. The was about 21 metres long.
  4. Enemy planes often attacked the .
  5. She sick soldiers in hospitals.
  6. The dog weighed about 2 kilograms.
  7. The soldiers needed a under the runway.
  8. A soldier found a little dog in the .

C Did you understand?

  1. A soldier found Smoky in the jungle of New Guinea.True / False
  2. How much did Smoky weigh?
    1. About 2 kilograms
    2. About 20 kilograms
    3. About 200 grams
    4. About 12 kilograms
  3. Digging would take about three hours.True / False
  4. How wide was the pipe?
    1. About 20 centimetres
    2. About 2 metres
    3. About 21 metres
    4. About 1 metre
  5. Inside the pipe, the string stopped, but Smoky came out at the other end.True / False
  6. How long did Smoky's job in the pipe take?
    1. Minutes
    2. Three days
    3. A week
    4. A year

D Put the words in order

  1. go / She / to / was / the / enough / through / small / pipe

E Grammar: adjective + enough + to + verb

We use it for gives the reason why something is possible. She was small. → She was small enough to go through the pipe. · He is old. → He is old enough to drive. · Was she brave? → Was she brave enough to go in?

Example from the story: She was small enough to go through the pipe.

  1. The tiny dog was to sit in a helmet. (small enough / enough small / small enough for)
  2. Was Smoky to go into the dark pipe? (brave enough / enough brave / braver enough)
  3. Now my brother is eighteen. He is to drive a car. (old enough / enough old / oldest enough)

F Your turn

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

Transcript

Soldiers needed a cable under an airfield.

Their smallest friend was only 18 centimetres tall.

Could she help?

This is the story of Smoky.

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

Jungle. A jungle is a hot forest with many trees.

A soldier found a little dog in the jungle.

Tiny. Tiny means very, very small.

The tiny dog weighed about 2 kilograms.

Cable. A cable is a thick wire.

The soldiers needed a cable under the runway.

Pipe. A pipe is a long tube for water or gas.

The pipe was about 21 metres long.

Comfort. When you comfort someone, you help them feel better.

She comforted sick soldiers in hospitals.

Now, one pattern: adjective, plus enough, plus to, plus a verb.

It gives a reason.

She was small.

She went through the pipe.

She was small enough to go through the pipe.

Ready? Let's begin.

In 1944, a soldier found a little dog in the jungle of New Guinea.

She was alone in a hole.

Another soldier, Bill Wynne, bought her and named her Smoky.

The tiny dog was small enough to sit in his helmet.

In 1945, the soldiers needed a cable under a runway in the Philippines.

Digging would take three days, and enemy planes often attacked.

But there was a pipe under the runway.

The pipe was about 21 metres long, and only 20 centimetres wide.

Was Smoky brave enough to go in?

Bill tied a string to her collar and called her from the other end.

Smoky walked into the dark, sandy pipe.

Suddenly, the string stopped.

Bill called again.

At last, Smoky came out!

She was small enough to go through the pipe.

With her string, the soldiers pulled the cable through.

It took minutes, not days.

For years, Smoky also visited hospitals.

She comforted sick soldiers in hospitals.

People say she was one of the first therapy dogs.

Let's review. A soldier found a little dog in the jungle.

The tiny dog weighed about 2 kilograms.

The soldiers needed a cable under the runway.

The pipe was about 21 metres long.

She comforted sick soldiers in hospitals.

And remember: she was small enough to go through the pipe.

Smoky's story teaches us: being small doesn't stop you doing something big.

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Answer key

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

B. 1 Yorkshire terrier · 2 runway · 3 pipe · 4 airfield · 5 comforted · 6 tiny · 7 cable · 8 jungle

C. 1 True · 2 a · 3 False · 4 a · 5 True · 6 a

D. 1 She was small enough to go through the pipe.

E. 1 small enough · 2 brave enough · 3 old enough