How a goat given as a graduation gift went viral
Tuesday, 18 August 2026
Warm-up
- What is the most surprising gift you have ever seen?
- Do people in your area keep unusual pets?
- How do videos go viral on social media?
Vocabulary
- graduation
- the time when you finish a course of study
- viral
- spreading very fast online because many people share it
- celebrity
- a person or animal known by many people
- tradition
- a way of doing things shared by a group
- companion
- a friend who spends time with you
- precious
- very special and valuable to someone
- breed
- to have young or make more animals of the same kind
- supermarket
- a large shop that sells many kinds of food and goods
Reading
Promise Okoro finished his final exams at the Federal Polytechnic Nekede in Imo state. Friends were playing loud music and signing white shirts, a graduation tradition. Then his mother, Chinyere, was leading a goat through the crowd. A video of the moment went viral, and the goat became a local celebrity. Among Igbo people, a goat can be a respectful gift. Chinyere traveled for more than an hour from Ubaha-Eze and paid 120,000 naira. Promise calls the goat his companion and says it is too precious to eat. He hopes to get a female goat and breed them. The goat loves fried rice. It was calm on a car ride to a nearby supermarket, where fans were taking photos. Promise also takes it for evening walks around his street.
Comprehension
- Who gave Promise the goat?
- Where did the surprise take place?
- What happened to the video of the gift?
- What food does the goat like?
- How much did the goat cost?
Grammar focus
Past continuous
Use the past continuous to talk about actions that were happening at a specific time in the past. Form: was/were + verb + -ing.
- Friends were playing loud music and signing white shirts, a graduation tradition.
- Then his mother, Chinyere, was leading a goat through the crowd.
Grammar exercise
Complete the sentences with the past continuous form of the verb in brackets.
- Guests (cheer) ___ as graduates walked across the stage.
- While Chinyere (travel) ___ from Ubaha-Eze, she paid 120,000 naira.
- At the supermarket, the goat (stand) ___ quietly in the car.
- In the evening, Promise (take) ___ the goat for a short walk.
- Near the food table, people (eat) ___ fried rice.
Discussion
- Is a goat a good graduation gift? Why or why not?
- What unusual pet would you like to keep, if any?
- How can a local story become a global viral hit?
- Which traditions at your school are most meaningful?
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