How a goat given as a graduation gift went viral
Tuesday, 18 August 2026
Warm-up
- What is a special gift you once received?
- What pets are common where you live?
- How do videos become popular online?
Vocabulary
- celebrity
- A very famous person or animal that many people know.
- viral
- Becoming very popular online very quickly.
- graduation
- A ceremony that marks the end of school or university.
- tradition
- A custom that people in a group follow over time.
- companion
- A friend or animal that stays with you.
- precious
- Very special and important to someone.
- breed
- To keep animals so they have babies.
- supermarket
- A large shop that sells many kinds of food and goods.
Reading
A goat in Nigeria became a local celebrity after a graduation video went viral. Promise Okoro, 23, had just finished his final exams at Federal Polytechnic Nekede in Imo state. Friends were cheering and filming when his mother, Chinyere, arrived pulling a goat.
For people in the Igbo tradition, a goat can be a valuable gift for big events. Promise said he was happy, not shy. He will not eat the animal. He calls it his companion because it is too precious to him. He plans to buy a female and breed them in the future.
The goat likes fried rice, and it stayed calm on a car ride to a nearby supermarket, where people took photos. Chinyere travelled for more than an hour from Ubaha-Eze to surprise her son. She paid 120,000 naira for the gift.
Comprehension
- What gift did Promise Okoro receive after his exams?
- Who brought the goat to Promise at the school?
- Why is a goat a meaningful gift in Igbo tradition?
- What food does the goat like to eat?
- How much did Chinyere pay for the goat?
Grammar focus
Past continuous
Use was/were + verb‑ing for actions that were happening at a specific time in the past. It shows an activity in progress (e.g. while or when another event happened). (Example 2 constructed.)
- Friends were cheering and filming when his mother, Chinyere, arrived pulling a goat.
- A crowd was cheering as the goat was led to Promise.
Grammar exercise
Complete each sentence with the correct past continuous form.
- His mother (travel) ___ for more than an hour.
- People (take) ___ photos at the supermarket.
- The goat (stay) ___ calm on the car ride.
- Students (clap) ___ when she pulled the goat.
- Promise (look) ___ happy as people filmed.
Discussion
- Is giving an animal as a gift a good idea? Why or why not?
- What gift would you bring to a graduation in your culture?
- How do you feel about pets joining public trips, like to a shop?
- What makes a video go viral in your country?
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