How a goat given as a graduation gift went viral
Tuesday, 18 August 2026
Warm-up
- What gifts do people get after finishing school in your country?
- Would you like a pet as a gift? Why or why not?
- What videos have you seen go viral online?
Vocabulary
- graduation
- the time when a student finishes a course of study
- ritual
- a regular action done in the same way for a special event
- celebrity
- a person or animal that many people know
- viral
- spreading very fast on the internet
- companion
- a friend who stays with you
- precious
- very special and important to someone
- breed
- to have baby animals, or to keep animals to have babies
- supermarket
- a large store that sells food and daily goods
Reading
Promise Okoro, a 23-year-old student of pharmaceutical technology, got a surprise at his graduation in Imo state. Outside the Federal Polytechnic Nekede, friends were cheering and filming the signing-out ritual when his mother, Chinyere, was pulling a goat through the crowd. The moment was recorded and soon went viral. For the Igbo people, a goat can be a valuable gift. Promise says the animal is now his companion and too precious to eat. It even loves fried rice. He plans to get a female and breed them. Chinyere travelled for over an hour from Ubaha-Eze to give the gift. She bought the goat for 120,000 naira ($88; £66). The calm goat is now a local celebrity. It rode in a car to a nearby supermarket, where people were taking photos, and it joins Promise on evening walks.
Comprehension
- Who received the goat and who gave it?
- Where did the surprise happen?
- How much did the goat cost?
- What food does the goat enjoy?
- What does Promise plan to do with the goat in future?
Grammar focus
Past continuous
Use was/were + verb‑ing to say an action was happening at a particular time in the past.
- friends were cheering and filming the signing-out ritual
- people were taking photos
Grammar exercise
Complete the sentences with past continuous (was/were + -ing).
- That evening Promise (walk) ___ with the goat along the road.
- At the supermarket a crowd (gather) ___ around the goat.
- During the celebration cars (honk) ___ for him.
- Before dawn Chinyere (travel) ___ from Ubaha-Eze to the graduation.
- Students (clap) ___ when he walked out.
Discussion
- Is a goat a good graduation gift? Why or why not?
- What gift would show respect in your culture?
- Why do some videos go viral while others do not?
- Should pets join owners on trips to shops or malls?
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