In our modern societies, its quite normal to coexist quite happily with other species: dogs, cats, birds, hamsters, and many other kinds of pets. I have seen people take their animals into shops, take them into restaurants, and even travel with them on planes. I think it is becoming more common. Being a pet owner myself, I understand the strong attachment that some people have to their animals. However, there are some places where you don't expect to find animals of any kind. I picked up my daughter from the cinema the other day, and found that her friend's teenage sister who had accompanied them had secretly taken her pets as well. She reached in her pocket and brought out two very colorful geckos. I was shocked. First of all I was surprised that they hadn't escaped, as I know that they can move very quickly. If they had, it would have been a disaster, because the cinema is huge and it would have been impossible to find them. Just imagine them running around on the floor of the dark viewing room, around people's feet, and slipping into someone's handbag or up a trouser leg. Ugh! The thought makes me shudder(1)! Secondly, I couldn't stop thinking about salmonella bacteria. I hope Maria, the owner, wasn't eating popcorn while watching the movie and stroking her pets at the same time! Well, she seemed perfectly healthy. She then told me that the reason she had brought them to the theater was that she didn't want to keep them at home. She had a four year old cousin staying at home, and he was a bit rough. She didn't want to risk (2)them getting hurt. So, she sneaked(3) them into her pocket without anyone knowing. Maria loves reptiles and wants to be a responsible pet owner. As I drove home I realized that we were lucky that she didn't own any snakes!

1. 'Shudder' is the verb which means 'to shake' with horror or disgust.

a. Elizabeth looked at the large cut on the man's face and shuddered. She knew that she could never be a nurse.

b. The new boy shuddered to think of sitting next to the school bully on the bus.

2. 'To risk' plus a verb in the present continuous, is a shorter version of saying 'to run a/the risk of + verb in continuous.

a. I left early because I didn't want to risk being late / run the risk of being late.

b. The prisoners escaped quietly so they wouldn't risk waking the guards / run the risk of waking the guards.

3. 'To sneak' has a very different ending in the past tense in the U.S compared to Britain: 'snuck'.

a. The children sneaked into the cinema without paying (British).

The children snuck into the cinema without paying (U.S.)

b. The cat sneaked slowly up the tree while the bird was away from its nest (British).

The cat snuck slowly up the tree while the bird was away from its nest (U.S.)