Characters: Kelsey, Plato P: Ow! Be careful!
K: Oh dear! I'm sorry. P: It's alright. K: I'm searching for my cat. Did you see one come this way? I'm pretty sure that she's around here somewhere. P: A cat?
K: Yes, a cat. It's a milky white cat with orange stripes. Its name is "Tiger". She ran away yesterday and I've been looking for her since. P: I think I see your problem. But please tell me, why are you looking for this cat?
K: Why am I looking for her?...Well, she is my cat. I should be taking care of her. But I think I haven't taken care of her very well this time. P: Is your cat a perfect cat?
K: Perfect? Well, no, she isn't. No cat is perfect, right? My cat bites people at times, and she regularly gets into trouble. But I think she may have gotten into very big trouble this time.
P: No cat is perfect, yes. That is absolutely true. But in this world, nothing is perfect. Even beautiful things are only nearly perfect. However, the original ideas of things are perfect. They are the only perfect things.
K: I'm sorry, I don't understand your meaning. What do you mean by an 'original idea'? P: You see, your cat isn't perfect because it is just a regular cat. It is one cat out of millions of cats. And every one of those millions of cats are imperfect. But the original idea of a cat existed before all cats. And all the cats in this world came from that one idea of a cat, which is a perfect cat. But when they become regular cats, they aren't perfect anymore. Do you understand?
K: ...No, sorry, I don't. P: Well, anyway, you shouldn't be looking for your cat. Your cat isn't perfect because it is regular. You must search for the original idea of a cat. Only then you will find a perfect cat, which is much better than your cat. If you can find the original idea of a cat, which is a perfect cat, then you will be happy.
K: I see... I kind of see. But I will think about it later. Right now, I'm worried about Tiger. P: Alright. I understand. I'm not sure, but I think I saw your cat come this way before. She continued going in this direction.
K: Ah, that's great! Thank you so much.
Now listen to the questions. If you don't understand something, ask either Kelsey or your tutor for help. Send your answers to Kelsey in the Writing Section at LingQ or tell Kelsey your answers in a conversation with him in the Speaking Section. You don't have to answer all the questions. Good luck!
