The west end

MARBLE ARCH

Gatwick Airport

THE CITY OF LONDON

Heathrow Airport

Westminster Abbey

The Royal Albert Hall

The Houses of Parliament

The Tower of London

Shaftsbury Avenue

The London Underground

The Bank of England

Exercise 56

Listen to the sentences and complete them, transcribe them and mark all the links. Practise reading them.

a. What a ______________!

b. It was an ____________.

c. The weather was ____________!

d. He got into their ____________.

e. She speaks ____________ and __________.

f. It was an ______________!

g. She lives in a __________.

h. I’ll phone for an _________!

Exercise 57

Listen and practise saying the names quickly in pairs.

Names ending in the sound [ә] are linked with an extra [r] sound. With names which already contain [r] the final [ә] is elided and the [r] and the linking [r] merge when speaking at speed.

e.g. Sarah and Sheila [ sεәrәnd ∫i:lә]

A. Maggie – Susie Cathy - Charlie Bobby - Billy Tommy - Lizzie Johnnie – Andy Linda – Hannah Laura – Sarah Sheila – Patricia Sandra – Amanda Romeo – Juliet Othello – Desdemona Horatio – Hamlet

B. Kennedy - Cleopatra Plato - John Lennon Franco - Charles Victoria - Kruschev Isabella - Mussolini Diana - Albert Mary - Minnie (Mouse) Yoko Ono - Aristotle Antony - Ferdinand Mickey - Joseph

Exercise 58

Put down the sentences you hear on the tape; practise reading them, inserting the extra [j] and [w] sounds to link the words, where possible.

Exercise 59

Complete these pairs of dialogues with ‘very’ or ‘too’. Listen to the tape and compare your answers. Practise reading the dialogues with a partner.

a/ i. Excuse me for asking, but how much did the rain ticket to Newcastle cost?

It was _______ expensive, about ₤60.

ii. Why didn’t you come here on the train?

It was ______ expensive, about ₤60.

b/ i. It seems quite safe in this area at night.

Actually it’s ______ unsafe.

ii. Why didn’t you travel up here i that old car of yours?

Actually, it’s ______ unsafe.

c/ i. How did you feel about things when you woke up this morning?

To be honest, I was still _______ annoyed.

ii. Why didn’t you come out for a drink with the boss last night?

To be honest, I was still ______ annoyed.

d/ i. Why didn’t Mary apply for that job, do you know?

I’m not sure, but I think she was ______ old.

ii. How old was her grandmother when she died?

I’m not sure, but I think she was ______ old.

Exercise 60

Listen to the tongue-twisters, pay attention to all the links. Practise until you can say them smoothly and quickly.

a. My aeroplane arrives in Australia at bout eight o’clock in the evening.

b. Uncle Alfie and auntie Elsie always go away at Easter.

c. Are you asking us to accept an offer of only eighty pounds?

d. Nicky and Laura are off to Italy and Austria again.

e. Bruno and Anna are arriving in an hour or so and they’re often early.

Exercise 61

Listen to the dialogue and mark the linking [r]s. Practise reading the dialogue with a partner.

M: Peter! Are you going anywhere over Easter this year?

P: Well, yes, as a matter of fact we are. We’re off on a tour of Italy for a week or two.

M: Mmm. That sounds really wonderful. Where exactly will you be going?

P: Oh, here and there. Rome’s more or less definite, but apart from that we’re open to suggestion.

M: Are you traveling by coach?

P: No, by car, actually.

M: Dear old Italy! When you’re in Rome you must remember to throw a coin over your shoulder

into the Trevi fountain.

P: Really? What for?

M: Well, if you do that, it means that, sooner or later, you’re sure to return.

Exercise 62.

Listen to the dialogue which is rather informal. Can you catch all the words? Try to put the dialogue down and read it at the same speed as it is on the tape.

ASSIMILATION

Assimilation is a phonetic process as a result of which one of the sounds becomes fully or partly similar to the neighbouring sound.

Assimilation can affect different characteristics of a sound, and its types are numerous. Some of the most frequent types are:

1. Alveolar [t], [d], [n], [l], [s], [z] are replaced by their dental variants when immediately followed by the interdental [θ] or [ð].

e.g. tenth, on the desk

2. The sonorants [m], [n], [l], [w], [r], [j] are partly devoiced when preceded by the voiceless consonants.

e.g. rush – crush, got wet

3. Consonants followed by [w] become slightly rounded.

e.g. twin, swift

4. In a cluster of two plosives, when the positions of the organs of speech are the same for both consonants, the first plosive loses its plosion.

e.g. bookcase, that child

5. When the positions of the organs of speech are different, the first plosive has an incomplete plosion.

e.g. talked, good book

6. When a plosive is followed by the syllabic [n] or [m] the nasal plosion is produced.

e.g. shipmate, escape noisily

7. When a plosive is immediately followed by the sound [l] the lateral plosion is produced.

e.g. black, settle, it lasts

8. In rapid speech ‘do you’ often becomes [d u].

e.g. Do you know his name? [dZu nәu hiz neim]

Exercise 63

Listen to the phrases on the tape, put them down, work out their meanings, explain the difference in the way they sound.

Exercise 64

Listen and cross out the unpronounced plosive sounds in the following sentences, comment on all the other cases of assimilation there are in them.

a. She was wearing a deep purple evening dress.

b. They had dinner at eight o’clock.

c. We’ve got a flat tyre, I’m afraid.

d. She gave him a quick kiss.

e. You’re a big girl now dear.

f. He didn’t do the washing-up.

g. We had a really good time at Antonia’s.

h. What are my job prospects after the course?

i. Mmm! I love ripe bananas!

j. Give that ball a big kick!

k. They’ve got a lovely back garden.

Exercise 65

Listen to the dialogues and write in B’s answers. Pay attention to the pronunciation of the questions ‘Do you …?’

1. A: Do you know the time?

B:

2. A: Do you have a light?

B:

3. A: Do you speak English?

B:

4. A: Do you understand?

B:

5. A: Do you have milk?

B:

6. A: What do you do?

B:

Exercise 66

Listen to the conversation between Bob and Anna. Put it down and practise reading it with a partner. Pay attention to the pronunciation of ‘do you’ and ‘would you’ questions.

Exercise 67.

Listen to the conversation, write it down. Make up similar conversations with a partner.

Revision Exercise

Every other line in this poem is in transcription. Do the same to the first lines in each verse. Be prepared to comment on all the cases of reduction, linking and assimilation. Prepare model reading of the poem.

*Sean is said [∫O:n]

Flatearther

Cried Uncle Sean, ‘The earth is flat!

[ai riqli jxm kwait Suqr qv Dxt]

And just to prove I tell it true

[ail wO:k frqm hiq tq kxtmandH]

Somewhere the earth is bound to stop,

[Den Of Di jeG ail Suqli drOp]

He left at five and got as far

[qz dAblin bei jqn mikiz bR]

‘Twas five to twelve he staggered out,

[rOkiN qn rJliN O:l qbaut]

At sea-wall’s edge his feet they tripped

[qn daun qpOn Dq bJC hi flipt]

He lay there thinking he was dead,

[Den traiqmf flxSt intH hiz hed]

‘I’m right! I’m right!’ yelled Uncle Sean

[rimHviN frqm hiz biqd q prO:n]

Which proves that when one’s had some drinks,

[wAn kxn bilJv GAst wOt wAn TiNks]

/Jack Randle/

SECTION 4

SYLLABLE FORMATION. SYLLABLE DIVISION

1. A syllable is a sound or a sound sequence forming a single uninterrupted unit of utterance.

2. In English a syllable is formed by a vowel alone or in combination with consonants, and word final sonorants [l], [m], [n] preceded by a consonant.

e.g. are

fame

trouble

In some syllables formed by the sonorants the vowel [ə] may be pronounced, in this case the sonorants are non-syllabic.

e.g. level [ levl] or [ levәl]

3. In terms of phonetics the two basic types of syllable are the open syllable (ending in a vowel) and the closed syllable (ending in a consonant).

4. Correct syllable division is important from the point of view of pronunciation and understanding.

e.g. a nice house

an ice house

5. The basic syllable division rules are as follows:

a. the English long monophthongs, diphthongs and unstressed short vowels [i], [q], [u] always occur in a phonetically open syllable when they are separated from the next syllabic sound by only one consonant.

e.g about [ ə - baut]

music [ mju: - zik]

Michael [ mai – kl]

b. A short stressed vowel followed by only one consonant always occurs in a phonetically closed syllable.

e.g. pity [ pit – i]

coffee [ kσf – i]

c. Intervocalic combinations of consonants belong to the next syllable if such combinations are typical of English (i. e. they can be found at the beginning of words). Otherwise, the consonants must be divided between the two syllables.

e.g. naturally [ næt∫ - rә – li]

(næ – and t∫rә – are impossible in English)

Divide the following words into syllables. Consult a dictionary if in doubt.

Employer, drizzle, listening, nature, , over, finish, without, colony, discover, follower, ready, early, nearer, position, sorrow, motivate, luggage, international, exotic, exposure, origin, originality, energy, language

Exercise 1

Think of the words which might answer the clues. Listen and check your answers. What’s the peculiarity of these words?

a. the opposite of ‘boring’

b. you can buy lunch or dinner here

c. the month after January

d. you use it to find the meanings of new words

e. brown and sweet

f. potatoes, carrots, peas

g. you use it to take photos

h. the day before Thursday

i. all, every

j. military man

k. not single – has a husband or wife

Practise saying the phrases below. Think of more phrases of your own (see the listof words for ideas)

My favourite chocolate

Every Wednesday evening

What an interesting camera!

Are you comfortable?

They aren’t married

For ideas: different, documentary, fashionable, raspberry, several, sociable, courageous, especially, extraordinary, miserable, reasonable, strawberry, temperature

WORD STRESS

1. Word stress is singling out one or two syllables in a word by giving them greater prominence.

2. Syllables may be stressed (primary stress), half stressed (secondary stress) or unstressed. Some words in English may have two primary stresses or a primary and a secondary stress.

e.g. re ′write, four ′teen

organi ′zation

Shift of stress may result in changing the actual meaning of a word.

e.g. ′object – ob′ ject

′ re ′cover – re ′cover

a ′ blackbird – a ′black ′bird

3. Word stress in English usually falls on the first root syllable.

4. In most disyllabic words stress is on the initial syllable; in words with a prefix that has lost its original meaning, the stress is on the second (root) syllable.

e.g. border, ready

be ′fore, a ′go

In most disyllabic verbs ending in –ate, -ise, -ize, -fy the stress is on the second syllable

e.g. di ′ctate, sur ′prise, de ′fy

In some words of French origin the stress is on the second syllable.

e.g. ma ′chine, po ′lice

4. In most three and four-syllable words the stress is on the third syllable from the end.

e.g. ′cinema, de ′mocracy, ′qualify, o ′riginate

6. The stress is on the final syllable in words with the suffixes –ee, -eer, -ier, -ade, -esque.

e.g. refu ′gee, engi ′neer, lemo′nade, pictu 'resque

The stress is on the second syllable from the end before the following suffixes: -ian, -ience, -ient, - cient, -al, -ial, -ual, -eous, -ious, -iar

e.g. phy 'sician, ex′ perience, e' fficient, pa 'rental, e 'ssential, ha 'bitual, cou 'rageous, de 'licious, fa 'miliar

7. Most words of four and more syllables have two stresses: primary and secondary. The primary stress falls either on the third or the fourth syllable from the beginning of a word, the secondary stress is on the syllable separated from the nuclear one by one unstressed syllable.

e.g. deco 'ration, possi 'bility, re sponsi 'bility

8. In many derivatives the secondary stress falls on the same syllable which has the primary stress in the original word.

e.g. pe 'culiar – pe culi 'arity, a 'ppreciate – a ppreci 'ation

If the original word has both the primary and the secondary stress, the secondary stress is retained in the same place, but the main stress falls on the syllable immediately preceding the suffix.

e.g. reco 'mmend – recommend 'dation

9. Words with two primary streses form several groups: words with a distinct meaning of their own (e.g. anti-, dis-, ex- ,etc.), compound numerals, nouns, adjectives and verbs.

10. Word stress in compound nouns depends on the semantic value of the elements. Normally, the first element is stressed if it is semantically more important.

e.g. ' music hall, 'fountain pen

Most compound adjectives and some compound nouns have two primary stresses, as both elements are equally significant.

e.g. 'well- 'bred, 'first – 'class, 'ice- 'cream

Compound adjectives with only one stress on the first element occur when the second element is semantically weak.

e.g. 'childlike, 'oval-shaped

Compound verbs have stress on both elements.

e.g. 'give 'in, 'turn 'out

11. In connected speech words with two stresses often lose one of their stresses because of the rhythm.

e.g. 'Turn off the 'light. 'Turn it 'off.

Exercise 2

Put the words from each box into columns according to their stress patterns. Listen and check your answers, then listen again – make sure you stress them correctly!

a.

champagne shampoo crosswords sardines cigars

Japan paintings hotels matches toothpaste

Discos cassettes guitars cartoons records

trumpets coffee apples Britain roulette

b.

Potatoes hamburgers sausages oranges tomatoes chewing gum pineapple

margarine cigarettes spaghetti celery lemonade bananas magazines

newspapers Brussels sprouts tobacco cucumber sultanas vinegar apricots

c.

Beautiful chandelier exciting expensive

families generous government impolite

incorrect marvelous polluted recently

together untidy wonderful

d.

absolutely advertisement authority babysitting calculator celebrating

chiropodist communicate embarrassing environment exhibition fortunately

independence information opposition photographic politician supermarket

e.

Superman efficient unbearable habitat achiever happening

Cinderella compulsive batteries certainly distracted energetic

philosophy abilities efficiently occupation everything copyright

demanding rehearsal management enjoyable creative excuses

Exercise 3

A.

Listen and repeat the names of the countries below. Pay attention to stress. Write nationality words next to the name of each country. Listen and check your answers.

Nepal Poland Holland Italy Korea China

Brazil France Malaysia Norway Turkey Switzerland

Canada Russia Japan Germany Belgium Greece

Egypt Australia Hungary Spain England Portugal

B.

The stress in the –ese nationality words changes when they are followed by a noun, or if two of them are contrasted with each other.

Listen to the following sentences and mark the stress in the nationality words.

a. Kamal, my guide, was Nepalese.

b. I wouldn’t like to meet a Nepalese tiger.

c. I think that bowl’s Japanese.

d. What a beautiful Japanese fan.

e. I’d like a Chinese takeaway.

f. Do you speak Chinese?

g. There’s a very good Portuguese restaurant round the corner.

h. Her boyfriend’s Portuguese.

i. That isn’t Chinese writing, it’s Japanese.

j. She isn’t Brazilian, she’s Portuguese.

Do the following exercises:

A. Mark word stress in the words below. Explain the stress – pattern in them.

Novel, legalize, rotate, forget, sympathize, eager, brigade, organ, magician, behind, official, apart, technique, trainee, orchestra, orchestral, unity, harvest, delegate, profiteer, company, budget, advise, academy, intensify, politician, ability, capacity, politics, economy, hamper, sedate, debate, arabesque, volunteer, argument, enumerate, comment, imitate, accent, accentual, practitioner, peculiar, beautician

B. Read the words below according to the models. Think of your own examples.

(a) M o d e l: ΄agitate - ֽagi ΄tation

aberrate, aberration; actualize, actualization; modify, modification; dominate, domination; clarify, clarification

(b) M o d e l: e ΄liminate – e ֽlimi ΄nation

accentuate, accentuation; accommodate, accommodation; americanize, americanization; administrate, administration

C. Read the following word families. Concentrate on the stress shifts.

a. family – familiar – familiarity

b. diplomat – diplomacy – diplomatic

c. photograph – photographic – photographer – to photograph

d. industry – industrial – industrialist – industrialize

e. invention – inventive – inventor – invent

f. competition – competitive – competitor – compete

g. criticism – critical – critic – criticize

h. politics – political – politician – politicize

i. nation – nationalistic – nationalist – nationalize

j. analysis – analytical – analyst – analyze

D. Read the sentences below. Pay attention to the difference in stress in compounds and in word combinations.

a. He is in the greenhouse. – He is in the green house.

b. We saw some black birds. – We saw some blackbirds.

c. Do you need a blackboard? – Do you need a black board?

d. He is in the darkroom. – He is in the dark room.

e. He lives in the lighthouse. – He lives in the light house.

f. Does he live in the White House? – Does he live in the white house?

g. He picked up the hot plate. – He picked up the hotplate.

h. Have you seen a horsefly? – Have you seen a horse fly?

E. Practise reading the following sentences. Are the underlined words stressed in the same way or differently? Why?

1. This article is for export only. The country exports a lot of wool.

2. Where’s my gramophone record? These instruments record weather conditions.

3. I disapprove of his conduct. He will conduct the meeting tomorrow.

4. You have made little progress in English, I’m sorry to say. The work will progress slowly.

5. He speaks with a perfect accent. You are to accent the words correctly.

6. Where’s the object in this sentence? I object to your last remark.

7. You need a permit to go there. Will you permit me to say a few words?

8. Rain is quite frequent here. I used to frequent the park there.

9. You could see every detail in the picture. He couldn’t detail all the facts.

F. Practise reading the sentences below. Concentrate on the influence of rhythm on the stress pattern of compound adjectives.

1. This book belongs to our absent-minded professor. Our professor is absent-minded and often leaves his books behind.

2. The upstairs room has an outside staircase. He lives upstairs.

3. Wash it with luke-warm water. The water is luke-warm.

4. She is quite good-looking. There’s a good-looking girl over there.

5. He’s having afternoon tea now. We have tea nearly every afternoon.

6. They watched the changing of the Buckingham Palace guards. It’s near Buckingham Palace.

7. The boss is unbelievably bad-tempered. How can you stand such a bad-tempered person?

8. He’s always of-hand. He gave me an off-hand answer.

9. The Budapest’s climate is of continental type. He lives in Budapest.

10. Have a piece of home-made cake. This cake’s home-made.

Exercise 4

Listen and respond to the information you hear on the tape, like this:

:There was a strike where I work that lasted ten months!

:What! A ten-month strike!

Exercise 5

A.

Put one of the multi-word verbs in the box into each of the sentences below. Repeat the sentences, paying attention to the stress.

Notice the stress patterns in multi-word verbs:

a) if they are separated, there is a stress on the adverb/postposition:

e.g. to put the meeting off

b) if they are not separated and followed by an object, the adverb/postposition is not normally stressed:

e.g. Look for the book.

c) When there is no object, the adverb/postposition is stressed:

e.g. The plane took off.

d) When there is another preposition after a multi-word verb, it is not stressed:

e.g. I don’t get on with my sister.

put smb up look after smb or smth come round make smth up look at smb or smth listen to smth take after smb wait for smb or smth pull smth down put smth off look for smb or smth bring smb up take off

a. The manager has _______ the meeting ______ until tomorrow. b. _______ that man in the funny hat! c. His parents died when he was six, so really his grandmother ______him _____. d. I’m ______ the scissors, I can’t find them anywhere. e. Lynne _______ for a chat this afternoon. f. I don’t know what’s happened to Kevin. We’ve been _______ him for the last two hours and he’s not usually late. g. When she hasn’t got anyone to play with she often _______ imaginary friends. h. _______ that noise outside! i. Could you possibly ______me _______ for the night when I come down to London for my interview? j. The plane ________ but had to make an emergency landing again almost immediately. k. Both of the children ________ their mother’s side of the family. They’re not like their father at all. l. They’re going to ________ the old village church _________ you know. They say it’s a public danger.

B.

Use the following multi-word nouns and verbs to fill the gaps I the following pairs of sentences. Remember that the noun and the verb often differ in meaning.

Repeat the sentences with the tape. What do you notice about the stress in multi-word nouns and verbs?

break-in make-up send-off break-down fall-out takeoff drop-out comeback sell-out lookout

a. They’ve had another _______ next door. Fortunately nothing very much was stolen this time. Did they _______ through the back window then? b. Keep a _______ for a parking space, will you? _______ for pickpockets! c. She had a nervous ________ last year and had to give up her job. I hope our car doesn’t _________ again. d. I’d rather you didn’t use my _______ ! You left the top off the mascara and it’s all dried up now. Don’t let’s argue, darling. Let’s kiss and _______, shall we? e. He’s a university _____, you know. He left after only two years. She wants to ________ of the play. She says she’d had enough. f. If ever there’s a nuclear war, more people will die from radioactive ________ than from the explosion. I don’t want to ______ with you. I hate arguments. g. He does a wonderful ________ of Margaret Thatcher. He sounds just like her. Is the plane going to __________ soon? h. We gave the newlyweds a fantastic ________ - champagne, cake, tin cans tied to the car! It was perfect. the summer school in Rome looks interesting. I think I’ll ________ for a brochure. i. the Michael Jackson concert was a complete ________. There wasn’t a single ticket left. I’m sure we’ll _______ of these cards before Christmas, and we won’t be able to order any more before the New Year. j. This was the year that 1950’s heart-throb, Bart Pontoni, made his ________. Good-bye, Arthur. I’m leaving. Maybe one day I’ll _______ to you, but don’t count o it!

RHYTHM

1. Intonation is a complex unity of speech melody (variations of pitch produced by the voice moving up or down), sentence stress (greater prominence given to some words in a sentence), voice quality (a special emotional colouring of the voice), rhythm (alteration of stressed and unstressed syllables) and tempo (the speed with which sentences or their parts are uttered).

2. Rhythm in English is based on the alteration of strongly and weakly stressed syllables. The important feature is that stressed syllables occur at fairly equal intervals. The unstressed syllables between stressed ones have to be fitted in. the more unstressed syllables there are between the stressed ones, the more weakly and rapidly they are pronounced.

e.g. The students are interested in improving their speech rhythm.

Words with double stress may lose one of their stresses due to the rhythm.

e.g. ' number seven' teen

'seventeen ' students

Some notional parts of speech, which are normally stressed, may lose their stress under the influence of rhythm.

e.g. 'How 'many do you need?

' How many 'rooms do you need?

A stressed syllable together with the preceding or following unstressed syllables forms a rhythmic group; each rhythmic group takes approximately the same time to pronounce.

Do the following exercises:

Practise reading the following phrases. Each time the number of unstressed syllables between the two stressed ones will be different. Make sure you can fit the unstressed syllables in to say the phrases rhythmically.

A.

1. Try again.

Hurry up.

Where’s your hat?

I want to know.

It’s quite all right.

It doesn’t matter.

2. I wanted to know.

Send me a card.

What have you done?

I’ve finished my lunch.

It’s very unfair.

I’m glad you have come.

3. I think it’ll be fine.

I didn’t know the way.

I wanted you to write about it.

It’s not the one I borrowed.

You’re wanted on the phone.

The children are in bed.

4. Walking along the road.

Why didn’t you run away?

Multiply it by three.

What’s the name of the book?

Coming back home again?

Remember what I told you.

B.

Children love toys.

Children play with toys.

The children will play with toys.

The children will play with some toys.

The children will play with some new toys.

The children are playing with some new toys.

The children will be playing with some new toys.

C. Break the sentences below into rhythmic groups. Practise reading the sentences.

The session’s nearly over.

What’s the name of the actor?

Robert is taller than Allan.

The inflation may lead to a depression.

I can give you the answer in a minute.

I’ll repeat the suggestion as I heard it.

You can see it in a moment that he needs it.

When the cat’s away, the mice will play.

As you surely know, it’s time for lunch.

Since he seems surprised, you’d better speak.

I’ll help you with your hair when you are ready for it.

I think he would be shocked if you asked him for it.

I never would have thought you would give it to me.

Exercise 6

Choose a word from the box on the left which rhymes with the words on the right. Fill in the gaps in each sentences with a suitable rhyming pair. Listen and check your answers. Practise saying the sentences with the correct rhythm.

a. rhyme b. half c. write d. sword e. knee f. wreck g. limb h. know

i. who j. plant k. rustle l. funny m. farm n. bet o. smile p. diet

climb gnawed muscle knight money aunt through quiet

debt though laugh psalm hymn cheque quay aisle

a. The dragon _________ St. George’s ________.

b. I gave my __________ a lovely ____________.

c. He signed a _________ to buy the __________.

d. If you’re in _________, you shouldn’t _______.

e. The bridegroom’s ________ shone down the __________.

f. We’ll never _________ who wrote it, ___________.

g. I strained each _________ to sing the __________.

h. Please put me _________ to you-know-________.

Exercise 7

Listen to the poem and mark the stress. Note that when you read it aloud some syllables are ‘heavier’ than others. The unstressed syllables have to be ‘squashed in’ between the stressed. Listen to the first verse again and clap the rhythm with the tape, then practise reading the whole poem aloud.

FUTURE INTENTIONS