Introduction

Date: 2015-10-07; view: 608.

“Practical Guide to English Pronunciation” is a comprehensive course for intermediate students of English. The book is intended to build learners' awareness and concern for pronunciation. Throughout “Practical Guide to English Pronunciation” the emphasis is put on linking work on pronunciation with work on developing listening and speaking skills, so students are provided with both receptive and productive practice. The aim is not to produce the ideal standard of English pronunciation, but to concentrate on what is important in making sounds which will be readily understood and accepted.

“Practical Guide to English Pronunciation” consists of 10 modules, each containing three sections. Section A aims to cover the sounds of English and their main spelling, alternatives are included for those areas of pronunciation which are especially susceptible to variation across different varieties of English. Section B focuses on pronunciation units which are bigger than individual sounds: syllables, word stress and sentence stress. Section C deals with pronunciation features which emerge in the context of conversation; these include discourse organization and tones. Appendix contains additional jazz chants and poems to be recited in class.

The course is accompanied by a recording of all the practice material on a CD. The book and the recording are both designed for use in class and by students working alone.

Letters and sounds

Consonants: [p – b]

To make the sound [p]: Close your lips hard. Push air forward in your mouth. Open your lips quickly with a small air explosion.

To make the sound [b]: Follow the instructions above, use your voice.

Ex.1 Listen and repeat.

[ p ]

pen pocket passport pin pepper pot

a piece of pork pie an apple, please

[ b ]

bird bread butterfly rubber web

globe busy as a bee

Ex.2 Listen and repeat the words paying special attention to sounds [ p – b ].

pin – bin

pen – Ben

pear – bear

cap – cab

pup – pub

Ex.3 Practise saying the tongue twisters.

Peg's as pretty as a picture.

Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled pepper,

A peck of pickled pepper Peter Piper picked.

If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled pepper,

Where's the peck of pickled pepper Peter Piper picked?

Barbara's as busy as a bee.

Ben's a bag of bones.

Bell has a bee in her bonnet.

Bob lives at the back of beyond.

Ex.4 Read the conversation to the end, then write the letter “p” or “b” in each gap. Listen and check your answers. Practise pronouncing it. (A11)

Ex.5 Listen to the recording, in one word of each group, the ‘b' or ‘p' is not pronounced. Underline the word. (A12)

EXAMPLE double doubt Dublin

1. lamb label lab 5. recipe repeat receipt

2. crab robbed climb 6. possibly psychology special

3. cup cupboard copy 7. Cambridge combine combing

4. photo potato paper

Ex.6 Listen and tick (√) the sentence you hear, A or B. (A13)

Ex.7 Practise the dialogue. Pay special attention to sounds [p] and [b].

(Mr and Mrs Tupman are at the airport. They have just got off the plane

from Paris.)

Official: Passports, please!

Mr Tupman: I think I've lost the passports, Poppy.

Mrs Tupman: How stupid of you, Bob! Didn't you put them in your

pocket?

Mr Tupman: (emptying his pockets) Here's a pen… a pencil… my pipe…

a postcard… an envelope… a stamp… a pin…

Mrs Tupman: Oh, stop taking these things out of your pockets. Perhaps

you put them in the basket or in the bag.

Mr Tupman: (emptying the bag) Here's a newspaper… a hairbrush…

a bear… a ball… a blouse with black buttons… some beer

cans… a bottle of perfume… a book about birds…

Mrs Tupman: Oh, stop pulling things out of the bag, Bobby. These

people are getting impatient.

Mr Tupman: Well, help me, Poppy.

Mrs Tupman: We've lost our passports. M aybe we dropped them on the plane.

Official: Then let the other passengers past, please.

Mr Tupman: Poppy, why don't you help? You aren't being very helpful. Put the things in the bag.

Official: Your name, please?

Mr. Tupman: Tupman.

Official: Please go upstairs with this policeman, Mr Tupman.

Vowels: [ ı – i: ]

To make the sound [ı]: Open your mouth very little. The front of your tongue goes up. It is a short sound.

To make the sound [i:]: Follow the instructions above, but make it a long sound.

Ex 8. Listen and repeat the words with a minimal pair [ ı – i: ].

sheep - ship

bean - bin

seat - sit

leek - lick

cheek - chick

Ex. 9 Find a way from Start to Finish. You may pass a square only if the word in it has the sound [ i: ]. You can move horizontally or vertically only.

Start

Finish

Ex. 10 Practise saying the tongue twisters.

Big cities are hidden in thick mist.

If I give you a lift, will you sit still?

Leave me in peace, please.

Steve is eager to please the teacher, but the teacher has every

reason to be displeased.

He speaks Chinese and Japanese with equal ease.

Ex. 11 Practise the dialogue. Pay special attention to sounds [ ı ] and

[ i: ].

In a Restaurant

Peter: Oh, Tim's already in.

Tim: Yes, I am in for six minutes only.

Edith: Oh, I though you were ill and not coming.

Tim: No, I'm ok; it's so interesting to see you all.

Jean: What would you like to eat?

Edith: Leek soup, I think.

Jean: Tim? Peter? Would you like veal or beef?

Peter: Mmmm, veal, please.

Tim: Veal with peas…and cream. And cheesecake for sweet.

Edith: And don't forget tea, with milk, please.

Introducing syllables

A syllable is a group of one or more sounds. The essential part of a syllable is a vowel sound (V). Some syllables are just one vowel sound (for example, eye [aı]). A syllable can also have consonant sounds (C) before the V, after the V or before and after the V (for example, my [maı] – CV, egg [eg] – VC, ten [ten] – СVС). Letters are not the same as sounds, this may affect the syllable structure (for example, ‘car' ≠ [ka:] – CV, not СVС).

Ex. 12 Look at these one-syllable words. Write their syllable structure, as in the example.

EXAMPLE high – CV rice – СVС

1. bought ____________ 6. laugh _______________

2. eyes ____________ 7. two _______________

3. key ____________ 8. youth _____________

4. day _____________ 9. weigh ______________

5. through ____________ 10. rhyme _____________

Ex. 13 Listen to these tongue twisters. How many syllables are there in each? Write the number. Then listen again and repeat.(B4)

EXAMPLE She sells sea shells on the sea shore = 8 syllables

1. Walter walked towards the waiter. = ________________

2. Betty bought a better bit of butter. = ________________

3. The fat cat sat on the vet's wet hat. = _______________

Pronouncing punctuation

Reading aloud is good pronunciation practice. It is very important to ‘pronounce the punctuation'. In speech there are pauses where, in writing, there are punctuation marks. Pauses can change the meaning of what we say. For example,

Was that the question he asked?

‘Was that the question?' he asked.

Ex. 14 Read this weather forecast aloud, pausing where necessary.

Ex. 15 The sentences below are really two sentences, but the punctuation is missing. The two sentences are divided before or after the underlined expression. Listen and draw one line / to show where sentences are divided. (C10)

EXAMPLE They're leaving / soon it'll be quieter.

1. There was nothing inside it was empty.

2. We walked carefully downstairs it was dark.

3. I watched him silently he opened the drawer.

4. The rain didn't stop the next day it just carried on.

5. The weather was hot at the weekend it was 40 degrees.

6. I saw her clearly she was hungry.

7. It was cold last night the roads were icy.

Letters and sounds

Consonants: [t – d]

To make the sound [t]: Put the front of your tongue behind your top teeth. Push air forward in your mouth. Then move your tongue away.

To make the sound [d]: Follow the instructions above, use your voice.

Ex.1 Listen and repeat.

[ t ]

tin tennis tomato telephone student

tell the time top of the top

[ d ]

date dog daughter dancing address

goodbye bad cold

Ex.2 Listen and repeat the words paying special attention to sounds [ t – d ].

tore - door

tarts - darts

cart - card

write - ride

train - drain

trunk - drunk

Ex. 3 Put the pair of words from the box below into the sentences. Listen and check. Repeat the sentences. (A22)

EXAMPLE

Last year, Tom weighed more that Sam, but now they both have the same weight.

1. It wasn't ______ in a day; it takes ages to ______ a cathedral like that.

2. When you're out in the mountains, you have to _______ to stay _____.

3. He _______ it to the wrong address, so he had to ______ another copy.

4. It _______ my ears when I _______ that noise.

5. The _______ sofa is too _______ to go through that door.

6. We went ________ the hill and into the ________.

Ex. 4 Underline the word which does not have the sound [ t ].

EXAMPLE asked castle letter first

1. eight Thames whistle walked

2. Thomas needed time liked

3. listen winter eaten after

4. ended wished left hoped

5. whiter greater soften written

Ex. 5 Practise saying the tongue twisters.

Tell Tom to come to ten tomorrow.

Tom teaches art to technical students.

Put two and two together.

The kid's as good as gold.

Don't disturb.

Ex. 6 Talk about the pictures, as in the example

EXAMPLE studied all night/listened to the radio.

He studied all night, didn't he? – No, he didn't. He listened to the radio.

NOTE!–ed endings can be pronounced differently. Compare:

ed = [d] ed = [t] ed = [ıd]

played walked waited

cleaned danced painted

combed her hair/ cried a lot/ painted the room/ emptied the glass/

brushed it laughed a lot cleaned it filled it

closed a door/ walked away/ washed the TV/ pulled the car/

opened it waited for a long time watched it pushed it

landed at noon/ whispered/ danced all night/ rained all day/

departed shouted played cards snowed

Vowels: [ e – æ ]

To make the sound [e]: Open your mouth a little. The back of your tongue goes a little down. It is a short sound.

To make the sound [æ]: Open your moth wide. The back of your tongue goes down as well as your lower jaw.

Ex 7. Listen and repeat the words paying special attention to sounds [ e – æ ] and [ ı - e – æ ].

X – axe

men – man

said – sad

beg – bag

bin – Ben – ban

tin – ten – tan

pin – pen - pan

Ex. 8 Change the vowel sound from [e] to [i:] in these words. Write the new words, as in the example.

EXAMPLE met - meat

1. check ______________ 6. sweat ____________

2. red ________________ 7. well ______________

3. bet ________________ 8. set _______________

4. men _______________ 9. fed _______________

5. fell ________________ 10. led ______________

Ex. 9 Practise saying the tongue twisters.

Well said!

Get better.

Very well then…

Better late than never but still better never late.

Every day in every way the weather is getting better and better.

Can you imagine that?

Ann chatters like a magpie.

A black cat sat on a mat and ate a fat rat.

Syllables with consonants at the beginning and at the end

Ex. 10 Add one consonant sound (C) from the box to the start of each word to make a new one. Be careful: think of sounds, not spelling!

EXAMPLE red - bread (red [red] + b = bread [bred])

1. lie ________ 5. lime _________

2. lock _______ 6. late _________

3. rain _______ 7. route ________

4. key _______

Ex. 11 Listen and tick the sentence or phrase you hear, A or B. (B19)

Ex. 12 Remove a consonant sound from the end of each word to make a new one, as in the example.

EXAMPLE went – when (if you remove the last sound from went

[went], you get when [ wen].

1. field _______

2. change _________

3. six ____________

4. build __________

5. shelf __________

6. wealth _________

7. guest __________

8. wild ___________

Ex. 13 Think of a computer which people speak into and it writes what they say. This computer wrote down these sentences wrongly. The mistakes are underlined and one of the correct words is given at the end in brackets. Write the correct answers as in the example.

EXAMPLE She dozen turn much (earn) – She doesn't earn much.

1. I thing cold car are better. (think) __________________________

2. The bang caught to be open by now. (ought)__________________

3. I thing call the time. (all) __________________________________

4. These big cars whole date people. (hold) _____________________

5. Did he fill mother kinds of movies too? (other) _________________

6. Three people have sick size. (eyes) __________________________

7. If you took aspirin, your head wooden take. (ache) ______________

Grouping words

When you are speaking, you often have to pause to think or just breathe. Put the pause in the break between two groups of words.

I bought a nice new jacket / with a zip down the front / and a lot of

pockets.

There is no rule where to divide words into groups, but it must make sense. If the word groups don't make sense, it is very hard to understand.

I bought a nice new / jacket with a zip down the / front and a lot of

pockets.

Ex. 14 Look at the two ways of dividing the sentences below. For each pair of sentences, cross out the one where the grouping does not make sense.

1. a) I bought a ticket and got / on the train.

b) I bought a ticket / and got on the train.

2. a) It was a small car / with a red stripe along the side.

b) It was a small car with a red / stripe along the side.

3. a) Do you want chicken and chips / or fish and salad?

b) Do you want chicken / and chips or fish and salad?

4. a) Derek can wear the most / expensive suit but he never looks smart.

b) Derek can wear the most expensive suit / but he never looks smart.

Ex. 15 Listen and draw lines (/) showing where the speaker divides the words into groups. (C14)

Letters and sounds

Consonants: [k – g]

To make the sound [k]: Touch the back of your palate with the back of your tongue. Push air forward in your mouth. Move your tongue away and release air.

To make the sound [g]: Follow the instructions above, use your voice.

Ex.1 Listen and repeat.

[ k ]

car carpet cuckoo scarf pocket

school bus cup of coffee

[ g ]

gate good garden guest book gun

bag guitar

Ex.2 Listen and repeat the words paying special attention to sounds [ k – g ].

coat - goat

class - glass

back - bag

cold - gold

frock - frog

Ex.3 Add the [ k ] or [ g ] sound to the beginning of these words and write the new words, as in the example.

EXAMPLE eight gate

1. up ____________ 6. lime _____________

2. aim ___________ 7. air ______________

3. ache ___________ 8. all ______________

4. round ___________ 9. rate _____________

5. old _____________ 10. ill ______________

Ex.4 Complete the second line to rhyme with the first line, using a word from the box. Then listen and repeat. (A41)

EXAMPLE He dressed for soccer,

And closed his locker.

1. Kelly Collins couldn't figure,

How to make the plants grow ____________.

2. I'd like five bricks,

No, make it __________ !

3. Mister Quinn ate so much steak,

He came home with a stomach __________.

4. I saw a fox,

Behind those _________.

5. Clara saw a friend she knew,

Standing quietly in the _________.

Ex.5 Practise saying the tongue twisters.

Kiki cannot take a joke.

Come back as quick as you can.

Chris came to ask if you'd come to play cricket.

We agreed to go there together.

I've got to get going.

Ex.6 Complete this conversation using words from the box. Then listen and check.

Vowels: [ Λ – a: ]

To make the sound [Λ]: Open your mouth a little. Your lips and jaw should be in relaxed position. Your tongue goes back a little. It is a short sound.

To make the sound [a:]: Open your mouth wider. The back of your tongue goes down and back as well as your lower jaw. It is a long sound.

Ex 7. Listen and repeat the words paying special attention to sounds [æ - Λ – a:].

cap – cup - carp

hat – hut – heart

cat – cut – cart

ban – bun – barn

match – much – march

Ex 8. Practise saying the tongue twisters.

Cars aren't passing fancies.

I hardly like the remark, Papa.

Come! Come! Come now!

Here's a bus coming! Hurry up!!!

Don't trouble trouble until trouble troubles you.

NB!Listen to the sound [a:] with R pronounced, as in North America (A 63):

far bar heart march card star start charm chart

In South East England, the letter A followed by S, F, TH, N is often pronounced [a:]:

ask fast after path bath dance aunt

In North America, the single letter O is pronounced [a:]:

God strong lock top

Ex.9 Listen to these sentences. Is the accent from North America or South East England? Write Am or Eng, as in the example. (A67)

EXAMPLE He asked her to dance. ____Eng______

1. We started in March. ________

2. It's a fast car. _________

3. My heart's strong. _______

4. Where's the bar? _________

5. It stops and starts. ________

6. A glass of beer. _________

7. Was his hair dark or fair? ________

Ex.10 Play this lengthening game. Choose any words from the list below.

EXAMPLE

Student A: My uncle went to Argentina and spent a lot of money. He bought a bottle of rum.

Student B: My uncle went to Argentina and spent a lot of money. He bought a bottle of rum and a guitar.

Each student adds something to the list, and you must remember what the other students have said.

Practise saying the words before you start:

a cup a rubber duck

a bus a scarf

some nuts a glass

comfortable gloves a carpet

a brush a car

a dozen buns coloured sunglasses

Endings adding a syllable

-s endings (plural, third person singular, possessive) / -ed endings (past tense)

Normally an ending does not add up an extra syllable to the word (hat [hæt] CVC – hats [hæts] СVСС or play [pleı] CCV – played [pleıd] CCVC).

But sometimes endings are another syllable (fax [fæks] is one syllable, but faxes [fæksız] is two syllables or hate [heıt] is one syllable, but hated [heıtıd] is two syllables)

Ex.11 Write the third person forms of the verbs from the box in the correct part of the table below. Then listen, check and repeat. (B28)

Ex.12 Write the past tense of the verbs from the box in the correct part of the table. Then listen, check and repeat. (B33)

NB!With –s endings we sometimes get a lot of consonant sounds together at the end syllables, for example, facts [fækts]. Many speakers of English make it simpler and do not pronounce one of the consonants, for example, they may pronounce facts like fax [fæks].

Ex.13 These speakers are not pronouncing all the consonants at the end of some words. What are they saying? Write the sentences.

___________________ __________________ ___________________ ___________________

(sounds like [hæns] up. My favourite [sΛbdʒәks] There are many The [wınz] very strong

chemistry. [kaıns] of whales. today.

Ex.14 Complete each sentence with the past tense of a verb from the box to follow a pattern. In each sentence, the first sound of the verb is the same as the first sound in the person's name. Then listen, check and repeat. (B34)

Ex. 15 Match the beginnings and ends of these rhymes.

1. The people queued a) was never found

2. The things you missed b) are on the board

3. The man controlled c) and then she smiled

4. She saw the child d) to build on sand

5. The boat that crossed e) are on the list

6. The man who drowned f) until she coughed

7. The snow we rolled g) the nation's gold

8. Her voice was soft h) to buy the food

9. The points we scored i) was nearly lost

10. We never planned j) was hard and cold.

Keeping your speaking turn

In a dialogue sometimes you need time to think your answer over, in this case you have to show that you want to continue talking, that you are still in the conversation, otherwise your interlocutor might think that you are not going to answer. Traditionally we make the word before the pause longer (in transcription we use the lines of six dots ::: to show such pauses).

A: What did you think of the music?

B: Well, it was::: interesting.

We often say noises like ehm to keep our speaking turn while we are thinking of what to say or doing something else. In the example below, the speaker says it to keep his speaking turn while he looks at his watch.

A: What's the time?

B: Let's see, it's ehm::: nearly seven.

Ex.16 In all of these conversations, the second speaker is doing something else at the same time as speaking. Guess which of these things the second speaker is doing and write it. Then listen and check. (C19)

EXAMPLE

A: My phone number's 0673786.

B: Just a moment, so that's ::: 0:::6:::7:::3:::7:::9:::

A: No, 8. It's 3786.

B: Ah, ok, 8:::6.

______the second speaker is writing the numbers down________

1. A: Hi! I have an appointment to see Ms. Jones.

B: Yes, so you must be Mr.::: Mr.Gleason?

_____________________________________________________

A: Yeah, that's right.

2. A: It's just over 50 pounds.

B: Right, so that's ehm::: about 70 dollars.

_____________________________________________________

3. A: Let's meet on Thursday.

B: Let's see, Thursday::: Thursday::: yes, Thursday, that's fine.

_____________________________________________________

4. A: Can you change this ten for two fives?

B: I think so, let's see, ehm::: yeah, sure. Here you are.

_____________________________________________________

Ex.17 Listen to these sentences. Does the person want to keep the speaking turn (write …) or has he/she finished (write .)? (C20)

EXAMPLE I like all kinds of music really, you know, ehm::: rock and roll…

1. I don't really have much time to ehm::: to listen to music

2. Yeah, I love Brazilian music, people like Gal Costa

3. She plays quite a lot of instruments, piano, guitar

4. Dad's really into classical music, you know, specially Mozart

5. I started the piano when I was, let's see, ehm::: fifteen

Letters and sounds

Consonants: [s – z]

To make the sound [s]: Touch your side teeth with the sides of your tongue. Put your tongue forward. Do not use your voice.

To make the sound [z]: Follow the instructions above, use your voice.

Ex.1 Listen and repeat.

[ s ]

sun sand sleep six Sue

bus piece

[ z ]

zoo zero lazy blouse scissors

wise Times

Ex.2 Listen and repeat the words paying special attention to sounds [ s – z ].

Sue - zoo

said - Z

sip - zip

bus - buzz

piece - peas

price - prize

Ex.3 Practise saying the tongue twisters.

It's nice of you to say so, sir.

I'm so sorry to be such a nuisance.

Is it as easy as that?

Rose always dramatizes things.

My reasons are as follows…

Ex.4 Listen to the sentences. Look at the words in bold. Underline the words in bold which contain the sound [s] and circle the ones which contain the sound [z]. Listen again and repeat. (A17)

EXAMPLE: You can have my tent. It's no use to me. I never use it.

1. I am not going to advise you. You never take my advice.

2. Your tooth is loose. You'll lose it if you are not careful.

3. The shop's very close to home, and it doesn't close till late.

4. I can't excuse people who drop litter. There's no excuse for it.

Ex.5 Find a way from Start to Finish. You may not pass a square if the word contains the sound [z]. You can move horizontally or vertically only.

Start

Finish

Ex.6 Practise the dialogue. Pay special attention to sounds [s] and [z].

Mrs. Smith: This parcel smells, Mrs. Jones.

Mrs. Jones: Something ‘s written on it.

Mrs. Smith: What does it say?

Mrs. Jones: It says: This parcel contains six mice.

Mrs. Smith: Pooh!

Mrs. Jones: Listen! What's in this sack?

Mrs. Smith: It's making a strange hissing noise.

Mrs. Jones: Mrs. Smith! It's a sack of snakes!

Mrs. Smith: So it is! And what's in this box, Mrs. Jones?

Mrs. Jones: It's making a buzzing sound.

Mrs. Smith: These are bees!

Mrs. Jones: A parcel of mice! And a sack of snakes! And a box of bees!

This is very surprising.

Mrs. Smith: It's amazing. This isn't a post office, Mrs. Jones. It's a zoo!

Vowels: [ס – :]

To make the sound [ס]: Round your lips a little. The front of your tongue goes down together with your lower jaw. It is a short sound.

To make the sound [ :]: Follow the instructions above. Make it a long sound this time.

Ex 7. Listen and repeat the words paying special attention to sounds [ס – :]

Don – Dawn

cod – cord

cot – caught

pot – port

fox – forks

spots – sports

Ex 8. Practise saying the tongue twisters.

What a lot of nonsense!

Rod wants his coffee strong.

A cup of coffee hot in a proper copper coffee-pot.

Call me at a quarter to four.

It's all your fault.

Cora adores small talk.

Ex 9. Find 14 words in the puzzle and write them in the correct part of the table. The words are written horizontally or vertically.

Words with [ס]	Words with [ :]

Ex 10. Read the words and circle the one with the different vowel sound. Then listen and check. (A77)

EXAMPLE soap hope sold soup

1. come gone long want

2. what hot most salt

3. drove love woke hole

4. snow low cow show

5. both cloth clothes road

6. word wash boss cost

7. post lost coast rose

Ex 11. Listen to the following sentences, you will hear them twice, once in American English (A), once in British English (B). Write the order A-B or B-A. (A78)

EXAMPLE The coffee's hot. ______A-B_____

1. The lock's at the top. ___________

2. The song's long. ____________

3. Stop the clock. ______________

4. The dog's gone. ______________

5. He's often wrong. ____________

Ex 12. Listen to these sentences. Is the accent from Britain or from America? Write B or A. (A93)

EXAMPLE The girl's first birthday. _A__

1. It's hard work, of course. ____

2. Are you sure? ____

3. Law and order. ____

4. I walk to work. ____

5. I saw the bird fall. ___

6. He was born on Thursday the thirty-first. ____

7. She taught German. ____

8. I learned to surf in Brazil. ____

9. ‘Caught' and ‘court' sound the same in my accent. ____

Introducing word stress

If a word has more than one syllable, you give stress to one of the syllables. To do that, you make it longer, you make it louder and you make it higher. We can show stress with circles: each circle is a syllable and the bigger circle shows which syllable has the stress. For example, Saturday (Ooo).

Ex 13. Write the full words in the correct column, according to the their stress pattern.

Ex 14. Write one word from ex. 13 in each sentence below. The word must have the stress pattern shown. Then say the sentences.

1. I'm going to have a party on _____________ (Ooo).

2. My grandfather is ________________ (Ooo) years old.

3. I often sleep for an hour in the _____________ (ooO).

4. My birthday is on the ______________ (oOo) of March.

5. In Europe, the weather is warm in _____________ (oO).

6. I left school when I was ______________ (ooO).

7. Good night. See you _______________ (oOo).

8. How long is your summer ______________ (Ooo)?

NB! Stress patterns can help you to hear the difference between similar words, for example, numbers ending in –teen or –ty.

Ex 15. Listen and circle the number you hear. (B8)

1. 100 dollars! It only cost 17/70 last year!

2. He was the 14^th/40^th president of my country.

3. The maximum number of people is 15/50.

4. She was born in 1916/1960.

5. He was 13/30 on his last birthday.

6. She'll be 18/80 in March.

NB! Most two-syllable nouns and adjectives have stress on the first syllable (for example, driver (Oo), famous (Oo)), and most two-syllable verbs have stress on the second syllable (for example, remove (oO), become (oO)). However, there are a number of exceptions to this general rule (machine (oO), happen (Oo)). Some words are both nouns and verbs. For example, record is a noun if you put stress on the first syllable, and a verb if you put stress on the second syllable.

Ex 16. Listen and circle the word with a different stress pattern from the others. (B40)

EXAMPLE money machine mountain message

1. answer agree allow attract

2. middle minute mission mistake

3. compare correct copy collect

4. garden granny guitar grammar

5. complete common careful crazy

6. pronounce provide promise prefer

7. shampoo shoulder shower shopping

8. reason remove receive review

Ex 17. Read the sentences and decide what stress pattern the words in bold have. Then listen, check and repeat. (B41)

EXAMPLE I got my first record as a present when I was eleven.

record - Oo, present - Oo

1. You've progressed well this year, but I'd like to see even more progress. (progressed - _________, progress - ___________)

2. We import too much petrol and the country's export figures are going down. (import - _________, export - ___________)

3. It started as a student protest, but now the army has rebelled against the government. (protest - _______, rebelled - _________)

4. In the desert, there is a big contrast between temperatures in the day and at night. (desert - __________, contrast - __________)

5. These companies produce household objects, such as fridges and washing machines. (produce - _________, objects - _________)

Understanding small talk

Every language has its own ‘throw-away' words, in English the most popular are ‘I mean', ‘sort of', ‘like', ‘you know'. Listen to this conversation. Notice that the speakers say these words very fast, often in a low voice. (C25).

A: Ugh! This coffee is really horrible!

B: Yeah, I know. Machine coffee, I mean, why do we drink the stuff?

A: It's sort of like… someone puts the contents of an ashtray in water and ehm… like, heats it up or something, you know…

B: Yeah, that's what it tastes like, … and … I mean, have you tried the ehm… the tea?

A: Oh, yeah, the tea! That's even worse!

B: I mean, the plastic cups don't help, do they?

A: No, I know, … plastic cups!... we like even had champagne in plastic cups, you know, at what's – her – name's leaving party…

B: Jenny. Jenny Glen. Yeah, I remember that, last January it was… I kind of liked Jenny. I wonder what she's doing now…

Ex 18. You will hear four people speaking. What are their favourite ‘throw-away' words? Write them after the name. (C28)

Frank: ____I mean______________

Debbie: ______________________

Kimberly: _____________________

Greg: ________________________

NB! The same expressions which people use as ‘throw-away' words do have meaning in other contexts. Listen and notice the difference in pronunciation (C26):

Tell me everything you know. She tells me everything, you know.

‘Blue Mountain' is a kind of coffee. ‘Blue Mountain' coffee is kind of nice.

We like to go away at weekends. We like go to the beach or whatever.

I mean the one on the right. I mean, what's the point of buying one shoe?

Ex 19. Listen to the sentences and say whether the underlined words have meaning or if it is just a ‘throw-away' word. (C29)

1. I don't think these are the men you know

2. I've taught you everything you know

3. Do you know the place I mean it's just over there

4. She's not the one I mean she's too tall

5. They're like wild animals

6. This is like Arctic weather

Letters and sounds

Consonants: [∫ – ʒ - t∫ - dʒ]

To make the sound [∫]: The end of your tongue being curved back behind tooth ridge, push the air through gap.

To make the sound [ʒ]: Follow the instructions above, use your voice.

To make the sound [t∫]: Your tongue touches tooth ridge and stops the air. Then the tongue moves behind tooth ridge and releases the air.

To make the sound [dʒ]: Follow the instructions above, use your voice.

Ex.1 Listen and repeat.

[∫ ]

shoe ship ash shirt push

washing machine cash

[ʒ]

television garage Peugeot treasure

casual clothes measuring tape

[t∫]

chair chips watch chicken cheese

March kitchen

[dʒ]

job June jaw jeep village

juice jam jars

Ex.2 Listen and repeat the words paying special attention to sounds [∫ - t∫ - dʒ].

ships – chips

shop – chop

wash – watch

choke – joke

sheep cheap jeep

sherry cherry Jerry

Ex.3 Practise saying the tongue twisters.

She was shaking in her shoes.

She sells sea-shells on the sea-shore and the shells she sells are sea-shells, I'm sure.

His pleasure and joy knew no measure.

Fetch some chalk, Cherry.

Charlie Chesterton chattered in church.

Meet John Jones junior.

A journalist made a journey over Japan.

Ex.4 Do the following crossword puzzle. Each answer contains the sound [t∫] or [dʒ].

ACROSS: 1. Famous English prime minister. 2. We eat bread, butter and … 3. We buy jam in a … 4. You'll get fat if you eat too much …olate. 5. A game for two people. 6. You can see in the dark with a …ch. 7. This isn't … a difficult puzzle.

DOWN: 1. A young hen is a … 2. This book belongs to Jock. It's …'.. book. 3. The dangerous bridge is … outside the village. 4. HRCAE are letters of this word. It means get with your hand. 5. Tell me a j..e. 6. George's jeep was … than the other jeep.

Ex.5 Complete the conversation using words from the box. (A55)

Ex.6 The speaker made such a mistake in these sentences, write what they meant to say. Listen to the correct and incorrect pairs of sentences. Repeat, making the difference clear. (A56)

EXAMPLE Does she tea Chinese in the school? ____teach Chinese_______

1. I don't know which air to sit on. __________________

2. Everyone at the match ears when the team scores. ____________

3. I never what chat shows on the TV. _______________

4. The actor on stay joked with the audience. ______________

5. Foxes sometimes come to the farm and cat chickens. ____________

6. Do you want to chain jackets before we go out? ________________

Vowels: [U – U:]

To make the sound [U]: Round your lips a little and put them forward. The back of your tongue goes up together with your lower jaw. It is a short sound.

To make the sound [U:]: Round the lips a little more. Make it a long sound this time.

Ex 7. Listen and repeat the words paying special attention to sounds [U – U:]

look – Luke

pull – pool

full – fool

foot – boot

Ex.8 Practise saying the tongue twisters.

Soon the cool moon will shine on the gloomy pool.

Ruth can't say boo to a goose.

Mind where you put your foot.

Where can I look for a book?

Ex.9 Complete these sentences with words from the box. The vowel sound is given. Listen, check and repeat (A88).

EXAMPLE

Two things you can __put__[U] on a foot are a shoe and a __boot__[U:].

1. The _______[Λ] after _______[U:] is July.

2. My mother's other _________[Λ] is my __________[Λ].

3. Brazil _________[Λ] the World _________[Λ] in 2002.

4. Fruit ________[U:] is _________[U] for you.

5. There is a __________[U] _________[U:] once a month.

6. You pronounce __________[U] exactly the same as _________[U].

Ex.10 Circle the word with the different vowel sound.

EXAMPLE foot look blood push

1. soon book boot room

2. rude luck run but

3. shoes does true blue

4. pull full put rule

5. group could would should

6. done move love son

7. south young couple won

NB!Many words which have [j] before [U:] in British English don't in American English. Compare: news [njU:z] – news [nU:z], tune [tjU:n] - tune [tU:n].

Ex.11 Practise this dialogue. Pay special attention to sounds [U – U:].

Miss Luke: Good afternoon, girls.

Girls: Good afternoon, Miss Luke.

Miss Luke: This afternoon we are going to learn how to cook soup.

Open your books at unit twenty-two.

Prue: Excuse me, Miss Luke.

Miss Luke: Yes, Prue?

Prue: There's some chewing gum on your shoe.

Miss Luke: Who threw the chewing gum on the floor? Was it you, Prue?

Prue: No, Miss Luke. It was June.

Miss Luke: Who?

Prue: June Cook.

June: It wasn't me, stupid. It was Sue.

Sue: It was you!

June: It wasn't me, you, stupid fool.

My mouth's full of chewing gum. Look, Miss Luke!

Sue: Stop pulling my hair, June. It was you.

June: YOU!

Sue: YOU!

Miss Luke: Excuse me, you are being very rude.

You two nuisances can stay in school this afternoon

instead of going to the swimming pool.