Introducing tones

Task 1. (56_3.1) Listen to these conversations. All the replies are idiomatic expressions. Listen and mark ↘ if the voice goes down and ↗ if the voice goes up.

1. - Would you like to hold it?

- You must be joking!

2. – I never eat caviar, too salty.

- Chance would be a fine thing.

3. - Next!

- Go for it!

4. This soup isn’t very hot.

- Give me a break!

Task 2. (57_3.2) The intonation of Wh-questions goes down. Use the prompts to form questions. Listen and check, pay attention to the intonation.

a) Which country/win/1998 World Cup?

b) Who/President of the USA/ before Clinton?

c) Where/ the 1996 Olympic Games?

d) What / capital/ Chile?

e) When / Berlin Wall / come down?

f) How many states/ the USA?

g) Who /write/ Sophie’s world?

Task 3. The responses to the pairs of sentences a and b are the same, but the speaker uses a different tone. Listen and draw an arrow ↘ or ↗ to show if the voice goes down or up (58_3.3).

Example

a) Let’s go away for the weekend. – Where? ↘

b) Let’s go to Llantisiliogogogoch. – Where? ↗

1. a) I know who stole your glasses. – Who?

b) It was Micky Mumpkin. - Who?

2. a) I’ve got some bad news for you. – What?

b) I’m afraid your house has burnt down. – What?

3. a) Excuse me, can you help us? – Yes?

b) Can you take a photo of us with this camera? – Yes.

4. a) We’re going for a picnic if you want to come. – When?

b) At midnight tonight. - When?

Task 4. You will hear just the responses from Task 3. Listen and decide if it is the response to a or b (59_3.4)

Example b

1.________ 2.__________ 3._____________. 4________________

Task 5. a) Listen to these two sentences. The words are the same, but A sounds polite and B sounds rude. Can you hear the differemce? (60_3.5)

A.Could you close the door, please?_P_

B.Could you close the door, please?__R_

b) Listen to some more sentences. Mark them P if they sound polite and R if they sound rude (61_3.6)

a) A Would you mind waiting a moment?__

B Would you mind waiting a moment?__

b) A Do you think you could possibly help me?__

B Do you think you could possibly help me?__

c) A Can you bring the manager here, please?__

B Can you bring the manager here, please?__

d) A Would you mind keeping the noise down?__

B Would you mind keeping the noise down?__

e) A Could you look after Rose a minute?_

B Could you look after Rose a minute?_

Task 6. Steve is applying for the job of chief computer programmer at ABC Computers. Margaret Peters is interviewing. Complete their dialogue with didn’t you or haven’t you. Listen and check. What is the tone of the tag questions.(62_3.7)

a) You studied computer science at university, ________________?

b) You finished your degree in 1987,_________________________?

c) You’ve worked for Banana Computers since then,____________?

d) You went to Canada in 1989, ____________________________?

e) You’ve also worked in Australia, _________________________?

f) You lived in Melbourne,_________________________________?

Task 7. Complete each sentence with an ending from the box. Listen and decide whether the intonation goes up (↗) or down (↘) (63_3.8)

Example You aren’t hungry, are you?__ ↗_

1) How’s your headache? It isn’t getting worse,_______________?____

2) Those flowers are lovely,______________________________?____

3) You haven’t seen my glasses anywhere,__________________?_____

4) Torsens’s a great player,______________________________?____

5) I’m not sure. He was from Brazil,_______________________?_____

6) I can’t quite remember. You need 40 points to win, ________?_____

7) Tennis is so boring, ________________________________?______

8) She isn’t a very good swimmer,_______________________?______

9) I’m not sure. It starts at nine,_________________________?______

10) It wasn’t a very interesting game,_____________________?______

Task 8. Complete the gaps below with the correct question tag. Listen and write U if the speaker is unsure of whether he/she is right or S if the speaker is sure of whether he/she is right (64_3.9)

a) They don’t drive on the left in Australia,___________? ____

b) They speak Portuguese in Brazil,_________________? _____

c) St.Petersburg used to be called Leningrad,__________? _____

d) Austria hasn’t got a king or queen,_______________? ______

e) Scotland’s got its own national football team, ______? ______

Task 9. Use the prompts below to make either positive or negative sentences, depending on what you think the correct fact is.

a) Speak/Italian/ Switzerland

b) Paraguay/in Africa

c) Amsterdam/capital/Netherlands

d) Have got/King/Spain

e) Russian revolution/1939

f) Oregon/west coast of America

g) The moon/as big as/Earth

h) New York/bigger/Los Angeles

i) Greenland/independent country

j) Seeing a black cat/good luck

Add a question tag to your sentence and read it out to the other students. Show through the intonation of the question tag whether or not you are sure of your facts.

Task 10. Fill in the gaps. What function of intonation do you consider to be primary / of bigger / of minor importance?

Intonation helps (1) ___________________________________________________; for example, by telling the listener what the speaker thinks is important in a sentence; (2) ________________________________________________________________ (for example, new versus old information); (3) to oil the wheels of social interaction (i.e. __________________________________________________).

Task 11. How can you give extra prominence to an element of discourse in English? What circumstances govern the placement of prominence?

• Fill in the gaps and demonstrate how the assignment of prominence depends on the discourse and situational context.

Prominence in English is used to (1) ________________________________ (2)_______________________________and (3)__________________________

• Identify the prominent element in each statement. Explain your choice.

1. Thank you. 5. It's getting late.

2. I'm sure she will. 6. He's my uncle.

3. It's raining again. 7. He's an Accountant.

4. She's in the dining room. 8. She told me about it.

Lecture 2

Date: 2015-01-29; view: 1886