Реферат Pronunciation and Spelling in English
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ЛИНГВОГУМАНИТАРНЫЙ КОЛЛЕДЖ УЧРЕЖДЕНИЯ ОБРАЗОВАНИЯ
«МИНСКИЙ ГОСУДАРСТВЕННЫЙ ЛИНГВИСТИЧЕСКИЙ УНИВЕРСИТЕТ»
ЗВУКОБУКВЕННЫЕ СООТВЕТСТВИЯ
В АНГЛИЙСКОМ ЯЗЫКЕ
Практикум
Минск, 2008
Pronunciation and Spelling in English
СОСТАВИТЕЛИ: Гуринович Е. А., преподаватель практической фонетики;
Кучерчук Ю. В., преподаватель практической фонетики.
Практикум предназначен для учащихся лингвогуманитарного колледжа.
Данные материалы включают теоретические сведения о звукобуквенных соответствиях в английском языке, упражнения для совершенствования навыков чтения, а также материалы для чтения и заучивания наизусть. Материалы могут быть использованы как для аудиторной, так и самостоятельной работы учащихся.
Рассмотрено и одобрено на заседании ПЦК практической фонетики.
Протокол № 3 от 14 октября 2008 года.
1. 
The Syllable. The Principles of Syllable Division
The nature of the syllable
Syllable formation in English is based on the phonological opposition vowel-consonant. Vowels are usually syllabic while consonants are not with the exceptions of [l], [m], [n], which become syllabic in final position preceded by a consonant or between two final consonants: bottle [|bɒtl], bottom [|bɒtm], button [|bʌtn].
A syllable is a speech unit which consists of a sound or a group of sounds one of which is heard more prominent than the others. This sound is the peak or the nucleus of the syllable and is called syllabic (vowels and sonorants are usually syllabic).
The English language has developed the closed type of a syllable as the fundamental one while in Russian it is the open type that forms the basis of syllable formation.
The other aspect of this component is syllable division. There is a problem of syllable division in case of intervocalic consonants and their clusters, like in such words as city, extra, standing and others.
Let us consider the word extra. There are two syllables but where should the boundary between them fall?
1) [e-kstrə]. It is unlike that people would opt for a division between [e] and [kstrə] because there are no words in English which begin with consonant sequence [kstr].
2) Similarly, a division between [ekstr] and [ə] would be unnatural.
3) [ek-strə], [eks-trə], [ekst-rə] are possible. People usually prefer either of the first two options here, but there is no obvious way of deciding between them.
In some cases we may take into account the morphemic structure of words. For example, standing consists of two syllables; on phonemic grounds [|stæn-dIŋ], on grammatical grounds [|stænd-Iŋ].
Syllable division rules for simple words and parts
of
compound
words
| Vowel | Intersyllabic sounds | Boundary | Examples | Notes |
| I. Short stressed | a) single consonant | within the consonant | [ [ | |
| b) consonant cluster | between the consonants | [ [ [ | In case of intervocalic clusters we use the distributional criterion: the combination of consonants belongs to the following syllable, if such combinations are typical of English. | |
| II. Short unstressed, long, diphthong | a) single consonant | before the consonant | [ [ [ leı|bl] | |
| b) consonant cluster | maximally close to the vowel | [ə| [ık| [ [ | |
!
The so-called thriphthongs in English are disyllabic combinations, because they contain two vowel phonemes: [
a
I
|ə].
Ex. 1.1 (
How many syllables?
One word in each set has a different number of syllables from the others. Decide which it is, then check with the recording.
| Example: | lengths | if | table | on |
| 1 | destiny | chocolate | computer | afterwards |
| 2 | stopped | smashed | wanted | tried |
| 3 | Leicester | Lester | Stratford | Manchester |
| 4 | altogether | avocado | banana | Argentina |
| 5 | rhythm | chasm | through | thorough |
Ex. 1.2 (
What stress pattern?
One word in each set has a different stress pattern from the others. Which is it? Define the type of the stressed word. Check with the recording.
| Example: | picture ○ | nature ○ | capture ○ | mature ○ |
| 1 | politics | dynamic | musician | historic |
| 2 | create | supply | prostate | dictate |
| 3 | teacher | refer | eager | offer |
| 4 | edit | debit | submit | credit |
| 5 | Angela | Therese | spaghetti | banana |
Ex.1.3 Transcribe and divide into syllables.
Determine where the syllable boundary lies
| 1. | goodness | 5. | about | 9. | Saturday |
| 2. | hotter | 6. | lazy | 10. | export |
| 3. | village | 7. | family | 11. | hourly |
| 4. | cotton | 8. | admission | 12. | mathematics |
Ex. 1.4 Transcribe the following words, divide them into syllables and explain the rule
| 1. | ninety | 6. | sentence |
| 2. | middle | 7. | vowel |
| 3. | imitate | 8. | cinema |
| 4. | teacher | 9. | expensive |
| 5. | advertise | 10. | commission |
Ex. 1.5 Divide the words into syllables and explain the rule in each line:
1) Ready, pocket, mother, coffee, city;
2) Bottle, couple, cattle, mitten, middle;
3) Breakfast, hedgehog, doctor, country, fifty;
4) Farmer, herself, sleepy, ninety, gloomy;
5) Extreme, abrupt, include, nasty, attract;
6) Fire, towel, vowel, lower, goer.
2. The Primary and the Secondary Meaning of Letters
In English one letter can denote a few different sounds (polysemantic letters). That’s why there are the primary and the secondary sound meanings of them. The primary meaning of a letter is the sound which this letter:
1) denotes in the alphabet: a – [eI], e – [i:]. E.g. bake, be;
2) doesn’t correspond to the alphabetical letter: a – [æ]. e.g. cat;
3) approximates the alphabetical letter: f – [f], y – [aI].
The secondary meaning of a letter is the one which differs from its primary alphabetical meaning and depends on the consonants preceding or following this letter. E.g. a – [ a:
] - staff, [o
] – wander, [
ɔ
:
] – war.
The sound formation of the English language distinguishes long and short vowels. According to this peculiarity in English each stressed vowel can have two meanings: alphabetical (long) and short.
READING OF VOWELS IN STRESSED SYLLABLES
| Letter | Primary meaning | Secondary meaning | ||
| long | short | Vowel + r | Vowel +re | |
| a | Kate | cat | car | hare |
| e | he, Pete | hen, help | her | here |
| i\y | I, Mike, mine | sit, gym | bird, Byrd | hire, tyre |
| o | no, stone | not | for | more |
| u | use | but | turn | cure |
3. The Primary Sound Meanings of Vowels in Different Types of Syllables
In disyllabic and polysyllabic words the vowel letter has its alphabetical (long) primary meaning if:
1) it is used in word final position e. g. he, no, my;
2) it is separated from the following vowel letter or from the combinations –le, -re by only one consonant letter e.g. pilot, idle, fibre;
3) it is followed by a consonant + r +vowel e.g. library, April;
4) in some vowel combinations* e.g. diet, going.
The vowel letter has its short primary meaning:
1) if it is separated from the following vowel or the combination –le by two or more consonants e.g. render, silly, fiddle.
2) if the vowel letter (apart from “u”) is in the third stressed syllable from the end e.g. family, cylinder; but: funeral;
3) if the vowel letter is followed by a single letter “v” e.g. river, never; but: uvula [\ju:vju:lə], fever [\fi:və], over [\əυvə];
4) if the vowel letter is followed by a consonant and one of the combinations, such as –-ic, -ish, -ity e.g. tragic, polish, cavity;
5) in disyllabic words with the sound [I] and [ju:] in the last unstressed syllable the vowel letter of a stressed syllable has a short meaning: e.g. tribune, facet; but: stupid.
But if the word ends in –y, -ie as in the words ladies, Edie the letters “a”, “e” have their alphabetical (long) meaning.
*For more information about the rules of reading of vowel combinations (digraphs), see further rules.
READING SINGLE VOWEL LETTERS IN STRESSED NON-FINAL SYLLABLES
| Meaning | Spelling | Examples | Exceptions |
| I. Primary long | 1) vowel + vowel | diet | |
| 2) vowel + consonant + vowel vowel + consonant + “r” + vowel vowel + consonant + “le” vowel + consonant + “re” | pilot library idle fibre | | |
| II. Primary short | 1) vowel + consonant cluster + vowel vowel + consonant cluster +“le” | Render fiddle | |
| 2) vowel + consonant + “ic” vowel + consonant + “ish” vowel + consonant + “ity” | tragic polish cavity | | |
| 3) vowel + “v” + vowel | never | ∙fever ∙over ∙uvula | |
| 4) vowel + syllable + syllable | fa∙mi∙ly | cases with “u”: funeral | |
| 5) vowel + [ı]-closed syllable vowel + [(j)u:]-closed syllable | fa∙cet tri∙bune | stupid |
Ex. 3.1 (
Read the following names and decide, from their spelling, if the vowel is short or long. (If there is more than one vowel, focus on the vowel receiving most stress.) If you are not sure, check the recording.
Example: Mick = short Susan = long
| Mick | Susan | Dean | Sammy | Cathy |
| Martha | Jane | Luke | Tammy | Rose |
| Bert | Muriel | Patty | Pete | Ross |
| Ted | David | Becky | Bud | Simon |
| Beth | Mike | Mary | Tom | Jean |
| Timmy | Joan | Bonnie | Sheila | Bill |
| Primary short meaning | Primary long meaning |
| |
Ex. 3.2 Read these words according to the rules:
Letter “A” (primary short and long meanings):
| barrel | gas | bat | land | shall |
| angry | cab | bag | band | marry |
| tangle | fat | tan | pack | cattle |
| back | has | sand | dad | carry |
| sail brain paper | baby lady main | able bacon wait | parade famous mate | lain pain fate |
Letter “E” (primary short and long meanings):
| best | clever | led | met | peck |
| bell | seven | set | beg | shell |
| send | very | men | lend | merry |
| berry | when | pen | bend | kettle |
| he | we | these | agree | evening | |
| she | be | me | even | deep | |
| | | | | ||
Letters “I/Y” (primary short and long meanings):
| thimble thin chips | wish wiggle scribble | twin little picnic | fiddle kitchen history | ministry primitive system |
| why mine vice imply | | rise idle license while | by fly nylon byre | rhyme arrive bicycle triangle | line kite file white | why mine vice imply | |
| | | | | ||||
Letter “U” (primary short and long meanings):
| crumple under humble hungry | duck must funny ugly | begun thus thunder bungle | buck lust fuss yuck | cluck bud puck luck | |
| tube duty dual | music tune computer | tune muse humour | unit use student | human cube tunic | |
Letter “O” (primary short and long meanings):
| | dot stop chop flop | cost doctor bottle body | robber coffee promise fox | cod shot stock con | cock cop wop doll | |
| so nose go probe phone open | hope rose joke | note whole quote | tone hole drove | |||
Ex. 3.3
A: Here are the twelve pairs of rhyming words. In each case, one has an expected spelling for the particular sound and one has not. Choose which has the more predictable spelling.
Example: cheque neck
(compare neck with peck, deck, wreck, speck and so on)
| 1 | dome | some | 5 | rich | stitch | 9 | file | style |
| 2 | mash | cache | 6 | chest | breast | 10 | taste | waist |
| 3 | steak | make | 7 | wand | bond | 11 | want | pant |
| 4 | moon | prune | 8 | blood | mud | 12 | cut | put |
Ex. 3.4 (
A: In this section the spelling is 100% predictable from the pronunciation. Listen to the recording and write these individual words down.
| 1 | ________ | 5 | ________ | 9 | ________ | 13 | ________ |
| 2 | ________ | 6 | ________ | 10 | ________ | 14 | ________ |
| 3 | ________ | 7 | ________ | 11 | ________ | 15 | ________ |
| 4 | ________ | 8 | ________ | 12 | ________ | 16 | ________ |
B: Now see if you can read the following words aloud before you listen to them on the recording. Remember that the pronunciation is still predictable from the spelling.
| 1 | scoop | 5 | patched | 9 | puddle | 13 | shun |
| 2 | muted | 6 | rotter | 10 | stutter | 14 | candle |
| 3 | glitch | 7 | hugged | 11 | handy | 15 | rumbled |
| 4 | spine | 8 | treck | 12 | budge | 16 | trash |
C: Now do the same with the following nonsense words.
| 1 | flape | 5 | snork | 9 | frake | 13 | spump |
| 2 | spline | 6 | preck | 10 | drumble | 14 | flinge |
| 3 | smotted | 7 | glumpy | 11 | duddle | 15 | chinker |
| 4 | gatter | 8 | chandy | 12 | shunker | 16 | strended |
It doesn’t matter if you don’t know what the words in A and B mean; you can always check them in a dictionary afterwards. Don’t look in a dictionary for the nonsense words in C.
Ex. 3.5 Find and practice reading vowels in their short meanings:
Letter” A”
a) Read as quickly as possible:
A cat, a black cat, a black cat sat, a black cat sat on a mat, a black cat sat on a mat and ate. A black cat sat on a mat and ate a fat rat.
b) Read the sentence:
There was a red van traveling West, and several cars and vans behind it. The van driver suddenly turned and crashed into the taxi. The taxi driver wasn’t badly hurt, but he was very angry.
Can you imagine an imaginary menagerie manager, imagining an imagery menagerie.
c) Proverbs and idioms:
Flat as a pancake.
A hungry man is an angry man.
d) Rhymes and tongue-twisters:
Pat’s black cat is in Pat’s black hat.
Pussy-cat, pussy-cat
Can you catch that bad fat rat?
If you catch that bad fat rat,
You will have some milk for that.
Letter “E”
a) Hens, red hens, best red hens, ten best red hens, Ted sells ten best red hens. Every day Ted sells ten best red hens.
b) Only ten per cent of Kensington Express readers take regular exercise. Ten per cent felt that they were healthy or very healthy.
c) All’s well that ends well.
d) Better late than never.
e) Lesser leather never weathered wetter weather better.
f) Fred fed Ted bread and Ted led Fred bread.
g) Can you retell ten texts in twelve seconds?
Letters “I, Y”
a) As fit as a fiddle.
b)Which witch wished which wicked wish?
c) Needles and pins, needles and pins,
When a man marries, his trouble begins.
d) I slit the sheet, the sheet I slit, and on the slitted sheet I sit.
Letter “O”
a) Bob’s dog got a hot pot of porridge and some chops.
b) I’ve got a job in a sports shop at the moment.
c) Honesty is the best policy.
d) A proper cup of coffee from a proper copper coffee pot.
Letter “U”
a) A duck, an ugly duck, an ugly duck was in a cup, an ugly duck was in a funny cup, an ugly duck was in a funny cup on Sunday. An ugly duck was in a funny cup on a sunny Sunday.
b) Lucky in cards unlucky in love.
c) Mummies munch much mush.
d) Double bubble gum bubbles double bubbles.
Ex. 3.6 Practice reading vowels in their long meanings:
Letter “A”
a) This amazing lake in Wales is a famous place for great races.
b) I can explain. The Daily Mail came late.
c) Make hay while the sun shines.
A stitch in time saves nine.
d) Rain, rain, go away,
Come again another day.
e) Billy, Billy, come and play
While the sun shines bright today.
Letter “E”
a) A man of words and not of deeds
Is like a garden full of weeds.
b) He speaks Chinese and Japanese with equal ease.
c) Easy come easy go.
Letters “I, Y”
a) Mike likes spicy pies with fried pike.
b) Hi, Mike! I’m busy typing. I have ninety-nine pages to type by Friday.
c) Out of sight out of mind.
Variety is a spice of life.
d) Why do you cry, Willy?
Why do you cry?
Why, Willy, why, Willy?
Why, Willy, why?
Letter “O”
a) The road below goes from Rome to the south coast. We are very close to our home.
b) Chip-chop, chip-chop,
Chipper-chopper Joe,
One big blow.
Oh! My toe!
Ex. 3.7 Put the words given below into a suitable column according to the rules of reading of stressed vowels:
Twilight, crying, Friday, magic, transport, limit, fiddle, panic, student, trying, bypass, never, uncle, letter, river, alphabet, timid, numeral, being, stupid, apricot, atomic, cinema, majority, better, hunting, visit, novel, palace, luggage, sentence, alcoholic, beginner, British, cucumber, famine, forever, Labrador, laser, microphone, noble, novel, poet, printer, puritan, puzzle, regular, Roman, secret, stupidity, syllabic, typical.
| Primary long meaning | Primary short meaning |
| | |
| | |
Ex. 3.8 Read the following words and see how –e changes the pronunciation
| WITHOUT –e: WITH –e: |
| NOW PRONOUNCE: man same take that lemonade bale safe tap tape | ||||||||||
| WITHOUT –e: WITH –e: |
| NOW PRONOUNCE: fit inside still mile hid ride tide like pipe strip | ||||||||||
| WITHOUT –e: WITH –e: |
| NOW PRONOUNCE: job stone rose God joke dome bone on spot coke | ||||||||||
| WITHOUT –e: WITH –e: |
| NOW PRONOUNCE: much fuse cube cub fuss tune gun fun duke luck | ||||||||||
| EXCEPTIONS: some come one have give live love | ||||||||||||
Ex. 3.9 Place the following words in the grids according to their vowel sound:
Rich, curl, month, cart, suit, breath, flashed, loom, herd, still, hemmed, torn, scene, cruise, floor, dock, just, don, sword, hoop, banned, rang, bin, love, hat, bird, stabbed, hood, farm, ought, ridge, ton, cloth, chalk, hoot, son, link, next, calm, germ, hymn, cab, wood, breath, creep, itch, blood, cough, should, could, black, said, foot, monk, dog, stood, piece, arch, move, purr, feast, palm, pearl, edge, shopped, eve, barred, soup, leaf, bard, begged.
Short vowel sounds
| [ I ] | [æ] | [e] | [υ] | [o] | [ Λ ] |
| | | | | | |
Long vowel sounds:
| [i:] | [ 3 :] | [ ɑ :] | [o:] | [u:] |
| | | | | |
TEST I
1.
Divide into groups and transcribe these words:
Worry, student, apricot, oppose, novel, after, magic, limit, visit, excuse, sentence, bypass, money.
| primary alphabetical meaning | primary short meaning | secondary meaning |
| | | |
2.
Find the odd word:
a) little, silly, fiddle, middle, quite
b) tragic, pathetic, paste, falls
c) ruling, tulip, truthful, trustee, numeral
3. Transcribe these words:
Archery, point, cricket, victory, golf, runner-up, water polo, racket, rugby, swimming, championship, spectator.
TEST II
1.
Divide into groups and transcribe these words:
Cinema, never, crying, stupid, numeral, uncle, Monday, figure-skating, war, river, panic, staff, hunting, transport.
| primary alphabetical meaning | primary short meaning | secondary meaning |
| | | |
2.
Find the odd word:
a) doing, hunting, uncle, cinema, magic
b) stupid, trying, Friday, April, silly
c) student, numeral, never, crying, being
3. Transcribe the words:
Fibre, April, going, render, family, avid, cavity, facet, lady, fever, over, funeral, fencing.
4. Reading of Stressed Vowels in Combination with the Letter ”r”
VOWEL LETTERS + “R
”
| vowel | + “r” + vowel + vowel + ”r” + vowel + ”l/n” | + “r” + consonant + final “r” |
| Aa | [εə] fair, fare | [α:] farm, far |
| Ee | [ıə] here, hero, neon | [3:] herbal, her |
| Ii | [aıə] liar, fire, giant | [3:] firm, fir |
| Oo | [ boar, more | [ north, for |
| Uu | [(j)υə] pure, sure, fuel | [3:] surf, fur |
| Yy | [aıə] tyrant | [3:] byrd |
Ex.
4.1
a) Name the stressed sound of every line:
1. share, rare, care, compare, prepare, hare.
2. here, mere, sphere, material, serial, period.
3. fire, lyre, hire, tired, wire, satire.
4. pure, cure, lure, curious, during, secure.
5. more, shore, explore, before, store.
b) Read these words according to the rules:
Letter “A” (primary short and long meanings):
| farce arch scarf | market alarm jar | fare Mary daring | sharing snare care |
Letter “E” (primary short and long meanings):
| germ perch mercy | verse concern German | hero mere inhere | era severe zero |
Letters “I/Y” (primary short and long meanings):
| thirty birch smirch | shirk circle quirt | fire lyre tyre | require wire quire |
Letter “U” (primary short and long meanings):
| turn further lurch | Thursday curtains turkey | endure cure pure | obscure fury curious |
Letter “O” (primary short and long meanings):
| storm mort orchard | pork force thorn | core shore score | wore oral forehead |
Ex.4.2
a) Make words with these beginnings and write them in the correct part of the table:
| Beginnings ba fa ra da sta squa ca ha cha Endings r re lf ir rd rt lm |
| Words with the vowel [α:] | Words with the vowel [εə] |
| bar | bare |
b) Divide the words into groups according to the sounds:
Air, bear, deer, square, tour, real, giant, your, near, ear, pair, oar, more, secure, cure, fire, lure, lyre, pure, satire, board, fair, hair, hear, dear, tire, fuel, sore, our, area, near, pier, hour, fire, mere, real, diamond, ear, fierce, science, vary, zero, theory, fuel, ore, millionaire, lair, mere, where, trial, work, earn, sergeant, warm, worm, heart, world, merry, persuade, nurse, harp, early, scarcely, clerk, form, target, learn, hurry, bird, persue, war, firm, circus, turn, farm, earth, word, market, girl, fir, bargain, turkey, mortar, swirl, sword, order, urgently, orchid, appear, observe, persue, surface, disregard, perm, sardines, require, depart, quarrel.
Ex.4.3 Read as quickly as possible:
1. Hares, rare hares, take care of rare hares; my parents take care of rare hares. My parents rarely take care of rare hares and canaries.
2. Football, more than football, basketballs more than football, adore basketball more than football, boys adore basketball more than football, tall boys adore basketball more than football. Almost all tall boys adore basketball more than football.
3. The theory, the theory of this experienced engineer is clear, the theory of this experienced engineer is really clear. My dear! The theory of this experienced engineer is really clear.
4. Near an ear, a nearer ear, a nearly eerie ear.
5. Cheers, dear! Cheers! Here’s to the bearded mountaineer!
6. Charming, large and charming, farms are large and charming, gardens and farms are large and charming. The parks, gardens and farms are large and charming.
8. Her work, her work in workshop, her work in a dirty workshop, her work in a dirty workshop was the worst. Her work in a dirty workshop was the worst in the world.
Ex. 4.4 Pick out the odd word:
1. term, clerk, serve, perfect.
2. target, farm, warm, market.
3. learn, earth, pearl, heart.
4. Vernon, terrible, merry, hurry.
5. word, work, world, war.
6. first, fur, far, turn.
7. girl, shirk, wire, birch, birth.
8. earn, learn, heart, early.
9. worm, worn, world, work.
10. nurse, lurk, hurry, hurt, suburb.
11. advertisement, university, reserved, western.
Ex. 4.5 Put the words into three columns:
| [ɑ:] | [ɔ:] | [з:] |
| | | |
Tardy, sort, purge, war, heart, dormant, world, port, darling, warm, earn, lord, work, partake, furbish, learn, mortify, clerk, purblind, portly, sergeant, dart, further, partner.
Ex. 4.6 Complete this conversation using the words in the box. Then listen and check
(
| Cars cares stars stares |
!
Joe: It would be nice if we had ________ though, Sid.
Sid: I didn’t say ______, I said ______!
Joe: Oh, I see. Not _______, as in traffic, but ______ with an ES at the end!
Sid: That’s right. I’ve always loved sleeping under the ______.
Joe: But why? There’ hardly any space under the ______!
Sid: No, not ______, ______! You know, little lights in the sky.
Joe: Oh, ______! I thought you said _________, that people walk up!
Ex. 4.7 Read and transcribe the following sentences:
1. I’d like to reserve a seat on the ten-thirty flight to Birmingham, on Thursday. My name is Vernon.
2. I’ll search under the fir trees and the birches, I’ll circle the earth – and I’ll return with a superb firm earthworm for my perfect turtledove.
3. Pearl will be thirty next birthday. Her perfume from Germany is perfect.
4. Gregory reported about this story with sarcasm, then he asked rhetorical question.
5. I always think about misfortune with a horror.
6. Barbara’s government had a very bad reputation.
7. Sorry, but I don’t like horror films, I prefer going to the theatre.
Ex. 4.8 Listen and circle the word you hear (
Heart or hat? She put her hand on her heart\hat.
1. Nowhere or no way? There’s nowhere\no way to go.
2. Fair or far? It isn’t fair\far.
3. Part or port? This is the main part\port of Athens.
4. Bear or beer? That’s a strong bear\beer.
5. Come or calm? She told me to come\calm down.
Ex. 4.9 Practice reading
idioms, sayings:
He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.
If the cap fits, wear it.
Here today, gone tomorrow.
Five fat friars frying fish.
While there is life there is hope.
No smoke without fire.
Real weird rear wheels.
First come, first served.
Even a worm will turn.
It is the early bird that catches the worm.
A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.
One good turn deserves another.
A picture is worth a thousand words.
The calm before the storm.
To put the cart before the horse.
A barking dog seldom bites.
Don’t take your harp to the party.
A bird is known by its note, and a man by his talk.
Adversity makes the man wise, not rich.
Through hardship to the stars.
Return good for evil.
Better unborn than untaught.
You can bring your horse to the water but you can’t make it drink.
rhymes and twisters:
An old woman, old woman, shall we go a – shearing?
Speak a little louder, sir, - I am very hard of hearing.
Old woman, old woman, shall I love you dearly?
Thank you, kind sir, I hear you very clearly.
How many boards
Could the Mongols hoards
If the Mongol hoards got bored?
“What is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare?”
I cannot bear to see a bear
Bear down upon a hare.
When bare of hair he strips the hare,
Right there I cry, “Forbear!”
5. Reading of Vowel Digraphs*
| | Aa | Ee | Ii | Oo | Uu | Yy |
| Aa | | [i:] formulae | [eı] aid [aı] balalaika [æ] plaid [e] said | | [α:] aunt [ɔ:] August [ɒ] sausage [əυ] aubergine | [eı] way [e] says [ə] always [ı] Monday |
| Ee | [i:] sea [eı] great [ıə] idea [e] bread | [i:] need | [i:] ceiling [eı] beige [aı] either [e] leisure | [i:] people [ıə] theory [e] leopard | [(j)u:] neutral [jυə] Europe | [i:] key [ı] money [eı] they |
| Ii | [ə] Parliament [aıə] diamond | [aı] tie [i:] achieve [ı] Freddie [e] friend | | [ıə] patriot [aıə] lion | [aıə] triumph | |
| Oo | [əυ] oak [ɔ:] broad | [u:] shoe | [ɔ I] boil [ə] tortoise [ı] connoisseur | [əυ] brooch [u:] food [υ] foot [Λ] blood | [əυ] soul [u:] you [υ] could [aυ] thousand [Λ] courage [ɒ] cough [ɔ:] ought | [ |
| Uu | | [u:] true [υə] cruel | [(j)u:] juice [ı] biscuit | | | [aı] buy |
| Yy | [aıə] hyacinth | [aı] bye | | [(j)əυ] yoga | | |
Principles of Reading Vowel Digraphs
1) The 1st letter is read in its primary long meaning: sea [i:], oak [əυ], etc.;
2) The 2nd letter is read in its primary long meaning: neutral [u:], either [aı], etc.;
3) Two letters are read in their primary short meanings, forming a diphthong: beige [eı], they [eı], boil [ɔ
I], oyster [ɔ
I];
4) One of the letters is read in its primary short or secondary meaning: aunt [ɑ:], theory [ıə], etc.
Ex. 5.1 Read the following words with digraphs [ei|ey]. Identify the sound of each line.
[ ] 1. beige, deign, heinous.
[ ] 2. either, seismograph, deictic.
[ ] 3. seize, inveigle, ceiling, receive, deceive, conceive, perceive.
[ ] 4. heir, heiress.
[ ] 5. leisure, Leicester.
[ ] 6. counterfeit, sovereign, foreign, surfeit, forfeit.
[ ] 7. eight, freight, neighbour, weight, sleigh, weigh.
[ ] 8. height, sleight.
[ ] 9. they, survey, grey, obey.
[ ] 10. eyrie.
[ ] 11. key.
[ ] 12. monkey, money, whisky, hockey, trolley.
Ex. 5.2 Which twelve of these words contain the sound [eə] (as in chair)? How are the others pronounced? Can you think of any more words with [eə]?
Air, care, dear, fair, hair, her, here, pear, pair, share, tear (verb), their, there, they’re, were, we’re, where.
Ex. 5.3
a) Read the poem. Explain the reading of vowel combinations.
A little health, a little wealth
A little house and freedom
With some few friends for certain ends,
But little cause to need them.
b) Each word on the left rhymes with one word on the right. Match the words that rhyme and try to write a short poem using some of the rhyming words.
| Brain, teeth, lost, foot, boast, suit, weight, slight, death, says, dull, phrase, war, full, chef, leaf, glued | Deaf, great, beef, breathe, skull, Les, reign, days, tossed, post, height, wreath, food, shoot, put, law, wool |
Ex. 5.4
a) Put the following words in the correct column according to the pronunciation of “ea”. Careful! Three of the words have two different pronunciations (and different meanings).
| scream bean bread gear tear breath dread lead | spear break heal steak dead yearn spread read | knead plead pear bead great team breathe fear | bear thread instead wear head year mean pearl |
| [e] 10 words | [i:] 11 words | [ ε ə] 5 words | [ ıə] 5 words | [ 3 : ] 2 words | [e I ] 3 words |
| | | | | | |
b) Give 2 examples of your own to each variant of pronunciation of the given digraph.
[ıə ] [
ε
ə
]
[ e
I
]
EA
[ɑ:]
[ i:]
[ e ]
Ex. 5.5 Read the following words. Identify the sound of each line.
[ ] 1. food, boot, foolish, boost
[ ] 2. good, cook, took, look
[ ] 3. should, would, could
[ ] 4. blood, flood
[ ] 5. door, four, floor, boor
[ ] 6. moor, tour, poor
[ ] 7. brooch
[ ] 8. round, found, sound, pound
[ ] 9. soul, bowl, mould, shoulder
[ ] 10. touch, rough, nourish, courage
[ ] 11. soup, group, boulevard, goulash
[ ] 12. thought, bought, caught, fought
[ ] 13. you, youth
Ex. 5.6 Pick out the odd word.
Example:
Like by ninth live
1. monkey — donkey — whiskey — key
2. feudal — few — sew — queue
3. cook – look – pound – could
4. foot — good — food — cook
5. round — house — ounce — trouble
6. could — would — mould — should
7. seize — receive — deictic – ceiling
8. toilet – tortoise – boycott – buoy
9. joy –oily –voyage – connoisseur
10. annoy – choice – they –joy – poison
11. pear — swear — near — bear
12. door – floor – start – small
13. cream — head — leave — fleet
14. purple – thirsty – journey – there
15. ooze—wood—kangaroo—booze
16. courage — soul — trouble — nourish
17. plaintiff — raider — plaintive — plaid
18. bread – reads – pence – very
19. work – third – person – hair
20. size – grey – life – eye
21. buy – like – rich – kind
22. wear – ear - hear – nearly
23. earn – third – where – dirty
Ex. 5.7 Give 2 examples to each variant of pronunciation of the given digraph
.
[əυ] [aυ]
[u:]
OU
[Λ]
[ɔ:]
[
Ŋ
]
Ex. 5.8 Underline the words in which the vowel combinations are read according to the basic rule:
Cream, bleed, leave, fleet, death, dean, daily, head, rouge, great, tie, key, few, ceiling, thief, plain.
Oar, fair, fuel, fare, ore, type, ear, prior, giant, pure, fire, here, trial, real.
May, oak, coin, connoisseur, heaven, broad, seize, agree, soar, aid, via, fiery, idiot, lie, peer, fear, lean, Sunday, says, formulae, main, leisure, sea, eagle, receive, triumph, foam, aegis, sieve, needle, people, leopard, die, Leicester, pseudonym, ceiling, holiday, read, clear.
Reading of the digraph “ou” in homographes:
slough – сброшенная кожа змеи, забытая привычка; уныние, депрессия, болото.
wound – рана; крутиться, извиваться (past of wind)
Ex. 5.9 Translate the sentences and transcribe the underlined words:
1. When I was going through the slough, I saw a slough.
2. Sometimes your slough can remind about itself. We went to the forest and found a slough there.
4. While he was wounding, somebody wounded him.
Ex. 5.10
Place the following words in the grids according to their vowel sound.
Rich\ curl\ death\ month\ shone\ lawn\ cart\ suit\ breathe\ flashed\ loom\ herd\ still\ earn\ hemmed\ poured\ torn\ scene\ cruise\ floor\ dock\ just\ would\ don\ sword\ hoop\ banned\ rang\ bin\ love\ hat\ bird\ stabbed\ hood\ farm\ ought\ ridge\ ton\ cloth\ chalk\ hoot\ son\ link\ next\ calm\ germ\ hymn\ cab\ wood\ breath\ creep\ itch\ blood\ cough\ should\ could\ black\ said\ pearl\ edge\ shopped\ eve\ barred\ soup\ leaf\ bard\ begged
Short vowel sounds
| pit [pIt] | pat [pæt] | pet [pet] | putt [pʌt] | pot [pɒt] | put [pυt] |
| | | | | | |
Long vowel sounds
| peat [pi:t] | pert [pз:t] | part [pɑ:t] | port [pɔ:t] | boot [pu:t] |
| | | | | |
Ex. 5.11
| a) Pronounce the words: foot – booth – flood booklet – coop – hook hoof – footer – looter wooed – wood – moorings taproom – sooty – woof doubt – honorable – tough neighbour – drought – coup should – soup – pouring thought – amount – loaches aloud – louver – brooch colourist – pounding – coulter | b) Choose the right variant: [u:] a) wood, b) foolish, c) country [Λ] a) ooze, b) flood, c) boot [υ:] a) good, b) brooch, c) floor [əυ] a) nourish, b) mould, c) koumiss [Λ] a) cough, b) tough, c) soup [u:] a) douche, b) bounce, c) sound c) Find the odd word: 1. plait, plaid, said, aiglet 2. heir, seize, ceiling, inveigle 3. Leicester, either, height, seismograph 4. break, great, steak, bread 5. tear, heart, fear, tear |
Ex. 5.12 Give some examples on each of these combinations, but all of them should denote the sound [ei]:
ai
ei
[ei]
ay ey
Ex. 5.13 Pronounce the following pairs of words and write down the sounds:
daughter – Dottie
caution – coughing
naughty – novice
[ ] – [ ]:
joined – John
oyster – ostrich
soiled – solid
[ ] – [ ]:
tomb – tour
view – viewer
queue – cure
[ ] – [ ]:
cleaning – clearly
ease – ears
[ ] – [ ]:
beer – bear
teary – dairy
peer –pair
[ ] – [ ]:
climb – cloud
finder – founder
dry – drought
Ex. 5.14 Divide the words into columns:
| [i:] | [e] | [aiə] | [I] |
| | | | |
Eel, bread, aegis, seize, leisure, said, quay, says, diet, key, monkey, ion, leopard, formulae, fiery, sweat, agree, giant, biscuit, lion, Leonard, connoisseur, violate, breath, diamond, auntie, pioneer, species, biological, people, jeopardy, piece, triumph, feather, via, friend, achieve, dialogue, mischief, diadem, build.
Ex. 5.15 Insert the suitable word:
fair/fare, buy/bye, waist/waste, flower/flour
1. This man in black is ...
2. When you get on bus you have to pay ...
3. My wife is satisfied with her good ...
4. It is necessary to say “Good ...” when you leave home.
5. It is a ... of time.
6. I am proud of my ...
7. We can’t bake a cake without ...
8. The girl has painted a ...
Ex. 5.16 Find a way from start to finish. You may pass a square only if the word in it has the sound [aυ]. You can move horizontally or vertically only.
START
| house | sound | group | about | mouth | cow |
| soup | out | brown | mouse | bought | south |
| could | couple | grow | low | would | cloud |
| know | snow | touch | ought | down | count |
| thought | should | slow | blow | pound | young |
| soul | country | though | throw | town | round |
FINISH
Ex. 5.17 Group the words below according to the pronunciation of the stressed vowels. Compare the meanings of single vowels and vowel combinations. What principle of reading vowel digraphs do the given words illustrate?
| 1. [e] 2. [eı] 3. [I] | 4. [i:] 5. [aı] 6. [əυ] | 7. [ɒ] 8. [ɔ I] 9. [u:] |
Antennae, beg, beige, believe, brooch, bruise, boy, buy, by, coin, die, dine, either, got, in, key, made, maiden, needle, neutral, obey, pay, people, receive, seat, she, shoulder, soap, sold, soup, steak, tune, true.
Ex. 5.18 Practice reading the following words.
The letter "a":
pale, dale, rake, navy, table, ladle, staple, cradle, apron, sabre, latch, rack, jacket, quack, yank, jag, carry, parrot, garret, sparrow, barrel, rattle, tangle, sample, angry, fare, Mary, snare, daring, age, sharing, air, hairy, chair, repair, affair, farce, arch, jar, market, scarf, alarm, call. all, also, chalk, walk, tall, augur, sauce, pause, aught, author, caught, taught, claw, crawl, law, yawn, hawk, jaw, draw, day, nail, rain, wait, gait, quail, chain, away, praise, lay;
The letter "o":
nose, probe, Joe, quote, drove, wove, phone, noble, ogre, cobra, joke, ogle, yoke, jog, lodge, wrong, knock, knot, strong, core, shore, wore, oral, score, story, storm, mort, orchard, thorn, force, pork, lorry, horror, borrow, porridge, goggle, jostle, bottle, scallop, foam, coal, load, toast, roach, throat , coach, oak, roam, hold, cold, gold, jolt, stroll, roll, scold, pillow, show, window, snow, glow, crow, yellow, row, know, own, hook, hoys, coil, coy, choice, enjoy, roil, voice, destroy, cook, book, wood, look, stood, rook, coo, wool, soon, moon, zoo, broom, coop, hover, too, wooed, roof, ooze, sooth, out, about, mouth, south, scouts, count, down, town, crowd, crown, clown, howl, jowl, fowl, tower, power, flower, shower, coward, towel, trowel;
The letter "u":
cute, cube, humour, purple, unit, super, student, bugle, bugler, duty, computer, tunic, cure, Ural, pure, dual, obscure, endure, fury, curious, furious, jury, plural, cruel, rural, flue, true, rule, jute, truce, June, lunar, plume, chute, under, cut, run, jump, thunder, just, hungry, hurry, current, burrow, humble, struggle, bungle, uncle, buckle, crumple, cur, hurl, turkey, gurgle, curtains, Thursday, lurch, further, turn;
The letter "e":
bead, these, cede, Eve, recent, scene, secret, legal, sere, zero, sphere, cero, hero, mere, inhere, severe, era, well, text, vet, wet, zest, length, theft, gentle, error, cherry, sherry, Jerry, where, terror, derrick, kettle, temple, nettle, verse, germ, perch, concern, German, mercy, thermos, leap, knead, gleam, streak, teach, quean, streak, easy, wreak, veal, creek, cheep, screed, jeep, breeze, meeting, kneel, seethe, queer, wheedle, ear, tear, clear, weary, hear, rear, beard, smeary, beer, cheer, fleer, jeer, queer, pioneer, few, hew, news, yew, view, stew, newspaper, flew, grew, drew, blew, chew, threw, seize, deceive, conceit, conceive, receive, ceiling;
The letters "i/y":
nice, knife, fly, type, stifle, trifle, fibre, nylon, idle, hydra, cycle, quite, fire, lyre, tyre, quire, wire, byre, require, pick, quick, think, crypt, symbol, myth, system, gym, gyps, with, griddle, little, wiggle, sizzle, scribble, thimble, mirror, chirrup, squirrel, shirk, chirp, thirty, birch, smirch, sir, circle, quirt, Myrtle, bind, kind, mind, wind, grind, behind, high, light, might, knight, bright, thigh, tight, sigh, dial, trial, lion, diary, triumph, pioneer, flyer, giant, quiet, violin, field, grieve, believe, achieve, thief, thieve , piece.
Vowel Letter Combinations
ay, ai
says, quay, certainly, always, holiday, Sunday, certainty, Monday, portrayal, play, clay, aid, straight, against, fair, chair, rain, air, said, aisle, balalaika, curtain, claim, certain, pay, again, plait, plaid, plaintiff, plaintive, quay age, clay
ea
eagle, stream, sea, deal, bread, meal, lean, feather, sweat, breath, breakfast, heaven, pleasure, break, great, steak, fear, idea, tear, theatre, clear, earthly, rear, earthworm, Earn, earn, ear-splitting, Earn Shaw, earring, earnest, eaglet, each, eager, Easter, leave
ee
eel, needle, agree, addressee, employee, peer, beer, beetle, teenager, teem, teetotal, returnee
ei, ey
veil, convey, receive, key, height, eye, either, seismograph, sleight, money, heifer, Reynolds, atheism, deity, heir, heirloom, leitmotif, beige, donkey, eight, Leicester, weight, leisure, ceiling, receive, seize, geyser, they, survey, bogey, monkey, whiskey, weird
eu, ew, iew
feudal, few, masseuse, sew, Freudian, masseur, lieutenant, euphemism, feudalism, queue, pseudonym, neutral, Europe, leukocyte, rheumatism, leukemia, leucotomy, Lucite, Peugeot, Reuter, Reuben, reunion, reusable, Seurat, chew, Tewkesberry, mew, mewl, fewness, Newton, New-York
eo
jeopardy, leopard, Geoffrey, Leonard, people, theory, peony, theology, theorem, reorganize, reopen, Seoul, Leo, Leonardo, Leopold, Leonora, deodar, deoxyribonucleic, deodorant, , Neo-Latin, neologism, neoplasm, neonatal.
ie
piece, tie, fierce, tried, studied, dries, fries, friend, flies, sieve, handkerchief, science, pliers, society, acquiesce, Viennese, happiest, Vietnam, viewpoint, achieve, chief, species, series, mischief, auntie, Freddie, brier, fiery, diet, field, fiesta
oo
food, good, blood, flood, door, moor, poor, brooch, zoology, cooperate, cook, book, wood, floor, ooze, boost, boot, foolish, too, woo, kangaroo, foot, boost, boor, boomerang, boondocks, soothe
oi, oy
noise, boy, patois, turquoise, coin, oily, turmoil, boil, connoisseur, tortoise, loiter, loin, soiree, Boyd, boysenberry, boycott, toy
ou
round, soul, touch, group, could, should, would, thought, through, bough, through, rough, cough, thorough, flour, tourist, four, journey, courage, courier, ounce, oust, house, thousand, account, sound, fountain, youth, soup, boulevard, goulash, you, nourish, trouble, poultry, mould, shoulder, bought, slough, house, wound
Ex. 5.19 Spot the homophones:
Homophones are words (or combinations of words) which sound the same, but are spelled differently and have different meanings: meet and meat, seen and scene. Find the pairs of homophones hidden in the list below.
Side, balls, bear, bowled, cue, ducked, fort, work grate, hair, hare, bales, week, dally, bald, hold, fought, weekly, stoke, walk, missed, air, pure, packed, pear, pore, where, pour, duct, bore, seam, quiet, sought, please, shake, wade, sheikh, pleas, weakly, bold, past, sighed, piece, mist, wear, seem, sight, slay, wake, win, steak, stalk, stroke, stork, daily, stake, weak, bare, holed, wine, pact, bawls, passed, wane, queue, great, heir, pair, whine, grant, sleigh, same, weighed, site, peace.
Some of these words do not form pairs of homophones.
Ex. 5.20 Read the following proverbs:
1. The cook stood still and looked the bush was full of good wood.
2. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
3. A sound mind in a sound body.
4. A green wound is soon healed.
5. I wouldn’t like to be in your shoes.
6. Too many cooks spoil the broth.
7. New brooms sweep clean.
8. The proof of the pudding is in the eating.
9. Too good to be true.
10. A little pot is soon hot.
Ex. 5.21 Try to read these tongue-twisters s quick as possible:
Tried to teach two young tooters to toot.
Said the two to the tutor,
Is it harder to toot or
To tutor two tooters to toot?
2. Whatever one toucan can do
Is sooner done by toucans two,
And three toucans (it’s very true)
Can do much more than two can do.
3. How many cookies could a good cook if a good cook could cook cookies?
A good cook could cook as much cookies as a good cook who could cook cookies.
TEST
I
1. Transcribe the following words:
Four, boot, cook, young, couple, good, proud, round, look,foolish, food, sour, moon, loose, pronoun.
2.
Sort out the words according to the reading of vowel digraphs:
Borough, brought, tough, bough, thorough, ought, drought, dough, though, bought, sough, slough, pool, root, room, sooth, tootle, took, wooden, hooves, hook, foolhardy, footer, bootlegger, booklet.
3.
Translate the following utterances and transcribe the words in bold type:
1. After that she divorced from her husband and left her work, she was in a slough.
2. The wound was fatal and there was no hope for his rescue.
TEST
II
1
. Transcribe the following words:
Nutritious, food, young, neighbour, childhood, fourteen hours, joyous
cousin, wooden house, took, roomy, would.
2.
Sort out the words according to the reading of vowel digraphs:
Ooze, poor, floor, enough, choose, soul, book, southern, ounce, blood,
should, account, poultry, flood, too, could, mould, youth, rough,
trouble, mould, broach, bloom, tooth, tourist.
3.
Translate the following utterances and transcribe the words in bold type:
1. The little girl very was very frightened, when she saw a slough of a snake on a stone.
2. A man was injured, he had a wound.
6. Reading of Unstressed Vowels
Vowels in unstressed syllables in disyllabic and polysyllabic words usually denote the neutral sound [ə] and short [ı].
1. The letters ‘e’, ‘i’, ‘y’ denote the sound [ı]: rocket, bandit, funny.
2. The letters ‘a’, ‘o’, ‘u’ denote the sound [ə]: Poland, bottom, cactus.
BUT -age [ı] (message), -ate [ə/ı] (delicate), -ible [ı/ə] (terrible).
3. The letter combinations ‘vowel + the letter ‘r” give the neutral [ə]: dollar, dinner, doctor, nature.
4. In the letter combination ‘vowel + vowel + consonant’ (-ial, -ion, -our, -ous etc.) we pronounce the neutral [ə]: initial, division, labour, generous.
5. In the letter combinations ‘vowel + consonant + consonant
(+ consonant/vowel)’ (-able, -ance, -ent etc.) we pronounce [ə]: capable, attendance, student.
6. In the letter combinations ‘consonant + vowel + consonant (+ vowel)’ we can pronounce:
a) the neutral [ə]: freedom;
b) the neutral [ə] or short [ı]: careless;
c) the neutral [ə] or short [υ]: awful.
7. The letters ‘o’ and ‘u’ in an open syllable and after a stressed syllable have their primary long meanings: sambo [əυ], costume [ju:].
8. An unstressed vowel is not pronounced, as a rule, in the following cases:
a) e+ l\n (at the end of a word): seven [\sevn];
b) i+l (at the end of a word): pupil [\pju:pl];
c) o+n (at the end of a word): lesson [\lesn]
Ex. 6.1 Read the riddles. Try to guess the right answer. Transcribe the underlined words, explain the rules.
1) A man looks at the photo and says: “Brothers and sisters I have none, but this man’s father is my father’s son.” What relation is the man in the photograph to the man who is looking at it?
2) There is a question to which you never answer “yes”. What question is it?
3) What is it that looks like a ball,
But stands still and does not fall
off its thin and graceful leg?
Children like to turn it round,
Lakes and rivers are there found.
Countries, states and their towns
You can see on it all round.
Ex. 6.2 (
a) Listen to the poem. Circle the words which rhyme.
Mr. Porter loves his pasta.
No one else can eat it faster.
Mr. Porter’s sister Rita,
Buys the pasta by the metre.
Mr. Porter’s older daughter,
Boils it all in tubs of water.
b)Learn the rhyme.
The Time-table of Lazy-bones Grundy
Lazy-bones Grundy
Must do sums for Monday.
“And today it is Thursday”,
Says lazy-bones Grundy,
“So I’ll do it on Wednesday,
If not – then on Thursday,
Or even on Friday”,
Says lazy-bones Grundy.
Not very soon comes Friday
And Saturday comes,
But lazy-bones Grundy
Has no time for sums.
“Never mind”, says Grundy,
“I’ll do it on Sunday.”
So this time-table
Of lazy-bones Grundy.
Ex. 6.3 Transcribe the following words and divide them into three columns: [ju:], [əυ], [ə]
Tribune, monotony, statue, samba, cactus, attribute, customs, gratitude, ambulance, monogram, common, also, tempo, recognize.
Ex. 6.4 Pay attention to the full quality of the unstressed vowels and explain the rule:
a) mambo, canto, tempo, dingo, banjo, fresco, motto, tango, salvo, stucco, Plato, photo, solo, memo, credo, veto, Pluto, silo;
b) commune, costume, capsule, formula, circular, occupant.
Ex. 6.5
a) Listen. In each sentence or phrase there are two vowels which are not [ə]. Circle them (
Example: an apple and a banana
1. from Canada to China
2. The parrot was asleep.
3. The cinema was open.
4. the photographer’s assistant
5. a question and an answer
6. a woman and her husband
7. a pasta salad
b) Write the words in the correct part of the table. Then listen and check (
| Orange woman return collect market begin visit asleep Salad teaches needed letter sofa peaches quarter women |
| Vowel in weak syllable = [ə] | Vowel in weak syllable = [І] |
| woman | orange |
Ex. 6.6 Compare the reading of the vowels in stressed and unstressed position. Read the following words:
| land – Holland land – Poland land – Iceland | Man – Frenchman Man – Dutchman Man – Scotchman | Us – cactus Bus – campus Tom – bottom Sum – possum Rack – barrack Lot – ballot Bad – ballad Mock – hammock Lock – hillock |
Ex. 6.7 Pronounce the following words and comment on the reading of unstressed vowels:
Error, terror, horror, chirrup, barrack, mirror;
Ballot, gallop, cactus, census;
Grammar, beggar, collar, cellar, dollar, poplar;
Volga, delta, extra, villa, Sylva, Edna, character, manager;
Baggage, bandage, courage, garbage, message, accurate, adequate, affectionate, approximate, delicate;
Amber, banner, summer, supper, dinner, number, member, butter, pepper, shelter, winter;
Academy, generous, achievement, ailment, golden, deepen, different, patience, fluency, bravery;
Positive, possible, ineligible, invisibility;
Doctor, proctor, tractor, factor, actor.
Ex. 6.8 Read the following words. Note that they have complete vowel reduction.
Britain, curtain, separate, metal, medal;
Interest, model, parcel, travel;
Medicine, professional, revolutionary.
Ex. 6.9 Find the words in which unstressed vowels are not reduced:
1. government, assurance, terrible, crock ware
2. translation, improvable, partial, monotonous
3. meaningless, soluble, wisdom, trainer
4. monkey, canvas, carpet, dismount
Ex. 6.10 Listen and circle the word you hear (
1. Woman or women? What time did the woman\women arrive?
2. Dress or address? Where’s Kate’s dress\address?
3. Manager’s or manages? The team manager’s\manages well.
4. Teacher’s or teaches? The German teaches\teacher’s English.
5. Weight’s or waiter’s? The weight’s\waiter’s heavy.
6. Dancer’s or dances? The woman dancer’s\dances fast.
7. Officer’s or office’s? The officer’s\office’s here.
8. Away or way? Take that away\way.
9. Drive or driver? What a nice driver\drive!
10. Racer’s or races? The racer’s\races finished.
Ex. 6.11 Read the following words and pay attention to the reading of unstressed vowels:
Dizzy, remedial, examination, painful, remedy, extract, fever, giddy, recovery, malady, giddiness, harmful, injury, illness, injection, inflammation capable, record, competitor, chessman, curable, handicap, amateur, sensible, garment, recovery, expert, stressful, careless, judgement, remedy, doctor, patient, medical, inflammation, to operate, ambulance, ointment, prescription, painful, treatment, cancer, ailment.
Ex. 6.12 Write down the unstressed vowels, which the following words have:
clumsy, ointment, stressful, complication, dormitory, treatment, sickness, vitality, surgery, conscious, deficiency, condition, shivery, breathless, ailment, cavity, therapy, bandage, appointment, funny, rocket, nature, dollar, bottom, Poland, costume, samba, attendance, capable, student, message, delicate, freedom, awful, careless.
Ex. 6.13 Choose the words, in which the unstressed vowel is not reduced and has its primary alphabetical meaning. Explain the rule:
Stamina, contest, participant, costume, sedentary, snooker, polo, badminton, racket, victory, samba, hockey.
Ex. 6.14 Extract the words with unstressed vowels and group them according to the sound, which they denote:
Stress is a disease of the twentieth century. Life has never been faster and jobs have never been more stressful than they are today. People have to perform more and more work under difficult and more stressful conditions. Many people suffer from stress and the illness it can cause. But as this situation is becoming recognized, people shouldn’t have to fear comments such as, “He’s had a nervous breakdown. Can’t take the pressure, you know.” This is because more people are recognizing that stress is a natural reaction – it is a reaction of a person’s body to pressure, either from the outside world or from the inner world of emotions and physical organs. We can’t avoid stress. And we can’t help ourselves, or others, until we know more about it. Not all stress is bad and perhaps if we understand it better we could make the most of it.
Ex. 6.15 Find the superfluous word in each group (unstressed vowels):
[ɔ:] – ׀football, ׀terror, ׀record;
[I] – ׀phoneme, ׀profit, ׀fifties;
[æ] – can׀teen, fan׀tastic, sex׀tet;
[e] – sen׀sation, ׀congress, ׀drawback;
[i:] – re׀set, re׀group, e׀lusive.
Ex. 6.16 Transcribe the following words and explain why the unstressed vowel is reduced or not:
| ba׀nana ׀profit pre׀vented ׀tribune ma׀chine ׀ticket ׀statue | po׀litical ׀lovely ׀dangerous ׀movement ׀horrible ׀echo ׀giddy |
Ex. 6.17 Read the limerick and underline the words with [ə], [
I
]:
There once was a student named Bessor
Whose knowledge grew lesser and lesser
It at last grew so small,
He knew nothing at all,
And today he’s a college professor.
Ex. 6.18 Read these twisters and underline the words with [ə], [
I
]:
The hammer man hammers the hammer on the hard highroad.
Little lady Lilly lost her lovely locket. Lucky little Lucy found the lovely locket. Lovely little locket lay in Lucy’s pocket. Lazy little Lucy lost the lovely locket!
Ex. 6.19 Read the proverbs, explain the reading of the unstressed vowels:
1. Appearances are deceitful.
2. Honesty is the best policy.
3. Better late than never.
4. Love is a malady without cure.
5. Little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
6. Don’t make a mountain out of a molehill.
7. Absence makes the heart grow fonder.
8. Accident will happen.
9. Desperate disease must have desperate remedies.
10. Prevention is better than cure.
11. A merry heart is a good medicine.
12. Caution is the parent of cure.
13. To be a cut throat competition.
TEST
Ex. 1 Distribute the words into four groups (one and the same word can be in different groups) according to the reading of unstressed vowels:
| [ə] | [ I ] | [ə/ I ] | primary alph. meaning |
Radio, message, kingdom, hopeless, gratitude, cellar, belong, changeable, divide, downy, also, prepare, deliberate, attribute, deliver, courage, teacher, countable, probable, tempo.
Ex. 2 Find the words with unstressed vowels and explain their reading:
1. Look before you leap.
2. Hasty climbers have sudden falls.
3. If you run after two hares, you’ll catch neither.
4. It’s not cricket.
5. Study sickness, while you are well.
6. Health isn’t valued, till sickness come.
Ex. 3 Transcribe the words:
Samba, gymnastics, glider, contest, spectator, vicious, medical, polo, bicycle, judo, discuss, stamina, marathon, achievement, disqualification.
7. Reading of Consonants
| Letter | Meaning(s) | Examples | ||
| Bb | [b] | Boy, baby | ||
| Cc | [s] – before e, i, y [k] [∫] – before unstressed vowels | City, cycle Come , cat Social, musician, delicious, special | ||
| Dd | [d] – after vowels & voiced consonants in endings [t] – after voiceless consonants in endings | Played, rained Stopped, watched | ||
| Ff | [f] [v] | Fine, film of | ||
| Gg | [dʒ] – before e, i, y [g] [ʒ] – in words of French origin | Gym, gentle, angel Game !!!girl,get,give Garage, rouge, beige | ||
| Hh | [h] | Hello, hamster | ||
| Jj | [dʒ] | Jane, joy | ||
| Kk | [k] | Kettle, kitchen | ||
| Ll | [l] | Lemon, little | ||
| Mm | [m] | Money, mirror | ||
| Nn | [n] | Nose, novel | ||
| Pp | [p] | Pepper, pick | ||
| | [k] – at the end of words [kw] | Unique, technique Quarrel, quality | ||
| Rr | [r] | Right, reality | ||
| Ss | [s] – at the beginning of words, after voiceless consonants in endings [z] – after vowels & voiced consonants at the end of a word; between two vowels [∫] [ʒ] | Son, stops, caps Mends, loses, advertise, present impression, sugar Measure, pleasure, | ||
| Tt | [t] [t∫]– in words ending in -ure [∫]–when followed by a letter i in many suffixed words | Take, water Nature, future, Nation, education, initial, ambition | ||
| Vv | [v] | Van, cover | ||
| Ww | [w] | Wood, wet | ||
| Xx | [ks] [k∫]\[gz] [gʒ] – before a stressed vowel | Box, fox, mixture Luxury\ luxurious Luxury | ||
| Zz | [z] | Zero, zebra | ||
| | | | ||
READING OF “c, g, j”
Ex. 7.1 Read the following words according to the rules and find exceptions:
| college scoff science cyclist screen occupy cinema scenery soccer canteen success | get gallery German give general begin goal genus game ginger gather | jar judge jelly join joke justice jungle July Jump Job journalist |
Ex. 7.2 Put the words into the right column and find exceptions if there are any:
| [k] | [s] | [g] | [d3] |
| | | | |
Cc: biscuit, cake, can, cap, car, cat, carpet, carry, chocolate, cinema, city, class, clean, clear, clerk, clever, clock, close, coat, come, concert, cook, cool, count, cousin, cow, cucumber, cup, cure, dance, December, doctor, face, race, factory, ice-cream, pencil, picture, place, quick, second, secretary, uncle.
Gg: august, begin, finger, flag, game, garden, get, girl, give, go, good, goose, grandfather, grass, great, green, grey, ground, jug, jungle, large, leg, orange, page, pig, porridge, tiger, village, engineer, giraffe, cage, German, together, forget, egg, dog, again, agree, angry, England, hungry, glass.
Ex. 7.3 Find the odd word:
1. cap, candle, centre, cosy, council.
2. gold, gum, gossip, game, give.
3. curriculum, century, ceramic, circle, cycle.
4. gentle, gerund, giant, gymnast, get.
5. cake, call, cease, cause.
6. gas, gentleman, ginger, gymnastics.
7. get, gain, give, begin.
8. scissors, scientific, scarf, scene.
Ex. 7.4 Add the word according to the rule:
1. career, car, can, capital, ...
2. century, centre, cite, Cyprus, ...
3. gallery, gamble, garlic, governmental, ...
4. gentle, general, gibber, gymnasium, ...
Ex. 7.5 Indicate how the letter c is pronounced in the words: [s], [∫], [k].
| 1. success – 2. juice – 3. sufficient – 4. anchor – 5. accept – 6. scientific – 7. chemist – | 8. appreciate – 9. balcony – 10. proficiency – 11. decide – 12. clown – 13. precious – 14. tobacco – |
Ex. 7.6 Indicate how the letter g is pronounced in the words: [g], [d3].
| 1. religion – 2. geography – 3. bridge – 4. beggar – 5. gear – 6. figure – 7. hamburger – 8. guilty - | 9. engineer – 10. giant – 11. oxygen – 12. guard – 13. gypsy – 14. regulator – 15. bargain – 16. government – |
Ex.
| statisti_ che___ pani_ing _riti_al mimi_ing traffi_er mista_e | inspe_tor heada_e _ustoms traffi_ musi_al terrifi_ uni__ | pani_ basi_ te_ni__ lu__ pi_ni_ che__ _ids | pi_ni_ing tru_ wal_ basi_ally drin_ mimi_ athleti_ally |
Ex. 7.8 Underline the letters which are pronounced [∫] in the following sentences.
List the ways you found to spell this sound.
1. If you are an ambitious language learner, you should work hard on pronunciation and dictation.
2. So, after graduation you will be able to do translation and hold conversation taking part in negotiations.
3. He is impatient to go to the exhibition. Its expositions resulted from the exploration of the culture of ancient civilizations.
4. If you are anxious about future generations, please take part in our conversation project.
5. I don’t think I need your permission to go on an excursion.
6. Flies spread infectious disease. You’d better take measures against them.
7. I’m sure we won’t finish our work without financial support from a social organization.
Ex. 7.9 Fill in the missing letters s or z. Some words can be spelt both ways.
1. I must apologi_e for disturbing you so late.
2. Do you want to try on this sweater? I think it’s your si_e.
3. Everybody was surpi_ed at his calm.
4. She received the Nobel Pri_e for phy_ics.
5. What do you think of medicine adverti_ing on TV?
6. The doctor advi_ed him to take more exerci_e.
7. My parents do not sympathi_e with my ambition to go on a stage.
8. I could hardly recogni_e him. He looked different in his new suit.
9. Stop critici_ing everybody! Mind yourself!
10. It was very wi_e of you not to go there.
Ex. 7.10 Read the proverbs. Explain the rules of reading.
1. To let the cat out of the bag.
2. Appearances are deceitful.
3. The devil is not so black as it is painted.
4. The tongue is not steel, yet it cuts.
5. To stew in one’s own juice.
6. Well begun is half done.
7. The game is not worth the candle.
READING OF ENDINGS -(e)s, -(e)d
The ending -(e)s of plural forms of nouns and of the 3rd singular present indefinite of verbs is read
| | how | when |
| a) | [s] | after voiceless consonants; |
| b) | [z] | after vowels, voiced consonants and sonorants; |
| c) | [ız] | after [s], [z], [∫], |
The ending-(e)d of regular forms of verbs is read
| | how | when |
| a) | [d] | after vowels, voiced consonants and sonorants; |
| b) | [t] | after voiceless consonants |
| c) | [ıd] | after [t], [d] |
Ex. 7.11 (
Each line contains either verbs or adjectives ending in <-ed>, or verbs or nouns ending in <-s>. Decide which is the odd one out in terms of the way that the ending is pronounced. Then check your answer with the recording.
Example: seas picks pays digs
| 1 | picked | stopped | robbed | taped |
| 2 | wanted | shaped | estimated | congratulated |
| 3 | shops | digs | robs | codes |
| 4 | judges | horses | names | wishes |
| 5 | trapped | faked | hoped | faded |
| 6 | wicked | picked | tricked | licked |
Ex. 7.12 Read the words according to the rule:
a) with the ending -(e)s
inches, hands, chiefs, shoes, maps, boxes, safes, dishes, machines, roofs, classes, wives, babies, benches, books, bottles, boys, brings, burns, buzzes, cages, capes, cars, catches, cats, checks, clashes, clings, clocks, crooks, dates, dishes, doctors, dresses, edges, faces, feeds, fetches, fifths, fingers, foxes, gains, gnats, hooks, hopes, horses, jobs, kites, knives, knows, ladies, leaps, lies, matches, moths, noses, nurses, pages, papers, parts, phones, pies, picks, pipes, places, pumps, roses, seats, sites, skies, sofas, swims, taxes, teachers, thinks, ties, trays, wages, waves, weeks, wives, writers.
b) with the ending -(e)d
acted, added, advised, agreed, begged, called, camped, carried, compiled, composed, concreted, concurred, crashed, decided, defended, differed, dressed, ended, enjoyed, entered, explained, failed, finished, fired, followed, founded, handed, hoped, hurried, joked, listed, listened, looked, marked, mended, opened, packed, painted, placed, pronounced, pumped, reminded, rested, rounded, sacked, shouted, seemed, seized, skated, smoked, started, stayed, robbed, tacked, talked, turned, typed, waited, walked, washed, packed, arrived, moved, worked, played, needed, smashed, ended.
Ex. 7.13 Put the words into columns:
a) with the ending -(e)s
| [s] | [z] | [Iz] |
| | | |
Cats, touches, drops, pencils, coats, poses, gods, cured, ports, causes, fits, its, adds, tends, courses, boxes, mottos, toes, heroes, saves, boxes, spies, memories, tomatoes, drivers, potatoes, matches, plays, pockets, fingers, sources, marches, invalids, secrets.
b) with the ending -(e)d
| [t] | [d] | [Id] |
| | | |
Forced, recorded, swamped, saved, treated, brushed, connected, viewed, waited, stopped, used, enjoyed, needed, tended, dressed, helped, danced, opened, played, counted, decided, answered, wanted, cried, studied, traveled, used, skipped, stopped, hated, trusted, published, switched, named, sounded.
Ex. 7.14 Find the odd word:
1) noses, pieces, years, dresses, dollies.
2) stopped, used, traveled, smelled, agreed.
3) pens, hens, pets, lessons, heads.
4) coasted, ended, resulted, resisted, suffered.
5) tips, backs, points, models.
6) places, matches, cases, shocks.
7) passed, worked, dropped, needed.
8) hated, promoted, landed, licked.
Ex. 7.15 Add the word according to the rule:
1) toys, arms, fingers, hairs, ...
2) displeased, smelled, pervaded, ...
3) secrets, tickets, shocks, foots, ...
4) hands, legs, years, eyes, ...
Ex. 7.16 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
↓
| spots | squares | prize | since | six | sports |
| streets | wise | sells | sits | exact | escapes |
| rice | rise | sense | science | lose | lost |
| oasis | desert | smokes | songs | crisps | box |
| place | face | snacks | seas | voice | boxes |
| plays | phase | nose | smiles | focus | concert |
↑finish
Ex. 7.17 The pronunciation of the possessive “s” is the same as for plural endings. For example: Peter’s [z], John’s [z], Philips [s], Steph’s [s], Gearge’s [
I
z], Alice’s [
I
z].
Put the words in italics in the correct column, according to the pronunciation of the possessive “s”.
| a month’s holiday Jane’s dog the horse’s mouth Joe’s ambition Uncle Toby’s Mr. Walsh’s car Beth’s doll the judge’s decision | Liz’s mother the Jones’s children the government’s duty the boys’ father the world’s resources a wasp’s nest a week’s pay |
| [z] | [s] | [ I z] |
| | | |
Ex. 7.18 Read the text, underline the past verbs with –ed ending and explain the rule of reading.
Robin Tailor was born in Birmingham on the 27th of December 1958. His mother died the same day. Mr. and Mrs. Taylor adopted him. In 1960, the Taylor family immigrated to Perth in Western Australia. Last year, Robin was in Britain on holiday. He traveled to Birmingham and asked about his family. He discovered that he had a twin brother! Robin phoned a BBC radio programme and told his story. He asked for information about his brother. That afternoon he received a phone call from Perth in Scotland. The next day he went to Scotland and met his brother for the first time.
Ex. 7.19 Read the proverbs. Explain the rules of reading.
1. He laughs best who laughs last.
2. What can’t be cured must be endured.
3. Exception proves the rule.
4. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
5. Where the shoe pinches.
6. When in Rome, do as the Romans do.
7. It’s the early bird that catches the worm.
8. The devil is not so black as it’s painted.
9. Still waters run deep.
READING OF COMBINATIONS OF VOWELS WITH CONSONANTS
| Letter combination | Sound | Examples |
| O + ld I+nd A+ s + consonant A+ n + consonant A+ th Al+k W+a W+ar W+or ow | [əυ] [aı] [ɑ:] [ɔ:] [ɒ] [ɔ:] [3:] [əυ], [aυ] | Cold, gold Wild, child Kind, find High, night Class, past Plant, dance Path, father All, ball, wall Talk, walk, chalk Want, was War, warm Word Row, cow |
Ex. 7.20 Read the following words containing combination of vowels and consonants:
[əυ] cold, fold, hold, bold, gold, told, sold;
[aı] wild, mild, child,;
[aı] kind, mind, find, bind, blind, rind.
[a:] class, fast, ask, plant, bath, pass, past, task, grant, path, glass, cast, bask, can’t, father, grass, vast, basket, shan’t, brass, mask, branch.
[ɔ:] all, small, ball, fall, call, stall, tall, wall.
[ɒ] was, wash, what, want, watch, quality;
[aυ] now, how, cow, down, town, clown, brown, crowd, crown, flower, power, tower;
[əυ] row, own, slow, grow, snow, glow, show, throw, know
Ex. 7.21 Which word in the pair has more predictable spelling?
| warm –charm cork – work wart –dart worm – storm window - binding | worm – squirm want – pant word – lord call – shall eight – height |
Ex. 7.22 Find the odd word:
Target, farm, warm, market, barking.
Word, work, world, war, worse.
Behind, bind, wind, mind, blind.
Call, shall, tall, also, always.
Howl, jowl, crown, throw, coward.
Own, borrow, pillow, tower, crow.
Dance, can’t, bathroom, past, east.
Warship, quality, watch, wash, was.
Pond, gold, sold, behold, scold.
Ex. 7.23 Find the homophones:
side/ stalk/ hold/ might/ bold/ knight/ sight/ won/ site/ holed/ stork/ bowled/ night/ one/ sighed/ mite
Ex 7.24 Find the rhymes:
a) warm/ calm/ heard/ polite/ want/ show/ world/ aunts/ what/ work/ stalk/ bite
b) ago/ farm/ dance/ fight/ pot/ pond/ whirled/ perk/ night/ fork/ storm/ word
Ex. 7.25 (
Listen to the recording and decide which names you hear.
Example: I’ve invited ____Pete___ to join us.
a) Pete b) Peter c) Pet
1. I’ve just been talking to __________________.
a) Jan Lipman b) Jane Lipman c) Jane Leapman d) Jan Leapman
2. I’ve just got a letter from __________________.
a) Eryl b) Meryl
3. Can I speak to _____________, please?
a) Mick Wilson b) Mike Wilson c) Mack Wilson d) Mark Wilson
4. I haven’t seen ____________ for ages.
a) Mary b) Marie
5. Could you give this to __________, please?
a) Lucille b) Lucy
6. I think that’s ___________ over there.
a) Peter Bales b) Peter Vales c)Pete Bales d) Pete Vales
7. Have you met _________________?
a) Barbara Eaton b) Barbara Heaton c) Barbie Eaton d) Barbie Heaton
8. I’ve invited _______________ as well.
a) Joe Newman b) Joan Newman
9. That’s _________________, I think.
a) Sir Ralph b) Sir Alf
10. I think that’s ____________over there.
a) Sue Weedon b) Sue Eden
11. Is ___________ here today?
a) Gert b) Curt
12. I’m going with ___________ to the cinema.
a) Alec b) Alex
13. Have you seen ____________ recently?
a) Rita b) Lita
14. I hear that ___________has got a new job.
a) Bet b) Beth c) Betty d) Bess
15. Isn’t that ________over there?
a) Carl b) Carla
Ex. 7.26 (
Look at and listen to these pairs of words.
a. Peter and pepper. These start with the same consonant sound [p], but the following vowel sound is different: [׀pi:tə], [׀pepə].
b. Peter and pizza. These start with the same three sounds: [׀pi:tə] and [׀pi:tsə].
Now read the following pairs of words. How many identical sounds do they start with? Listen to the recording to check how they are pronounced.
Examples:
Peter/ pepper – 1 Peter/pizza – 3
1. Kate \ cake __ 9. Penny \ pizza __
2. Charles \ chocolate ___ 10. Margery \margarine ___
3. Oliver \ olives ___ 11. Barbara \ bananas ___
4. Tom \ tomatoes ___ 12. Sam \ salmon ___
5. Susan \ sugar ___ 13. Colin \ cola ___
6. Salome \ salami ___ 14. Brenda \ bread ___
7. Pat \ pasta ___ 15. Jim \ gin ___
8. Patty \ pastry ___ 16. Raymond \ radishes ___
Ex. 7.27
a) Put the following words into the correct column according to the pronunciation of”-ough”:
Cough, through, plough, fought, thought, tough, nought, ought, drought, borough, bough, sought, bought, dough, though, enough, rough, thorough
| [ ɔ : ] | [ ʌ f] | [ ɒ f] | [u:] | [ə] | [ə ʊ] | [ a ʊ] |
b) Add two more words into each group:
caught, cuff, burglar, glow, stew, toffee, groan, snuff, warn, queue, terror, doubt, frown, off.
8. Mute Consonants
| Mute letter | Combinations of letters | Examples |
| b | bt mb | Doubt, subtle,climb but: obtain Bomb, comb, lamb, tomb |
| c | sc | Scissors, scene, muscle |
| d | Before consonants | Wednesday, handsome |
| g | gn gm | Sign, sovereign, gnat, resign, but: pregnant, magnet Paradigm, gnome |
| h | wh rh, h gh kh | Which, white, where, what Rhyme, hour, exhibition, honor Ghost, gherkin Khaki, khan |
| gh | igh | High, light, weight, fight |
| k | kn | Know, knife, knight, knee |
| l | ld (only in words) lf alk lm | Could, would, should Half, calf, but: golf, wolf Talk, walk, chalk Calm, psalm, but: film |
| n | nm | Autumn, column, condemn |
| p | pn pt ps | Pneumonia, pneumatic Receipt, but: helicopter, September, raptorial Psychology, psalm, but: laps, perhaps |
| r | after vowels | Far, farm, girl, turn, term |
| s | sl | Island, isle |
| t | ften stle sten | Often, soften Whistle, castle Listen, fasten |
| w | wh (before –o) wr sw | Who, whose, whom, whole Writer, playwright, wrong, wrestling Answer, but: swallow, swan, sweet |
Ex. 8.1 Find the homophones:
Lamb/ wood/ receipt/ rime/ hole/right/ reseat/ knew/ fought/ whine/ reign/ lam/ rain/ new/ fort/ wine/ would/ rhyme/ write/ whole.
Ex. 8.2 Find the rhymes:
Farm, boom, delight, hurl, gate, design, sign, who, calm, threw, court, reign, alarm, height, gloom, bite, polite, refine, weight, whirl, pine, chew, caught, refrain, incite, womb, psalm, night, charm, tomb, through, balm.
Ex. 8.3 Choose the odd word:
when, which, whose, where
lump, limb, lamb, comb
calm, palm, film, balm
knapsack, knowledge, knick-knack, acknowledge
Gypsy, pseud, perhaps, eclipse
pseudonym, psychosis, trapshooting, psyche.
Ex. 8.4 Choose the appropriate word:
1. That was really a very courageous _______.
a) knight b) night
2. She doesn’t _____ _____ her necklace is.
a) no, were b) know, where
3. He ______ his father was coming home because he heard his horse’s _______.
a) new, slay b) knew, sleigh
4. He became an ________ of a tremendous fortune after his ________ death.
a) heir, father’s b) air, father’s
5. The troops had to _____ the river.
a) wade b) weight
6. The rose was very beautiful but the thorns on the _______ hurt my fingers.
a) stork b) stalk
7. The king’s ________ his spouse’s glance and understood everything.
a) court b) caught
8. It was the first day of ______ for the ______.
a) rain, shake b) reign, sheikh
Ex. 8.5 Correct the mistakes:
I got court in the reign this morning and got wet threw.
I’d like to get some fire-would.
I no wot you mean.
I always get aches and peigns in winter.
We booked the tickets threw the Internet.
She can’t weight for you.
It’s very hot there, she won’t knead her fur-coat.
Rite! That’s the correct variant.
Ex. 8.6 Complete the word by adding the silent letter.
1. An _onest man never tells lies.
2. _hose spectacles are these?
4. The spirit of a dead person is called a g_ost.
5. Do you hear someone _nocking at the window?
6. His _nowledge of the subject is rather poor.
7. The clock strikes every _our.
8. I’m afraid he’s caught _neumonia.
9. You’d better _rap her present up.
10. If you don’t want to forget, tie _not in your handkerchief.
9. Reading of English Consonant Clusters
English sibilants and interdental sounds which don’t have their equivalents in the Latin alphabet are denoted by combinations of consonants, the second element of which is “h”, e. g. she, chain, thus, three.
All the combinations of consonants, except “sh”, have the primary and the secondary sound meanings. The combinations of consonants are read in the primary sound meaning in most English words. In the words of foreign origin they are read in their secondary meaning.
| Cluster | Sound | Where | Examples |
| ch | [t∫] [k] [∫] [d3] [h] | Geek and Latin French | cheap, chair, watch ache, school machinery, chef sandwich, spinach Loch |
| th | [θ] [t] [ð] | word end and beginning proper names between and before vowels | throw, tooth Thomas, Thailand this, leather |
| ph | [v] [f] | Greek and Latin | Stephen philosophy, phonetics |
| sh | [∫] | | shelf, wash |
READING OF “ng, nk”
| Cluster | Sound | Where | Examples |
| ng | [ŋ] | In final position or before suffixes –er, -est, -ed, -ing | Sing, singing, singer |
| ng | [ŋg] | In the middle of a root word | Anger, hunger but angel, conglomerate, congratulate |
| nk | [ŋk] | Any position | Ink, pink |
READING OF LETTER “n”
The leter “n” denotes:
[n] in prefixes – con, - non, - in, -un (income, nonsense, confident, unread)
[ŋ] before: c, k ([k] function, tank), ck, qu ([k] conquer, ancker), xi ([k∫] anxious),
g ([g] England, longer), the suffixes and endings –er, -est, -ed, -ing (sing, singer, singing).
Ex. 9.1 Read the words with letter “n”:
| condition tranquil non-stop confidential constant cleanest | hank infamous unbroken conquer singing interrupt | hang anxious lighting fore-finger unconscious inkpot |
Ex. 9.2 Transcribe the following words and divide them into groups according to the reading of the combinations of consonants:
linked, wings, inkpot, jungle, anxious, mounting, singer, single, anger, anxious, nonsense, eating, finger, income, function, conquer, having, confident, eaten, English, concentration, nonplus, indirect, frank, hanger, linked, wings, jungle, anxious, mounting, condition, nonunion, invisible, tank, function, belonged, nice, can't, sing, incredible, land, giant, pane, strong, bringing, long, banker.
Ex. 9.3 Find the odd word:
1. jungle, nonsense, Frank, sorting, single.
2. uneasy, nonplus, convention, English, irritation.
3. ring, tongue, boring, chunk, conversion.
4. dinner, convenient, nonstop, involve, undid.
5. unclaimed, nonsense, link, inhale.
6. finger, hang, frank, stronger.
7. singer, hanger, belonged, doing.
Ex. 9.4 Add the word according to the rule:
1. informal, non-aggression, unable, ...
2. tank, frank, hank, ...
3. longer, stronger, younger, ...
4. sung, wing, finger, ...
5. consult, industry, indulge, ...
6. stinks, tank, inkpot, ...
7. boring, sorting, lying, ...
Ex. 9.5 Find the way from Start to Finish. You may pass a square only if the word
in it has the sound [ŋ]. You can move horizontally or vertically only.
Start ↓
| sing | think | thick | strong | wrong | rung |
| sign | uncle | unless | drug | strange | comb |
| thanks | angry | signal | drank | English | finger |
| anxious | angel | single | monkey | money | young |
| language | tongue | skiing | skin | came | ink |
| lounge | danger | band | dream | swim | wing |
↑ Finish
Ex. 9.6 Explain the rules of reading in these proverbs:
1. What is done cannot be undone.
2. Wars the sport of kings.
3. He who swims in sin will sink in sorrow.
4. The proof of the pudding is in the eating.
5. Better unborn than untaught.
6. Honey is sweet but the bee stings.
Ex. 9.7 Join consonant clusters with the sounds they can denote. There are 4 sounds that don’t fit here.
| [d3] | [t] | [t∫] | [v] | [ð] |
| [s] | CH SH TH NG PH NK | [n] | ||
| [ŋk] | [h] | |||
| [f] | [θ] | |||
| [g] | [ŋ] | [∫] | [k] | [ŋg] |
Find the word with each sound:
Chandelier, worth, anger, triumph, Anthony, sandwich, cheekbone, Stephen, shrewd, bang, Frank, than, monarchy
Ex. 9.8 Find the odd word according to the way of the reading of consonant clusters:
1. accept, success, soccer, accede, access, accent.
2. anchor, young, conquer, conclude, function.
3. think, thunder, throne, thyme, thick, thing.
4. chaos, chord, stomach, monarchy, chaste.
5. tooth, scythe, truth, thumb, throw, thin.
6. go, gargle, gage, glove, stage, give.
7. chef, chic, champagne, charade, chick.
Ex. 9.9 Sort out the words into columns according to the reading of consonant clusters.
Machinery, scheme, scythe, child, Thames, weather, chef, Christmas, Thompson, chick, than, chic, chord, chalice, cliché, Chaos, neither, thyme, thrift, cheek, though, thorn, thaw, thief.
Ex. 9.10
Find a way from start to finish. You may pass a square only if the word in it has the sound [θ]. You can move horizontally of vertically.
| north | northern | either | weather | breathe | those |
| south | bath | bathe | thought | breath | youth |
| southern | third | their | through | though | thumb |
| Thailand | cloth | path | fifth | with | worth |
| month | clothes | these | brother | that | teeth |
| throw | thing | author | other | they | |
Finish
Ex. 9.11
Complete this rhyme using words from the box. Then listen and check (
| Earth | another | Heather | together | brother | birth | neither | either | mothers | brothers |
Arthur had a brother
And he didn’t want another.
And of the brothers, ______
Wanted sisters _____ .
The last thing on this_____
They wanted was a _____.
So Arthur’s mother _____
Got them both _____,
And told them all good _____
Should learn to share their _____.
Ex. 9.12 Listen and circle the word you hear(
1. Youth or use? There’s no youth\use talking about that.
2. Thought or taught? I don’t know what she thought\taught.
3. Free or three? Free\Three refills with each packet!
4. Closed or clothed? They weren’t fully closed\clothed.
5. Breeding or breathing? They’ve stopped breeding\breathing.
6. These are or visa? These are\Visa problems we can deal with later.
Ex. 9.13 Practice reading the following words observing the rules of reading of consonant clusters:
a) Sheep, fish, Lewisham, mishap, ghost, rough, high, eight, daughter, Ghana, ghastly, ghee, gherkin, ghetto, ghillie, ghoul, Ghana, ghee, gharry, ghoulish, shoulder, shovel, show off, shrewd, shrink, Zhirinovsky, Zhukov, Zhivago, Zhejiang, Zhang, Zhuhai, photograph, shepherd, Stephen, Clapham, nephew, cheap, chair, charm, scheme, school, ache, cholesterol, chemistry, machinery, clef, sandwich, Charles, charter, charka, charivari, chateau, chauffeur, cheekbone, Chaucer, chauvinism, Chihuahua, chloral, choir, cholera, cholinesterase, pharmacology, pharyngeal, phoneme, phonetic, physiotherapy, phthisis, phylum
b) Wristband, knout, wryneck, Khachaturian, wreathe, Khan, Khyber, khanate, pneumothorax, Knox, knuckle, wrongheaded, Khrushchev, knurl, knockdown.
Ex. 9.14 Read the proverbs; explain the reading of consonant clusters:
The tongue is not steel, yet it cuts.
Exception proves the rule.
Where the shoe pinches.
Don’t cross the bridge till you get to it.
Physicians mend or end us.
Neither fish nor flesh.
A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.
A watched pot never boils.
A drowning man will catch at a straw.
Little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
Ex. 9.15 Practice reading the following homophones:
Homophones are words (or combinations of words)
ü which sound the same, but are spelled differently and have different meanings: e.g. meet and meat, seen and scene.
ü There are some examples of one word sounding like a combination of words: e.g. heed and he’d.
ü Sometimes three words (or combinations of words) sound exactly the same: e.g. I’ll, isle and aisle.
Ø scent – a distinctive smell, sent – the past tense of send
Ø scene – the place where an event takes place, seen – the past tense of see
Ø site – a piece of land, cite – to quote
Ø session – the meeting of a court, cession – the act of ceding
Ø scull – rowing motion, skull – head bone
Ø sic – to set upon, sick- ill
Ø sink – to submerge, synch – together in time
Ø soared – to have sailed through the air, sword – long fighting blade
Ø sucker – one who sucks, succor – relief
Ø plum – purple fruit, plumb – straight up and down
Ø profit – money earned, prophet – seer
Ø bark – outer sheath of a tree, barque – square-rigged sailing ship
Ø bloc – an alliance, block – square object
Ø bold – brave, bowled – knocked over
Ø boll – round seed pod, bowl – dish
Ø borough – township, burrow – dig into the ground
Ø bough – tree branch, bow – front of a ship, respectful bend
Ø burger – meat sandwich, burgher – merchant
Ø but – excepting, butt – the thick end
Ex. 9.16
Spot the homophones 1
isle / bard / beer / bored / caught / night / pale / cawed / chord / sly / died / dyer / cored/ dough / flawed / toed / pear / meal / floored / teas / knew / heard / soar / heal / lacks / lax / male / steer / we’ll / maize / might / slay / dead / stair / mite / breaks / knight / towed / dire / knit / weight / herd / seam / aisle / he’ll / nit / tees / new / pail / bier / board / barred / pare / doe / pair / rain court / bared / dyed / heel / reign / saw / mail / sore / I’ll / seem / maze / sleigh / stare / tease / toad / wait / wheel
Some of these words do not form pairs of homophones.
Ex. 9.17
Spot the homophones 2
In the following conversation a large number of words have been replaced by homophones. Spot where they have been used and decide how the words should be written.
- Lousy whether we’ve been having recently. (=Lousy weather…)
- We haven’t been having much son, that’s for shore. I got court in the reign this mourning and got wet threw.
- Me two. And how about that cold missed first thing? I went out bear headed to get sum fire-would and haven’t bean warm since. And my hands got quite saw as well. Really roar, they feel.
- I no watcher mean. I always get aches and panes in the winter. Anyway, weir off to get some son necks tweak. Weave booked a few daze in Singerpoor.
- Yes, I herd you had. Lucky yew! Still, I shouldn’t mown. We flue to Florida last cheer, witch was really nice, and it’s only fore weeks till we visit my sun and daughter-in lore in Roam. Haven’t scene them for rages. We only maid the booking yesterday, threw the internet. Mary’s already pact; she can’t weight.
- Well, tell her she won’t knead her fir coat any weigh.
- Rite. Oh Kay. Aisle sea you later.
- Buy. See ewe a round.
Some of the homophones show that this is fast, informal speech.
Ex. 9.18 Transcribe the following words:
Shop, fish, this, English, shot, three, cheese, something, thus, months, catch, through, that, child, chef, these, those, thirst, third, chop, shelf, anxious, trophy, scholarship, changes, England, machinery, gage, judge, science, echo, tongues, income, scheme.
Ex. 9.19 (
A In each line, identify the word that has a different first consonant sound. Read them first, then listen to the recording to check.
Example: friend priest physical philosophy
| 1 | kettle | car | circle | catch |
| 2 | these | thank | think | thread |
| 3 | when | which | whose | where |
| 4 | church | choir | cheap | chart |
| 5 | plenty | prince | piano | pneumatic |
| 6 | number | know | moon | gnaw |
B In each line, identify the word that has a different final consonant sound. Then listen to the recording to check.
| 1 | picked | rubbed | fact | bought |
| 2 | dragged | road | dropped | hide |
| 3 | cough | safe | roof | of |
| 4 | packs | ox | begs | pats |
| 5 | lump | chasm | limb | name |
| 6 | sock | music | arch | ache |
Ex. 9.20 Practice reading the following twisters:
1. Have judgement not to judge this judgement judging by people’s judgement.
2. Each child has much chance to become the champion of the match.
3. This is a thick thimble.
4. A handsome singer sang an exciting song in English.
TEST
I. Find the odd word in the line:
1. Guide, gas, general, glass, globe
2. Crimson, music, lens, always, research
3. Initiative, negotiate, transition, completion, station.
II. Explain assimilation(s) in the following words:
Cupboard, nice shoes, twice, try, sweet, plane, pray
III. Mark stresses:
heretical
Arabic
political
Chinese
attention
lunatic
IV. Transcribe the following words:
Psychiatrist, appointment, therapy, tranquilizer, medicinal, malaria, typhoid, hang gliding, windsurf, athletics, steeplechase, draughts, rink, oar, tournament.
10. Revision and Consolidation Practice
Ex. 10.1 Practise the following poem, which illustrates the irregular spelling of English.
HINTS ON PRONUNCIATION FOR FOREIGNERS
I take it you already know
Of tough and bough and cough and dough?
Others may stumble but not you,
On hiccough, thorough, laugh and through…
Well done! And now you wish, perhaps,
To learn of less familiar traps.
Beware of heard: a dreadful word
That looks like beard and sounds like bird.
And dead: it’s said like bed not bead –
For goodness’ sake don’t call it deed.
Watch out for meat and great and threat
(They rhyme with suite and straight and debt!)
A moth is not a moth in mother;
Nor both in bother, broth in brother;
And here is not a match for there,
Nor dear and fear for bear and pear.
And then there’s dose and rose and lose
(Just look them up) and goose and choose,
And cork and work and card and ward,
And font and front and word and sword,
And do and go and thwart and cart…
Come, come! I’ve hardly made a start.
A dreadful language? Man alive!
I’d mastered it when I was five!
I will teach you in my verse
Words like corps, corks, horse, and worse.
For this phonetic labyrinth
Gives monkey, donkey, ninth and plinth;
Wounded, rounded, grieve and sieve;
Friend and fiend; alive and live.
Query does not rhyme with very,
Nor does fury sound like bury.
Dies and diet; lord and word,
Earth and hearth and clerk and herd;
Evil, devil, tomb, bomb, comb;
Doll, roll, dull, bull, some and home.
Finally – for I’ve said enough –
Through though thorough plough cough tough!
While hiccough has the sound of cup…
My advice is: GIVE IT UP!
Put the words which are wholly or partially in italics on the correct line, according
to the pronunciation of the italicized vowel sound. Some have been done for you.
| [ʌ] | tough |
| [aʊ] | bough |
| [ɒ] | cough |
| [əʊ] | |
| [ə] | |
| [ɑ:] | |
| [u:] | |
| [ɜ:] | |
| [ɪə] | |
| [e] | |
| [i:] | |
| [eī] | |
| [ɛə] | |
| [ɔ:] | |
| [aī] | |
| [ɪ] | |
| [ʊ] | |
Ex. 10.2 Group the letters of the English alphabet according to their pronunciation:
O P A C
H D
V F Z J Y
I
U The Alphabet B Q R
M
W G
N E S L
K
T X
| [ i: ] | [ e ] | [ e I ] | [ u: ] | [ a I ] | [ əu ] | [ ɑ : ] |
Ex. 10.3 There is one spelling mistake in each word in the following text. Underline every word which is wrongly spelt. Then write the correct spelling in the space provided at the end of the sentence.
The moon is a natural satellite that travels around the earth (_______). As the moon moves, it seemes to change shape (______). But it does not change sheipe (_____). It has no ligth of its own (_____). When we see the moon, we see sonlight reflected off it (______). We can see the moon only if the lighted part is torned towards Earth (_____). During the full moon, the lighted part of the moon is torned towards Earth (_____). There is no eaar on the moon (____). And it is very hot in the day-time on it (____). It appeares to have no live (_____). Many people wanted to lean more about the moon (_____). Long ago, people used only there eyes to look at the moon (_____). They could not see the moon’s land clealy (_____). Later, a telescope was invanted (______). Since then, people have used telescops to study the moon (_____).
Ex. 10.4 There is one spelling mistake in each line in the following text. Underline every word which is wrongly spelt. Then write the correct spelling in the space provided at the end of the sentence.
Have you ever thought that a person’s apperance ____________
revels more than we realise? According to some _____________
experts, a persons’ face, head, and body can_________________
reveal a great deal about personallity. ______________________
The art of frenology studies the form of the _________________
head, to be more acurate, the bumps on it. __________________
Phrenologists have identified forty bumps of varios ___________
shapes and sises on the human head. They “read _____________
these bumps to identifie a person’s talents and _______________
charactor. For exmple, a bump between the nose _____________
and forhead is said to be present in people who ______________
have natural elegence and love of beauty. A bump ____________
behind the cirve of the ear is the sign of ____________________
a courageous and adventerous person. _____________________
Ex. 10.5 The two words that are written after each sentence sound alike, but have different meanings and spellings (they are called homophones). Fill in the blanks with the correct words to complete each sentence.
1. The _______ spent the ______ in the castle.
A) knight B) night
2. Be sure to ______ your surname on the ______ line.
A) write B) right
3. Have you heard the fairy ______ about the cat with no ______ ?
A) tale B) tail
4. Didn’t you ______ Ann ask you to put the plate______ .
A) here B) hear
5. The ______ on a ______ is called fur.
A) hare B) hair
6. Yesterday the sky was clear ______ and the wind ______ from the north.
A) blue B) blew
7. He decided to ______ his new belt, but he doesn’t know ______ he put it.
A) where B) wear
8. From ______ hundred flowers the prince had to find the flower before it was ______ late.
A) too B) two
9. It is not ______ if some people do not pay their bus ______ .
A) fair B) fare
10. The coach announced which ______ of the teams ______ the game.
A) won B) one
11. We brought a ______ of cool water to the ______ traveler.
A) pail B) pale
12. Do you always ______ the skin off a ______ before you eat it?
A) pare B) pear
13. The Indians wrote the ______ treaty on a ______ of bark.
A) piece B) peace
14. After his illness John felt ______ for a ______ .
A) week B) weak
15. The boat sailed ______ through the ______ .
A) straight B) strait
Ex. 10.6 Correct the spelling mistakes in the letter below:
Deer Jane,
Hear I am in Siberia. We’ve been hear for too weaks now, and I can’t bare the thought of staying in this country any longer.
What dreadful whether! It’s bitterly cold out. When I’m chilled to the bone, I think I’ll never warm up.
Wee leave in a wooden house. It is surrounded with a huge would. The hunter, who lives with us, says that the would is full of beasts. You can walk their and meat a dear or a bear. As for me, I saw a hair’s sine.
Do you think it is fare to leave me hear! I can’t even sleep in piece. Can’t you come and stay with me? The air fair is really not very expensive. Hope to sea you soon. Your Jack.
Ex. 10.7 Find the pairs of homophones hidden in the list below:
Side/ balls/ bear/ bowled/ cue/ ducked/ fort/ work/ grate/ hair/ hare/ bales/ week/ dally/ bald/ hold/ fought/ weekly/ stoke/ walk/ missed/ air/ pure/ packed/ pear/ pore/ where/ pour/ duct/ bore/ seam/ quiet/ sought/ please/ shake/ wade/ sheikh/ pleas/ weakly/ bold/ past/ sighed/ piece/ mist/ wear/ seem/ sight/ slay/ wake/ win/ steak/ stalk/ stroke/ stork/ daily/ stake/ weak/ bare/ holed/ wine/ pact/ bawls/ passed/ wane/ queue/ great/ heir/ pair/ whine/ grant/ sleigh/ same/ weighed/ site/ peace
Ex. 10.8 Each line contains three words that rhyme and one word that doesn’t. Choose the odd one out.
Example: steel peal stale peel
| 1. | Bert | Curt | shirt | Bart |
| 2. | coot | loot | soot | shoot |
| 3. | relate | fete | weight | height |
| 4. | spook | took | look | rook |
| 5. | food | mood | brewed | good |
| 6. | sewed | glued | chewed | nude |
| 7. | jerk | clerk | work | shirk |
| 8. | packed | backed | baked | fact |
| 9. | scene | sign | mean | convene |
| 10. | laze | phase | days | size |
| 11. | peak | steak | leak | cheek |
| 12. | soot | cut | put | foot |
| 13. | height | tight | weight | might |
| 14. | stalk | work | fork | cork |
| 15. | quite | night | lied | light |
| 16. | clear | bear | hare | fair |
| 17. | barred | bared | hard | yard |
| 18. | duke | spook | look | Luke |
| 19. | taught | court | snort | coughed |
| 20. | priced | missed | fist | kissed |
Ex. 10.9 Spelling tests:
a) Each word here has the sound [e]. How many ways are there to spell this sound?
Arrange the words into the groups:
| ready desk bread instead against leather | hello next helpings said breakfast sledge | meant again when enemy hedgehog pencil |
b) Tick the words that have the vowel sound [ɒ]:
| catch pond bones what bought | job home blank road house roof | wife doctor popular soup close horse |
c) Each word here has the sound [
Λ
]. How many ways are there to spell this sound?
Arrange the words into the groups:
| touch stuff drum rough among glove | tongue dug mother trust done month | country enough son double couple muddy |
d) Each word here has the sound [f]. How many ways are there to spell this sound?
Arrange the words into the groups:
| laugh coffee herself face enough | officer fact elephant gift off | epigraph roof farmer rough telephone |
e) Each word here has the sound [e
I
]. How many ways are there to spell this sound? Arrange the words into the groups:
| hay main trail may save | gate tray fail lane sail | stage paint stay place game |
f) Each word here has the sound [i:]. How many ways are there to spell this sound?
Arrange the words into the groups:
| seed dream sleep wheel team | grief week niece delete complete | sea eve field meat scene |
g) Each word here has the sound [a
I
]. How many ways are there to spell this sound? Arrange the words into the groups:
| find dime fly right quite | tight bright pile ninth kind | mine dry line flight sigh |
h) Each word here has the sound [əυ]. How many ways are there to spell this sound? Arrange the words into the groups:
| doze moan snow goat hold | stone cold joke gold bowl | road code grow float blow |
i) Each word here has the sound [u:]. How many ways are there to spell this sound? Arrange the words into the groups:
| moon chew glue blew zoo blue | clue drew rule true threw June | school pool rude include gloomy boot |
Ex. 10.10 Find the rhymes
Here are some very short, two-line poems, but the rhyming words are missing. Try to guess the missing words which complete each poem. If you can’t think of any, choose from the list.
(The list contains some words which rhyme, but which do not make sense in the poems.)
A)
I think you ___________ She’s learned to ___________
To leave the __________ In just a __________________
You haven’t ________ It’s always ___________
A single ___________ Down on the __________
Last thing at ____
bike/ bird/ bite/ bought/ byte/ calm/ caught/ charm/ court/ farm/ feel/ fight/ harm/ heard/ herd/ leak/ leek/ light/ like/ listened/ meal/ might/night/ ought/ right/ should/ sight/ speak/ spoken/ talk/ taught/ token/walk/ weak/ week/ wood/ word/ work
B)
This shirt you ______ I think I’ll __________
Is rather __________ A pound of _________
He’s learned to _______ It’s not too __________
In just one __________ To lose some ________
Would make less ______
bought/ boys/ buy/ by/ caught/ day/ height/ kids/ late/ light/ mate/ meat/ meet/ night/ noise/ play/ poem/ read/ reed/ right/ shake/ short/ soon/ sound/ steak/ take/ toys/ wait/ weigh/ weight/ write
C)
I think the ______ It might make _____
Would like to _____ To build a ________
My youngest ________ I’ll try to __________
Sure likes to _________ To get a __________
To want to _________
alone/ aunts/ bone/ box/ dames/ dance/ fence/ fight/ friendly/ fun/ girls/ loan/ lone/ none/ one/ pence/ phone/ polite/ right/ run/ scared/ sense/ sight/ son/ sun/ trance
11. Additional Practice in Reading and Memory Work
(
LES SILHOUETTES
Oscar Wilde
The sea is flecked with bars of grey
The dull dead wind is out of tune,
And like a withered leaf the moon
Is blown across the stormy bay.
Etched clear upon the pallid sand
The black boat lies: a sailor boy
Clambers aboard in careless joy
With laughing face and gleaming hand.
And overhead the curlews cry,
Where through the dusky upland grass
The young brown-throated reapers pass,
Like silhouettes against the sky.
(
REQUIESCAT
Oscar Wilde
Tread lightly, she is near
Under the snow,
Speak gently, she can hear
The daisies grow.
All her bright golden hair
Tarnished with rust,
She that was young and fair
Fallen to dust.
Lily-like, white as snow,
She hardly knew
She was a woman, so
Sweetly she grew.
Coffin-board, heavy stone,
Lie on her breast,
I vex my heart alone
She is at rest.
Peace, Peace, she cannot hear
Lyre or sonnet,
All my life's buried here,
Heap earth upon it.
(
(MR= Marta Rodriguez)
MR Good morning, everyone. Thanks for coming to my presentation. My name’s Marta Rodriguez. I’m Personnel Director of Tara Fashions. I’m going to talk to you today about our company. First, I’ll give you some basic information about Tara Fashions. Then I’ll talk about our overseas stores. After that I’ll outline the strengths of the company. Next I’ll talk about career opportunities with Tara. And finally I’ll mention our future plans. I’ll be pleased to answer any questions at the end of my talk.
Let me start with some basic facts about Tara. The company started in 1978. We are a family-owned business and our head office is in Cordoba, Spain. We sell clothes for men and women, and our customers are mainly fashion-conscious people aged 20 to 35. We have 15 stores in Spain. All the stores are very profitable.
Right, those are the basic facts.
Let me add a few figures. We have an annual turnover of about 260 million euro. Our net profits last year were approximately 16 million euro. We have a workforce of just over 2,000 employees. So those are the numbers. Now about our overseas stores. We have four large stores in France and another ten in other European countries. We are planning to open five new stores next year. What are our strengths? We keep up with fashion trends. If we spot a trend, we can bring out a new design in 15 days. And we get it to the stores very quickly. We deliver to stores twice a week. And we sell our designs at the right price.
OK, now what about career opportunities? It’s quite simple. If you are ambitious and fashion-conscious, we have opportunities in all areas of our business. We will welcome you with open arms.
Finally, a few words about our new projects. We are planning to open a new store in New York next year – on Fifth Avenue. This will give us a foothold in the US market. We’re very excited about this new development.
Well, thanks very much for listening to my talk. Are there any questions?
(
(I=Inge, Ka=Katharina, Ke=Kenneth, N=Nada, J=Julia)
I Right, can we start, please? The main aim of the meeting is to decide the date of the launch. After that, we’ll talk about our marketing strategy and decide which sales outlets we should target. OK, when are we going to launch the goggles? Katharina, what do you think? Should it be early next year or should we wait until the summer?
Ka I’m in favour of February or March. There’s a gap in the market for our products. Why wait any longer? The goggles are technically advanced – let’s just cash in on that.
I Thanks, Katharina. OK, let’s hear a few more views. Kenneth, what’s your opinion?
Ke Mmm, I don’t know about February. It’s a bit early in the year. I suggest we launch in May or June. People go on holiday then. It’s a peak period for buying goggles.
I Thanks, Kenneth. Nadia, what’s your view? You’re a keen swimmer, I know.
N In my opinion, February’s best time. We could promote them in swimming pools and opticians. The price should be high. I’d say, at least
Ka Hold on a minute. I thought we were talking about the launch date, not about promotion or price.
I You’re right, Katharina. Let’s get back to the point. OK everyone, I think on balance we agree – we prefer the earlier date. Let’s move on now to marketing. Julia, which outlets do you think we should target?
J I think we should start with the specialist stores. That’s were most swimmers buy their goggles.
I What do you mean by specialist stores, Julia? Are you thinking of sports goods outlets, you know, stores which only sell sports equipment?
J Exactly. They should be our main target.
(
Now, I’d like to move on to our most successful products, Protean. As I’m sure you know, our new fabric was named after Proteus, the Greek sea god who was able to take on different roles and shapes. Indeed, Protean can be used for a wide variety of products because it is extremely flexible. Let me give you some basic information about Protean’s three main features.
Firstly, it is made from fibres that are similar to nylon and polyester. These fibres are coated with a metallic substance, so that the fabric can conduct electricity. In addition, the fabric can be made very thick or very thin – so thin in fact as to become translucent, - to let some light pass through.
Secondly, as you can experience for yourselves from the samples that are going round, not only is it very soft to the touch, but it’s also strong and long-lasting.
Finally, it can be made in absolutely any colour.
To conclude my presentation, I’d like to tell you about our future plans.
We at Fabtek believe that Protean has enormous sales potential. We are currently trying to increase sales by licensing other manufacturers to produce interesting new products with Protean. We already have a licensing agreement with Azra, a Swiss firm, which has created some award-winning products using Protean. You can find the details of some of those products in the leaflet in your folder.
(
(V=Vincent, M=Monica, T=Tanya)
V I think we should do a lot more to improve our staff’s health and fitness. What do you think, Monica?
M I agree. There are all sorts of things we could do to help staff to become more healthy and stay healthy. For one thing, we could offer them a free medical checkup every year.
V Right. That’s a good idea. A lot of firms do that. And how about having a no-smoking policy in the staff restaurant? What do you think about that, Tanya?
T Mm, I don’t think I like the idea very much. It wouldn’t be good for morale. A lot of our staff smoke – they’d be against it, I’m sure of that. I think we should improve the food. A lot of the dishes aren’t healthy – there’s far too much fatty food, not enough fish, fruit and vegetables.
V True. We could change the menus and offer healthier meals. I like that idea.
M what about setting up a counseling service, Vincent? Some staff are under a lot of stress. It affects their work and they need professional help.
V I don’t know, Monica. It’d be very expensive to set up a service like that. Anyway, we have a company doctor. That’s her job, isn’t it?
(
(V=Vincent, T=Tanya, M=Monica)
V I’ve got another suggestion. We could talk to the manager of our local sports centre and arrange a company membership. What do you think, Tanya?
T Mm, I don’t know. It sounds interesting, but it could be very expensive. A group fee for all our staff would probably cost a fortune.
V What’s your opinion, Monica?
M I think you’re right, Tanya. It’s cost a lot and I’m not sure how many staff would actually use the centre. Some people say it hasn’t got many facilities.
V I can’t agree with you there. It’s got a very good pool and sauna. If we could negotiate a low membership fee, it might be worth considering, surely.
T Yes, it’s worth checking out, I suppose. A lot of staff might enjoy having a swim at lunchtime or after work. And a sauna is very relaxing, I must admit.
M Maybe, but there are so many other things we could do. Things which are less expensive, but they’d improve people’s health just as much. Let me tell you about a few ideas I have…
12. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Cotton D. Market Leader. Pre-Intermediate Business English. Longman, 2007.
Hancock M. English Pronunciation in Use. Cambridge University Press, 2007.
Hornby A.S. Oxford Advanced Learner’s Compass. Oxford University Press, 2005.
Kelly J. How to Teach Pronunciation. Longman, 2003.
Vaughan-Rees M. Test Your Pronunciation, Penguin English, 2006.
CONTENTS
1. The Syllable. The Principles of Syllable Division. 5
2. The Primary and the Secondary Meaning of Letters. 9
3. The Primary Sound Meanings of Vowels in Different Types of Syllables. 10
4. Reading of Stressed Vowels in Combination with the Letter ”r”. 19
5. Reading of Vowel Digraphs*. 24
6. Reading of Unstressed Vowels. 35
7. Reading of Consonants. 41
8. Mute Consonants. 50
9. Reading of English Consonant Clusters. 52
10. Revision and Consolidation Practice. 59
11. Additional Practice in Reading and Memory Work. 67
12. BIBLIOGRAPHY.. 71
* Digraph [daıgræf] – a pair of letters that represent one sound
