Address your friend placing direct address at the beginning, in the middle and at the end of the sentence

8.*** This exercise is meant to develop your ability to hear the intonation and reproduce it in proper conversational situations. a) Listen to the dialogue "Shopping" sentence by sentence. Write it down. Mark the stresses and tunes. Practise the dialogue. b) Record your reading. Play the recording back immediately for the teacher and your fellow-students to detect the possible errors in your pronunciation. Practise the dialogue for test reading, memorize and dramatize it:

Shopping

"Er - Excuse me, how do I get to the glove department?"

"Over there on the left, madam, just past the ribbon counter."

"Is this the right counter for gloves?"

"Yes, madam. What sort of gloves do you require? Kid, suede, chamois...?"

"Well, let me see some of each."

"Certainly, madam. What size do you take?"

"Six and a quarter, I believe, but you'd better measure my hand to make sure."

"I think a six is your size. How do you like these? I can recommend them, they're very reliable."

"How much are they?"

"Nineteen and eleven (19/11), madam."

"Very well, I'll take them. And now, how do I get to the shoe department?"

"Come this way, please, and I'll show you... just over there beyond the millinery department."

* * *

"What kind of shoe did you want, madam? Calf, glace, suede...?"

"I want a strong walking shoe with a low heel. Perhaps calf would be best. I like court shoes, but of course high heels aren't suitable for country wear... As you see, I have rather small feet."

"Here's a pair about your size. Try them on... How do they feel?"

"They're fairly comfortable, but they're a bit tight across the toes; I suppose they'll give a little."

"Yes, they'll stretch with wearing."

"Very well, then... Now, let's see, what else did I want. Oh yes, some silk stockings, shoe-polish, a pair of scissors, and some safety-pins."

c) Use the phrases below in conversational situations:

1. Excuse me, how do I get to...? 2. Is this the right...? 3. What sort of...? 4. What size do you take? 5. How much...? 6. This way, please. 7. As you see....

d) Make up a dialogue of your own using phrases from the dialogue "Shopping".

9.** Listen to the dialogue. Write it down. Practise it in pairs until you can say it in exactly the same way.

10. Read and reproduce the following dialogues. Concentrate your attention on the intonation of direct address:

"Now, take out your books and open them at Page Thirty. Peter, where did we leave off yesterday?"

"We left off at the second paragraph on Page Thirty."

"Thank you! Ann, will you please read the text. Don't prompt her, John. Has she made any mistakes, comrades?"

"Ann didn't pronounce the word 'work' correctly."

"Say the word, Ann!"

* * *

"Johnny, why are you late for school every morning?"

"Every time I come to the corner the sign says: 'School - Go slow'."

11.*** This exercise is meant to develop your ability to read a text with proper intonation. a) Listen to the text "The Big Stores" sentence by sentence. Mark the stresses and tunes. Practise reading the text. b) Record your reading. Play the recording back immediately for your teacher and fellow-students to detect your possible errors. c) Practise the story for test readings:

The big stores

I went into one of the big London stores today and enjoyed myself very much, just wandering from one department to another, looking at the various articles on the counters. I thought the assistants were very helpful. There must have been some hundreds of salesmen and saleswomen and dozens of different departments, including china, haberdashery, confectionery, hardware and even provisions. I went from one department to another - from umbrellas to gloves, from fancy goods to lace - up and down, in lifts and on escalators. As I was going through the book department, I was surprised to meet an old friend of mine, whom I hadn't seen for years. We went up to the restaurant and had lunch together.

We didn't finish lunch until half past two. Then we did some shopping together. I helped her to buy some presents for her children. I can't tell you how glad we were to see each other again. We used to be very great friends. I hadn't seen her for - let me see - ten or twelve years, at least.

This exercise is meant to develop your ability to read and narrate a story with proper intonation. a) Listen to the joke. Write it down. Mark the stresses and tunes. Practise reading the joke. b) Listen carefully to the narration of the joke. Observe the peculiarities in intonation-group division, pitch, stress and tempo. Note the use of temporisers. Retell the joke according to the model you have listened to.

13. Read the jokes silently to make sure you understand each sentence, find the most important phrase in the story, underline it, split up every sentence into intonation-groups, mark the stresses and tunes. Practise reading the jokes several times. Retell the jokes following the model above (See Ex. 12):

Jack's mistake

Jack's Mother: There were three pieces of cake in the cupboard, Jack, and now there are only two.

Jack: It was so dark there, Mamma, that I didn't see the others.

A correction

Teacher: Jimmie, why don't you wash your face? I can see what you had for breakfast this morning. Little boy: What was it?

Teacher: Eggs!

Little boy: You are wrong, teacher, that was yesterday.

Whose mistakes?

Teacher (looking through Teddy's homework): I wonder how one person could make so many mistakes.

Тeddу: It wasn't one person, teacher. Father helped me.

Father and son

Father: You know, Tom, when Lincoln was your age he was a very good pupil. In fact, he was the best pupil in his class.

Tom: Yes. Father, I know that. But when he was your age he was President of the United States.

At a restaurant

"Here, waiter, it seems to me that this fish is not so fresh as the fish you served us last Sunday."

"Pardon, sir, it is the same fish."

Section Twelve

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