1. Listen and take b’s part in this conversation. Use a falling tone in each case to show that you agree or have understood.

A: The coach leaves at six, alright?

B: Oˎkay.

A: From outside the museum, you know?

B: Right.

A: You wanted two tickets, right?

B: Yeah.

A: That’s $50, okay?

B: Mhm.

A: It costs more at the weekend, you know?

B: Mm.

A: ‘Cause we have to pay the driver more, you see?

B: Uhuh.

2. Listen to the conversation again. Say a’s part aloud, using a rising tone on each final phrase to check that b understands.

3. Listen to the conversation. Indicate falling, rising or fall-rising tones on the words in bold. Say the b’s part aloud, using the same tones.

A: So it’ll go past those trees…

B: Mhm.

A: …across that footpath…

B: Yeah.

A: …and down across the top of that field.

B: Right, and who owns that?

A: All that fields around here are part of a big farm.

B: Uhuh.

A: Belongs to the farmer who lives in that white house.

B: Right.

A: Of course, he won’t be happy about the plans.

B: Won’t he?

A: No, I doubt that he’ll want to sell any of his land.

B: Okay. So what’ll happen then?

A: I suppose the council could force him to sell.

B: Really?

A: But that wouldn’t be popular with the local community.

B: I see.

4. Listen to this conversation and notice how the woman verbally encourages the man to keep talking.

Man: D’you know, today is the tenth anniversary of my arrival in Britain.

Woman: Really!

Man: Yes, I was brought up in the Soviet Union. I lived there for the first twenty years of my life.

Woman: How interesting!

Man: I was born in Siberia.

Woman: Were you?

Man: Yes, my parents went to live there in 1958 and stayed for about eight years. What I remember best are the winters. Terribly cold – the temperature goes down to minus fifty degrees.

Woman: Minus fifty!

Man: It can be pretty awful.

Woman: Horrible.

Man: And I remember snow storms that went on for days on end. And the winter itself is very long.

Woman: How long?

Man: Oh, about five or six months. But you know, I think winter is my favourite season of the year.

Woman: What makes you say that?

Man: Well, we used to go tobogganing for example.

Woman: What’s that?

Man: Sledging.

Woman: Sorry, I don’t know that word.

Man: Oh, sorry. I’ll draw you a picture. Look, this is a sledge.

Woman: Oh, of course. Yes, sledging’s great fun.

Try to define the function of each of the woman’s phrases using the following hints:

Makes a comment. Asks a short question. Repeats a key word/phrase. Asks for more information. Asks for an explanation.

5. Listen to the recording, fill in the gaps. Read the text ‘Windsor Castle Tourist Guide’

Windsor Castle Tourist Guide

Man: Do you know I used to work as a tourist guide?

Woman: Yes I remember that.

Man: Yes, that's right. It was about two years ago, um, I did it for about a year -Woman: That's right.

Man: - and I finished two years ago. One of the things I had to do was to take people around Windsor Castle, which is, you know, the Queen's weekend residence outside London.

Woman: Yes, ¹ .

Man: And I used to take people round it, show them the sights and er explain it to them as much as I possibly could. But some of the strangest things used to happen, especially with American tourists.

Woman:² .

Man: Occasionally, as you can imagine, it was ... it was –

Woman: Weird questions.

Man: - strange, the questions you used to get. Once I had a professor, and I didn't know he was a professor and 1 was telling them about the date of something or other -

Woman:³ .

Man: - and er he said, 'No, you've got that wrong.'

Woman: Oh, no.

Man: I think it was, it was awful, it was really embarrassing.

Woman: Was he right or were you right?

Man: Oh, he was right.

Woman: Gosh.

Man: - he was right because I, I guessed, I'd forgotten I'm ashamed to say and I was stupid enough to think, 'Oh well, they probably won't know, I'll just tell them anyway. And he said, 'No, you've got that wrong. Queen Elizabeth was born in 1536.'

Woman:⁴ !

Man: It was, it really was. 1 had to er speak very fast to cover up for it.

Woman: I can imagine.

Man: But other times you get the very very stupidest comments, I mean really, really

embarrassing sometimes or, or um funny, you have to keep a straight face. Woman: ⁵ ?

Man: Well, once I was telling them something, we were on the terrace outside the castle looking out over the Thames Valley -

Woman: Oh, how⁶ !

Man: Oh it is, it's a wonderful view. Have you seen it? Woman: Yes, 1 have, it's ⁷ .

Man: And we were looking out over there and an aeroplane came over because Heathrow, as you probably know, is is only about five miles away -

Woman: Yes, that's right.

Man: - um, and the aeroplanes are landing every two minutes or something like that.

And this aeroplane came over making a terrible noise and I had to stop speaking.

And when the sound of the aeroplane had died away, one of the tourists said to

me, she said, 'Why did the Queen build her castle so close to the airport?' Woman: (laughs) Oh, no! 1 mean ⁸ to that sort of

comment?

Man: I don't know. I just, I just had to try and not laugh and keep a straight face, it

was very difficult.

Woman: Oh, no!

Man: And er sometimes I had to explain to them about what was inside in the State Apartments.

Woman: Oh, they're lovely, beautiful, aren't they?

Man: They are, they're lovely, aren't they.

Woman:⁹ , yes.

Man: With all the tapestries and paintings –

Woman: And jewels as well.

Man: - and furniture. The jewels are lovely as well, although there's more at the

Tower of London than –

Woman: Yes, of course.

Man: - than, than at Windsor. But I would have to explain to them, and then they'd get everything mixed up.

Woman: I can imagine.

Man: So they'd think that the portrait of Queen Elizabeth was Queen Mary and, and they'd think that this room was that room and er, I'd have, I'd have to do more explaining when they got out. Another time when they came out it was pouring with rain -

Woman: ¹⁰ !

Man: Yes, as usual, you know, and er somebody came up to me and said, 'Why have

you made it rain?' Woman:¹¹ !

Man: I know, it's incredible, isn't it. And I said, 'There's many things I can do but that I can't do.'

Woman: Stopping the rain is not one of them. Man: No. That's right. You can't have a private telephone line to God. Woman: ¹²___________, though.

Man: Yes. Yes. Very enjoyable. You're always on the move, always in different places, going round beautiful historic places.

Woman: And meeting er interesting people.

Man: Yes.

Transcribe the words in bold, read and learn the Pronunciation Poem by heart.

Pronunciation Poem

Here is some pronunciation. /_________________________________

Ration never rhymes wish nation, ___________________________________

Say prefer, but preferable, __________________________________

Comfortable and vegetable. _________________________________

B must not be heard in doubt, __________________________________

Debt and dumb both leave it out. ___________________________________

In the words psychology, __________________________________

Psychic and psychiatry, ___________________________________

You must never sound the p _________________________________

Psychiatrist you call the man ___________________________________

Who cures the complex, if he can. __________________________________

In architect, ch is k, _________________________________

In arch it is the other way. _________________________________

Please remember to say iron _________________________________

So that it'll rhyme with lion __________________________________

Advertisers advertise, ________________________________

Advertisements will put you wise. _________________________________

Time when work is done is leisure, _________________________________

Fill it up with useful pleasure. _________________________________

Accidental, accident. ________________________________

Sound the g in ignorant. ________________________________

Relative, but a relation. _______________________________

Then say creature but creation. ______________________________

Say the a in gas quite short, _______________________

Bought remember rhymes with thwart, _____________________________

Drought must always rhyme with bout, _______________________________

In daughter leave the gh out. _______________________________

Wear a boot upon your foot. ______________________________

Root can never rhyme with soot. ______________________________

In muscle, sc is s, ____________________________

In muscular, it's sk, yes! _____________________________

Choir must always rhyme with wire. _____________________________

That again, will rhyme with liar. _____________________________

Then, remember it's address, ___________________________

With an accent like possess. _____________________________

G in sign must silent be, _____________________________

In signature pronounce the g. ______________________________

Please remember, say towards ____________________________

Just as if it rhymed with boards. ______________________________

Weight's like wait, but not like height, _____________________________

Which should always rhyme with might. ______________________________

Sew is just the same as so, _____________________________

Tie a ribbon in a bow. _____________________________

When you meet the queen you bow, ___________________________

Which again must rhyme with how. _____________________________

In perfect English make a start. ____________________________

Learn this little rhyme by heart. _____________________________/