Give your views on the problems pertaining to natural environment.

Topic 1. What role does natural environment play in our life?

Talking points:

1. Nature and the man's love of it.

2. Man as a constituent part of nature.

3. Pets and plants in our life.

Topic 2. Is it a vital necessity to protect natural environment from destruction and pollution today?

Talking points:

1. Ill-effects of unrestricted industrialization and the sprawl of large-built areas: a) foul air: b) polluted water; c) noise disturbance; d) overpopulation; e) disfigured landscapes and land pollution.

2. Extermination of wildlife — upsetting of the biological bal­ance: a) destruction of animal habitats; b) removal and destruction of plants and trees; c) unprecedented killing of animals for eco­nomic, scientific and individual purposes.

Topic 3. What do you know about the measures taken to control environmental pollution and to fight destruction of wildlife?

Talking points:

1. International cooperation in environmental protection.

2. Mass media in the fight against pollution and for nature con­servation: a) newspaper comments and reviews; b) TV pro­grammes: c) science-popular films.

3. Ecology — the science of how the living things are related to their environment.

4. Voluntary organizations' and individuals' participation in the nature conservation movement.

 

SPEECH SOUND EXERCISES

Unit One [e - æ]

Do not open your mouth too wide when articulating the vowel [e], it is a half-open vowel. Open your mouth very wide when pronouncing the vowel [æ]: it is an open vowel (helping to make it open by a spoon-shaped depression in the front part of the tongue).

1. Pronounce the pairs of words and the sentences with the vowels. Observe their length variants:

lend — land

helping — happen

plenty — planned

selling — salmon

necessary — ational

subject — program

 

1. Harris objected to a slap-up breakfast. 2. The fact is Jed ex­pected the man to be a different personality. 3. Can you imag­ine anything happening to the salmon? — Yes, I can.

[ei — ɛə ]

Remember that the nucleus of the diphthong [ei] is Vowel No. 3, which is mid-open and that of the diphthong [ɛə] is an open vowel. Make the nuclei long and very distinct vowels. Make the glides much shorter and indistinct.

2. Pronounce the pairs of words and the sentences with the two diphthongs. Observe their length variants:

A. fade — fair                                   railways — rarely

shade — share                          waisted — wearing

_xaging — airing

a mazement — de daring

B. 1. Mary declared she had some gravy to spare. 2. It wasn't safe to go downstairs for the remains of the bacon and eggs. 3. On the stairs Mary explained she liked the flavour of the gravy and asked Clare if she had any more to spare. 4. The adminis­tration was prepared to overcome all the difficulties and com­plications.

Checked Vowels

The vowels sound checked when a slight pause is made be­tween the short stressed vowel and the consonant following it.

3. Read the words and the sentences. Make the vowels traditionally called short, checked in their shorter variant:

bricks     upper   effect                push

admit           pot       latticed            cooking

yet              gossip          struck             touched

1. I admit I touched his pocket. 2. It's a pity it isn't possible to cook the stuff. 3. It was impossible for him to admit he was indif­ferent to the suggestion to come to Russia much later.

[ ]

When pronouncing the consonants make an 'oscal'^[5] "(that is show your teeth as if you were going to brush them). Check the in­terdental position of the tip of the tongue. Prevent the lower lip from touching the upper teeth.

4. Read the pairs of words and the sentences. Do not replace the consonants

by [f, v], [T, Д] or [s, z]:^[6]

 

A. things — those

 thanks — this

something — other

teeth — gather

throughout — these

overthrow— therefore

health — together

worth — with

^[1] 'oscal': оскал (the term was introduced by A.L.Trakhteroff)

^[1] To prevent the consonants [s, z] from being replaced by [9, d] keep the tip of the tongue at the lower teeth, and not between the teeth,

when articulating [s, z]. Make an 'oscal' to check the right position of the tongue for [s, z].

 

B. 1. But supposing it was something else. 2. It's the biggest thing of this kind. 3. They gathered the odds and ends. 4. The more we peeled the more peel there seemed to be left on. 5. Here was a dish with a new flavour with a taste like nothing else on earth.

6. Therefore our talk was threaded throughout by two motifs.

7. Is this the man with the vegetables? — This is the very man I gather.

Aspiration¹

Remember that aspiration is the strongest before stressed vow­els, especially before long ones; that the consonants should not be aspirated when following [s], like in 'speak, stick, skirt'; that [b, d, g], their voiced counterparts, are never aspirated; they are weak consonants.

5. Read the words and the sentences aspirating the consonants [p, t, k] where necessary:

A. Pity

top

coming                  

encounter, 

potted

dictatorship 

speaking

make

B. 1. "Oh, that won't do. You must scrape them." 2. Montmoren­cy had evinced great interest in the proceedings. 3. I encoun­tered a personality entirely different from anything I had ex­pected.

The Prevocalic[h]

Mind that the consonant [h] should be very weak (in fact it is breathing out a bit of air before the vowel following it). Do not make it too fricative, like the Russian consonant [X]. Remember that it can be dropped when unstressed and following a stressed verb like in 'I ^like (h)er. I ^saw (h)im.'

6. Read the words and the sentences:

A. held                     habit                       human

hands               hamper                   uphill

hard                  Harris                      behind

B. 1. Here was a new dish unlike the old hackneyed things. 2. He will exploit the human heritage stupidly. 3. I hope Harris and Henry are happy now that they don't lag behind and nothing hampers them.

The Linking [r]

When there is a pause between the two words, the linking [r] should not sound.

7. Read the sentences inserting the linking [r] in the intervocalic position at the junction of words:

1. That'll inspire^Alice.— I'm glad to hearjt. 2. The more^I know her, the more I admire^Ann. — By the way, wherejs she at the moment? — Either in Asia | or in Africa. 3. It was clear to him that those who are engaged in the task could after all be cre­ative.

Units Two, Three

[i-i:]

Mind that Vowel No. 1, [i:], is a diphthongoid: it begins with [i] and then glides to [i:] proper (closer and more front, approaching the Russian [И]). To achieve that first make the opening between the jaws a bit broader keeping your lips neutral and then spreading them, thus making the vowel closer.

1. Read the pairs of words and the sentences. Observe their length variants. Make the vowel [i] checked in its shorter length variant:

since — seen                                                visit — veal

milk — meal                                                 quickly — speaking

exhibiting — immediately                          irresistible — inconvenience

 

В.1. His sister has measles. 2. She didn't seem to believe him. 3. He arrived at Riskin Street to see a sick boy who had caused his mother the inconvenience by falling ill with measles. 4. I candidly mean that for me the name Ernest has always been irresistible.

[o: -3:]

Mind that though both are mid vowels, [3:] is a mixed (cen­tralized) vowel and [o:] is a back vowel. If your [3:] has, by mistake, the shade of [0:] add to it the colouring of the Russian [3].

1. Read the pairs of words and the sentences. Observe their length variants:

small — swirl

 Walker — worker

talk — Turk

 because — to curse

notorious — nervous

importance —earnest

1. 1. John Worthing is a character from the play "The Importance of Being Earnest". 2. He saw her and talked to her. She was a small girl in a tweed skirt. 3. The doctor was determined to talk to that notorious person about the circumstances.

Palatalization

Avoid the palatalization of the consonants ¹ before front and mixed vowels.

The following ways can be of some use: a) first pronounce the same consonant in a word where it is followed by a back vowel and remember how it sounds; b) then try to preserve the non-pala- talized consonant in the original word where it is followed by a front or mixed vowel by making a temporary pause between the consonant and the vowel. When the tongue gets used to the necessary quality of the consonant, pronounce it without a pause. For example: the word to be pronounced is 'peel'. First pronounce 'paw' (or 'put') and then 'p-eel, p-eel, peel'.

1. Read the words and the sentences:

A. first                      meaning                 anything                 ideals

girl                     medical                   system                    'magazine

we                      destined                 here                         expensive

^[1] With the exception of those that should be a bit palatal because they are articulated with a front secondary focus. They are the clear [1], LT, 3); [tf, cfc].

 

B. 1. Charming day it has been, Miss Fairfax. 2. Pray don't talk to me about the weather, Mr. Worthing. 3. When people talk to me about the weather, I feel certain they mean something else. 4. He could not help thinking how clear her skin was, with a tiny mole, exactly the colour of her eyes.

[η,n - η]

Mind that [η] is a backlingual consonant: the very back of the tongue is raised and pressed against the soft palate. That's why do not let the blade or the tip of the tongue touch the upper teeth or the teeth ridge, otherwise either the Russian [H] or the English [n] will sound instead. To avoid the mistakes open your mouth very wide and keep the tip of the tongue at the lower teeth when [rj] is articulated.

Though [η] is an o c c 1 u s i v e sonorant, the obstruction is n o t released when it sounds. If it is released with a jerk, the soft pal­ate can rise blocking the passage through the nasal cavity and as a result of this the consonants [k] or [g] can sound after [η].

Remember that in the intervocalic position when -ng is followed by a vowel without any pause: a) in verbal forms and nouns derived from verbs besides [g] the additional consonant [η] should sound. It somewhat differs in its articulation from the basic (main) conso­nant [η]: first the uvular gets in contact with the back part of the tongue and then the obstruction is released with a jerk and some plosion but the soft palate is kept lowered. So the varianf [rj] is a nasal, occlusive, plosive consonant (sonorant): pinging [_xsi u]], singer [_xsiηηə].

In the degrees of comparison of adjectives and adverbs besides [η] [g] should sound: ^longer [loηgə[], younger [j۸ηg ].

 

In the word final position and before a consonant -ng is pro­nounced [η] but in some words in which -ng is followed by a sono­rant, [g] sounds in addition: _xEngland [^irjgbnd], hungry [h۸ηgə].

In the letter combinations nk, nc, nx the letter n is pronounced [rj]: uncle [۸ηkl], ink [iηk], anxious [æηkʃəs].