标准美语发音的13个秘诀 CD 4 Track 2

 

Review Exercise H: Sentence Balance—Goldilocks    CD 4 Track 2

One of the most fascinating things about spoken English is howthe intonation¹ prepares the listener for what is coming. As you know, the main job of intonation is to announce new information. However, there is a secondary function, and that is to alert² the listener of changes down the road. Certain shifts will bedictated for the sake of sentence balance. Set phrases and contrast don't change, but the intonation of a descriptive phrasewill move from the second word to the first, without changingthe meaning. The stress change indicates that it's not the end of the sentence, but rather, there is more to come. This is why it is particularly important to speak in phrases, instead of word by word.

When we practiced Goldilocks and the Three Bears the first time, on page 34, we had very short sentences so we didn't need sentence balance. All of the underlined descriptive phrases would otherwise be stressed on the secondword, if the shift weren't needed.

There is a littlegirl called Goldilocks. She is walkingthrough a sunny forest and sees a small house. She knockson the door, but no one answers. She goesinside to see what's there. There are threechairs in the large room. Goldilocks sits on the biggestchair. It's too high for her to sit on. She sits on the middle-sized one, but it's is too low. She sits on the smallchair and it is just right. On the table, there are threebowls of porridge. She tries the firstone, but it is too hot to swallow. The secondone is too cold, and the thirdone is just right, so she eats it all. Afterthat, she goesupstairs to look around. There are threebeds in the bedroom. She sits down on the biggest one. It's too hard to sleep on. The middle-sized bed is too soft. The little oneisjust right, so she lies down and falls asleep.

In the meantime, the family of three bears comes home — the Papa bear, the Mama bear, and the Baby bear. They look around and say, "Who's been sitting in our chairs and eating our porridge?" Then they run upstairs and say, "Who's been sleeping in our beds?" Goldilocks wakes up when she hears all the noise and is so scared that she runs out of the house and never comes back.

1 intonation   

n.语调，声调；发声

参考例句：

• The teacher checks for pronunciation and intonation.老师在检查发音和语调。
• Questions are spoken with a rising intonation.疑问句是以升调说出来的。

2 alert   

adj.机警的，活泼的，机灵的；vt.使...警觉

参考例句：

• Drivers must be on the alert for traffic signals.驾驶员必须密切注意交通信号。
• The rabbIt'seems to be very alert all its life.兔子似乎一生都小心翼翼，十分警觉。