UNIT 5

Structure
5.0 Objectives
Cassette Recording

5.1 Listening Comprehension

5.2 Conversation
5.3 fionunciation
5.3.1 Letters and Sounds
5.3.2 Word Stress
5.4 Let Us Sum Up
5.5 Key Words
- 5.6 Answers to Exercises
Appendix :Passages for Listening Comprehension

In this unit we shall give you practice in listening comprehension by presenting short
recordings from news bulletins and setting questions on compmhension. We shall also ask
you to study a dialogue between a bicycle dealer and a customer and write a similar dialogue
of your own.
In the section on pronunciation we shall point out the lack of correspondence between letters
and sounds and introduce you to word stress, an important feature of English pronunciation.
After completing the unit you should be able to
understand news broadcasts better;
take part in a conversation with a shopkeeper.
guard against spelling pronunciation in English; and
say English words with correct stress patterns.
Cassette Recording
A cassette recording accompanies this unit and is available on payment. You can listen to
it at home, if you have a cassette player, or at the nearest study centre set up by the
university.

5.1 LISTENING COMPREHENSION

You should listen carefully to radio and television news broadcasts, talks, lectures, and
discussions, whenever you get a chance. Try to get the main points of the talks and lectures
and take down notes.
Exercise 1
We are giving you an extract from a news bulletin, which has been recorded on a cassette.
You may listen to it at home or at one of the study centres. If this is not possible, ask a good
speaker of English in your area to read it out to you from the script given at the end of the
unit. While you listen to the news bulletin, try to take down notes that will help you recall
the main points afterwards. After you have listened to the news item, try to answer the
questions given below. Do not read the script yourself before answering the questions. When
you have completed the exercise, you should check your answers with those given by us at
the end of the unit.
1 What change is the Constitution Fifty-second Amendment Act going to bring about?
2 What are the three conditions under which a member will be disqualified under the new
law?
.~~.

..............................................................................................................................................
..............................................................................................................................................
..............................................................................................................................................
..............................................................................................................................................
3 Can a member who is disqualified appeal to the court?

Exercise 2
Now listen to another extract from a news bulletin and answer the questions given below:
1 What is the main reason for Mr. Rajiv Gandhi's grave concern at the continuance of the
Iran-lraq war?

2 Who was responsible for the bomb explosion at Tehran University?

3 Fill the blank spaces in the.following:

-
The explosion took place (a) ................................................................................................

and (b) ............................................................................................................... were killed.

Before you actually practise conversations, you should know what to say in a particular
situation. We shall, therefore, start by asking you to read and listen to conversations and
write dialogues of your own.
Here is a specimen dialogue between a bicycle dealer and a customer. It has been recorded
for you on the cassette. Read the dialogue first and then listen to it on the cassette. After that
you can practise reading it aloud from the text.
A (bicycle dealer) : Hello, sir.
What can I do for you?
B (customer) : I'm looking for a good bicycle.
A We have a number of new models, sir. Have a look. These two are quite popular these
days.
B Which one do you think will give a smooth run?
Oh both, really; but you might find this one more comfortable to ride.
How much will it cost?
It's only five hundred rupees.
Can I take it now?
We shall assemble another one for you and check it. It'll take only about two hours.
All right, then. 1'11 come back in the evening and take it. Will you accept a cheque?
A local cheque payable to 'bearer' will be all right.
See you in the evening. then.
Thank you, sir.
Exercise 3
Write a short dialogue of about 150 words between a customer an&a shopkeeper selling
books and magazines.
(Suggestions: You can tell the shopkeeper about the subject you are interested in, the kind of
books you wish to buy, and for what course or examination. You should also indicate what
magazines you are interested in.
5.3 PRONUNCIATION
To speak English well, you have to learn its correct pronunciation.

5.3.1 Letters and Sounds

One of the difficulties about English pronunciation is that there is no perfect correspondence
between letters and sounds, as we have in Indian languages.
Look at the following words:
even, these, green, read, field, seize, machine, key, people. The spellings e, e..e, ee, ea, ie,
ei, i, ey, eo in these words represent the same vowel sound, which also occurs in the
unusually spelt word suite (meaning a connected series of moms to be used together, apd
pronounced exactly like sweet).
Now look at the following words, which have similar spellings:
bough (meaning a branch of a tree), cough, though, rough and through. These words are
all spelt with -ough, but this spelling gives a number of different pronunciations: bough has
the same vowel sound as in cow; cough has the same vowel sound as in cot and has the
sound If1 at the end (We shall use symbols to represent sounds and place them between slant
bars to distinguish them from the letters of the English alphabet.); though has the same
vowel sound as in go; rough has the same vowel sound as in rush; and through has the
same vowel sound as in too. In bough, though and through, the letters gh are silent, but in
cough and rough they are pronounced If/.
Exercise 4
List 5 words each (with, as far as possible, different spellings for the vowel sound) having
i) the same vowel sound as in see,
(Examples: extreme, priest, receive, seat, police)
.........................................................................................................................................
ii) the same vowel sound as in sit,
iii) the same vowel sound as in late,
.........................................................................................................................................
iv) the same vowel sound as in set,
.........................................................................................................................................
V) the same vowel sound as in sat,
.........................................................................................................................................
vi) the same vowel sound as in shut,
.........................................................................................................................................
vii) the same vowel sound as in cart,

viii) the same vowel sound as in hot,

..........................................................................................................................................
ix) the same vowel sound as in shoot,

X) the same vowel sound as in note.

Exercise 5
List 5 words each to show how the following vowel letters can have different sounds in
different words:
a, e, i, 0, u.
(Exarndes: able, any, bag, basket. village)

You have seen that in English there is no one to one correspondence between letters and
sounds. There are, in fact, more sounds in the language than there are letters in the alphabr
It is, therefore, necessary to learn to produce all the vowel and consonant sounds in Enplistb
and not to confuse them with the letters of the English alphabet. Each sound is distinct. anti
the substitution of one of these sounds for another may either bring about a change in
meaning or lead to the production of a word that does not sound like an English word at all.
In order to avoid this confusion you must be able to distinguish between one sound and
another.
For example, you should be able to distinguish between pairs of words like
i) peak and pick,
ii) date and debt,
iii) set and sat,
iv) cut and cart,
v) heard and hard,
vi) cut and cot,
vii) last and lost,
viii)fhll and fool,
ix) here and hair,
X) pull and full,
xi) ledger and leisure,
xii) seat and sheet.
Thus to speak English well you have to maintain the meaningful distinctions in the.
language. For the correct pronunciation of words you must learn to refer to the dictionary all
the time. In the dictionary symbols are used to represent sounds and one symbol stands for
one sound only. It is important to learn these symbols and the sound each symbol stands for.
In later units we shall introduce you to the vowel and consonant sounds of-Englishand thi:
symbols used for them in Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, Indian edition,
and Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary of Current English, third edition (revised).
5.3.2 Word Stress
Another thing that you need to learn is what is called word stress in English.
Words are made up of one or more separately pronounced parts, called syllables.
Examples :(All these words have been recorded for you on the cassette.)
One syllable : course, part, one, block, two
Two syllables : open o.pen (syllable division shown by a dot)
English En.glish
unit u.nit
listen 1is.ten
speaking speaking
Three syllables : foundation foun.da.tion
understand un.der.stand
whenever when.ev.er
Four syllables : conversation con.ver.sa.tion
television tel.e,vis.ion
Five syllables : pronunciation pro.nun.ci.a.tion
Exercise 6
How many syllables do the following words have?
i) this, ii) section iii) spoken iv) better v) prepare vi) improve vii) broadcast
viii) discussion ix) composition x) before

In English words of two or more syllables, at least one syllable stands out from the rest and
we say it has greater stress.
The mark ' is placed before the syllable that carries the main stress of the word.
For example: 'English, 'speaking, im'prove
Some words $so have secondary stress (weaker than the main stress) on another syllable.
The mark. is placed before such a syllable. For example:
'under' stand, , 'conver' sation
Here are some more examples taker from the text of this unit. All these words have been
recorded for you on the cassette.
Words of two syllables; stress on the first syllable:
'unit 'section
'practice 'letter
'question 'feature
'study 'after
'dealer 'broadcast
Words of two syllables; stress on the second syllable:
pre'sent (verb) cor'rect &low
re'cord (verb) cas'sette your'self
be'tween dis'cuss
com'plete re'call
Word of three syllables; stress on the first syllable:
'bulletin 'radio
'bicycle 'exercise
'customer 'possible
'similar 'afterwards
'carefully 'specimen
Words of three syllables; stress on the second syllable:
ob'jective com'pleted
re'cording a'mendment
 im 'portant con'dition
dis'cussion a'nother
wheceier con'tinue
Words of three syllables; main stress on the third syllable and secondary stress on the first
syllable:
intro 'duce,underlstand,magi'zine
Exercise 7
Say all the words given above with the correct stress pattern.

Exercise 8
Mark the stressed syllables in the following words and say them with the correct stress
pattern. You-may consult the dictionary, if you like.
1 comprehension 2 conversation
3 .pronunciation 4 correspondence
5 shopkeeper 6 accompany
7 available 8 university
9 television 10 constitution

5.4 LET US SUM UP

In this unit we have
given you practice in listening to news bulletins and understanding them,
presented a dialogue between a bicycle dealer and a customer and given you practice in
writing a similar dialogue,
shown the lack of correspondencebetween letters and sounds in English, and
introduced you to stress patterns in English words.

I
5.5 KEY WORDS
The stressed syllables have been marked in words of two or more syllables.
a'mendment : a change made in a rule
'broadcast (n.) : something sent out by radio or TV
'bulletin : an official statement of news
'casualty : a person killed or seriously injured in a battle or accident
ci'vilian : a person not serving with the forces
'consonant : a speech sound produced by a complete or partial stoppage of the breath
,consti 'tution : laws and principles according to which a country is governed. India has a
written constitution.
,correlspondence : agreement
'customer : a person who buys things
de'fection : falling away from loyalty to a political party
'dialogue : conversation or talk
dis'qualify : make someone unfit
,escallation: increase
'feature : a characteristic part
'Legislature : a law-making body. Each State in India has a Vidhan Sabha (Legislative
Assembly) and (in some cases) a Vidhan Parishad (Legislative Council).
'letter : a chpacter or sign, of which words in writing are formed. The English alphabet has
26 letters.
,maga'zine : a paper-covered periodical with stories, articles, etc. by various writers
'Parliament : the supreme law-making body. In India it has two Houses -Lok Sabha and
Rajya Sabha.
prqnunci'ation : way in which a language is spoken
'secondary : less important
stress : .extra force, used in speaking, on a particular word or syllable
'syllable : a minimum rhythmic unit of spoken language consisting of a vowel often
preceded or followed by consonants
'terrorist : one who uses violence for political purposes
'vowel : a speech sound made without stopping of the breath or friction in its passage out
through the mouth
word : a sound or combination of sounds (or the written symbols) forming a unit of the
grammar or vocabulary of a language

5.6 ANSWERS TO EXERCISES

Exercise 1
1 The Constitution Fifty-second Amendment Act bans defection in Parliament and State
Legislatures.
2 A member will be disqualified, if he
a) voluntarily gives up membership of the party on whose behalf he was elected to a
House of Legislature, or
b) votes contxary to the party's directive, or
c) abstains from voting in violation of party instructions.
3 No.
Exercise 2
1 The main reason for Rajiv Gandhi's grave concern is the attack by the two countries on
civilian targets in spite of their agreement not to do so.
2 A.temrist who had the bomb attached to his waist.
3 a) while President Khomeini was addressing a Friday prayer meeting.
b) the terrorist and a number of worshippers.
Exercise 4
i) extreme, priest, receive, seat, police
ii) baby, beside, cottage, women, practice
iii) aid, day, grey, eight, radio
iv) any, bury, dead, friend, cassette
v) damp, plait, rag, wax, act
vi) does, blood, rough, won, under
vii) bar, calm, class, heart, laugh
viii) cough, knowledge, shone, want, not
ix) fruit, lose, through, new, shoe,
x) boat, close, go, low, though
Exercise 5
a, able, any, bag, basket, village
e, bed, English, extreme, player, concern
i, bird, bite, police, sit, terrible
o, box, come, more, rose, woman
u, busy hurt, much, pull, truth
Exercise 6
(i) 1 (ii) 2 (iii) 2 (iv) 2 (v) 2 (vi) 2 (vii) 2 (viii) 3 (ix) 4 (x) 2
 Exercise 8
1~ompre'hension2 .conver'sation 3 prqnunci'ation 4,com'spondence
5 'shopkeeper 6 ac'company 7 a'vailable 8,uni'versity 9'feleyision (~r~tele'vision)
10 consti'tution

Appendix: Passages for Listening Comprehension

Exercise 1
The law banning defections in Parliament and State Legislatures has come into force from
today. The Union Law Ministry issued a notification this afternoon bringing the Constitution
Fifty-second Amendment Act into force with immediate effect. The Bill on the subject was
adopted in the last session of Parliament.
The new law disqualifies a member, if he voluntarily gives up membership of the party on
whose behalf he was elected to a House of Legislature, or votes contrary to the party's
directive, or abstains from voting in violation of party instructions. Such voting can,
however, be condoned by the party within 15 days. Any question about whether a member '
has become subject to disqualification on the ground of defection will be decided by the :
presiding officer of the concerned House. No court will have any jurisdiction in this regard.
An independent member will be disqualified if he joins any party after his election.
There are special provisions in regard to splits in political parties or their mergers.
Exercise 2
India has urged both Iran and Iraq to stop attacking each other's civilian targets, as a first
step towards ending their war. This should be followed by other measures of de-escalation.
. untimately leading to a complete cessation of hostilities.
In a statement in New Delhi today the Prime Minister, Mr. Rajiv Gandhi, expressed grave
concern at the sharp escalation in the Iran-Iraq war and the large-scale human suffering in
both the countries. He said in spite of an agreement by the two Governments not to attack
civilian targets, the latest information indicated that densely populated areas, including the
two capital cities, had been attacked.
Mr. Gandhi's statement follows his communications to the Presidents of Iran and Iraq sent
on Wednesday last, conveying to them the deep concern of India and the rest of the Non-
4
aligned Movement over the continuing war between the two member nations. Mr. Rajiv
Gandhi appealed to them to find a way for ceasing their hostilities. He said India both
bilaterally and on behalf of the Non-aligned Movement was prepared to do whatever it could I
towards this end.
According to information received in New .Delhi, there has been no report of any Indian
having been affected as a result of the latest spurt in fighting.
Meanwhile, there has been a bomb explosion in Iran at Teheran University resulting in
heavy casualties. The explosion took place while President Khomeini was addressing a
Friday prayer meeting. The Iranian News Agency said that among the thousands of
worshippers was a terrorist with a bomb attached to his waist. The bomb exploded, killing
the terrorist and a number of others on the spot.