The News

News is coming in of an earthquake in southern China. Five hundred people are believed to have died, with over two thousand injured. International rescue teams have arrived in the area, and a huge humanitarian operation is underway. The earthquake is reported to have been 6.5 on the Richter scale.

A Monet painting has been stolen from the Louvre museum in Paris. Thieves are thought to have hidden themselves while the museum was closing, then escaped through a skylight. The painting is said to be worth $50 million.

The crisis over rising house prices seems to be settling down. Interest rates fell a further half a percent last month. Government sources said that it is hoped that prices will level out to an overall rise of five per cent over the last twelve months.

6. Present a piece of news in 5-10 sentences in front of your group. Use the intonation typical of informational style.

7. Read the following poem. Which style do you think it is in? What are the phonostylistic peculiarities of this poem? Lay stress-tone marks on the last two columns and learn it by heart. Make a poetic translation of the poem into Ukrainian or Russian.

From a Railway Carriage

(R.L. Stevenson)

ˈFaster than →fairies,| ˈfaster than →witches,|

ˈBridges and →houses,| ˈhedges and →ditches|

And ˈcharging a→long| like ˈtroops in a →battle,|

ˈAll through the ˏmeadows,| the ˋhorses and ˎcattle;|

All of the ↗sights of the ↗hill and the ˏplain|

ˈFly as ↑thick as ˈdriving ˎrain;|

And ˈever a→gain,| in the ˌwink of an ˏeye,|

ˈPainted ˎstations| ˈwhistle ˎby.||

Here’s a child, who clambers and scrambles,

All by himself and gathering brambles;

Here’s a tramp who stands and gazes;

And there’s a green for stringing the daisies!

Here’s a cart run away in the road,

Lumping along with man and load;

And here’s a mill and there’s a river;

Each a glimpse and gone forever.

8. Listen to the following dialogues presented in the informational phonostyle, choose 2 of them, lay stress-tone marks and learn them by heart.

Booking Airline Tickets (p.28)

I. -I want to fly to Geneva on or about the 1st . -I’ll just see what there is. -I want to go economy, and I prefer the morning. -Lufthansa flight LH203 leaves at 09.20. -What time do I have to be there? -The coach leaves for the airport at 08.15.	II. -I’d like to book a flight to Munich for Monday the tenth. -I’ll have a look in the timetable for you. -I’ll need an economy class open return. -KLM have got a DC-9 leaving at 09.25. -What else ought I to know? -The latest time of reporting is 08.35 at the airport.
III. -What flights are there from London to Vienna tomorrow? -If you’d like to take a seat, I’ll find out for you. -I’d like to travel first-class, please. -BA flight BE 502 takes off from Heathrow at 09.25 and flies direct. -What time have I got to get there? -You’ll have to be at West London Air Terminal by 08.10 at the latest.	IV. -Are there any planes to Zurich on a Sunday? -If you’ll excuse me for a second. I’ll check. -By the way, I don’t want a night flight. -There is a Swiss Air Trident out of London at 09.20. -When am I supposed to check in? -If you are going to the airport you must be there before 08.35.

9. Listen to the presentations a fairy-tale and a story. Make up your own fairy-tale or story with the idea of traveling (up to 250 words) and present it in front of your group using all the peculiarities of the artistic phonostyle.