After the Cinema

Harry Nora Harry Nora Harry Nora Harry Nora Harry Nora Harry Nora Harry Nora Harry

ˈWe shall be ↗awfully ↗late ̬home| if ↘that ↘number ↘12 ˏbus| ↘doesn’t ↘come ̬soon…|| Let’s ˈstand in this ˎdoorway| ˈout of the ˎwind.|| ˈAll ˏright,| but we ˈmust be ˎcareful| ↘not to ↘miss the ˏbus…|| ˈHow did you enˎjoy the ˏfilm?|| I’d ˈnever have ˎgone| if I’d ↗known it was ↗going to ↗be ↗so ˎsilly.|| ˋWhy?|| ˈWhat was ˋsilly about it?|| Well, ↘no ↘sane ˏman| would have ↘married ↘that other ̬girl| so ˈsoon after he had ˎmurdered his ˏwife.|| It was ˎsure| to ˈmake ˈpeople suˎspicious.|| If he ˈhad ˈbeen ˏsane| he ˈwouldn’t have ˋmurdered her!|| Beˎsides| the ˈgirl wouldn’t have ˏwaited ˙for him| if he ↘hadn’t ↘asked her iˎmmediaˏtely.|| ˈAll the ˈbetter for ˏhim| if ˈshe ˎhadn’t.|| ˋYes,| but ˌthen he ˈwouldn’t have ˋpaid for his ˌcrime.|| ˎAnyhow, ↘I’d have en↘joyed the ↘film ˈmuch ̬more| if ˈElsa ˎHollywood had ˏbeen in it| inˈstead of ˈLinda ˋSpangle.|| And ˈI’d have enˈjoyed it ˏmore| if we ˈhadn’t ˈgone at ˎall.|| And ˈI’d have enˈjoyed it ˏmore| if you ↘hadn’t ↘been ↘so ˎrude| to ˈthat ˈwoman in ˎfront.|| Well, ˈI ˎshouldn’t have been rude to ˏher| if she had ˈstopped ˎchattering| when I ˎasked her.|| I ˎwish you’d beˌhave ˏbetter| in ˎpublic ˏplaces.|| ˈˈI beˈhave ˎbetter!|| I ˈlike ˋthat!|| Why, if ˈthat ˎwoman ˏhad…|| But ˎlook,| ˈisn’t it a ↗number ↗12 ↗bus ↗just ̬going?|| ˈYes, it ˎis,| and we’ve ˎmissed it| after ˎall.|| We should have ˎseen that ˌbus, ˏHarry,| if you ↘hadn’t ↘been so ↘busy ˎquarreˏlling.|| Oh, ˎreally, ˏNora,| I ˈthink it would have ˈbeen ↑much ˎbetter| if ↘I had ↘stayed at ˏhome to˙night| and let ˈyou ˈgo to the ↑cinema aˎlone.||

3. Read the text below with your own intonation using the Sliding, Scandent and Level Scales where possible. Comment on the emotions you have tried to convey using these scales.

(Avenues, p. 188)

I’m an opera singer who sings mezzo-soprano roles. That means I play a variety of young princes, kitchen boys, peasant girls and queens. Some composers, such as Puccini, don’t give mezzo-sopranos any parts, but I have had a lot of work in operas by Verdi and by contemporary composers. As I cannot afford to turn down good roles, sometimes I have a complicated timetable. Last year I had to commute daily between London, where I was performing in the evening, and Geneva, where I was rehearsing during the day. It’s surprising what you can get used to do! Rehearsing takes up most of an opera singer’s time. By the end of this year I will have given 63 performances and rehearsed almost every day of the year. I always look forward to performing in front of an audience. Often when I get home after a performance I can’t sleep because the music is still in my head.

4. Listen to the conversation about Liza Minnelli. Lay stress-tone marks, practice reading it and learn it by heart. Find reduction and assimilation in the dialogue and analyze all the cases in writing.

(Headway Adv. P. 136)

A Liza Minnelli is just fantastic! Her concert was amazing!

B It was, wasn’t it? And she puts so much energy into her songs, doesn’t she?

A Yes, she does. Who wrote that song about marriage, and the way it changes the world?

B She did. It’s one of the few songs she ever wrote, actually.

A So she can write as well as sing, can she? What a talent! Did you like her costumes?

B Yes, I did. I thought they were fantastic. I’ve seen most of then before.

A Have you? I haven’t. She’s playing again tomorrow, isn’t she?

B Yes, I think so. Let’s go again, shall we?

A All right. She’s one of the all time greats, Liza Minnelli is.

5. Listen to the following text. Practice reading it imitating its intonation and learn it by heart. Transcribe the sentences in bold. Find cases of reduction and assimilation in them and analyze them. Comment on the use of Descending Stepping Scale.