美式英语正音训练第20期:Exercise 1-18 Reading with Staircase Intonation

 　　第一章 练习18：阶梯状语调的应用 Exercise 1-18 Reading with Staircase¹ Intonation²

　　Exercise 1-18:

　　Reading with Staircase Intonation

　　Read the following with clear intonation where marked.

　　Hello, my name is ______.

　　I'm taking American Accent Training.

　　There's a lot to learn, but I hope to make it as enjoyable as possible.

　　I should pick up on the American intonation pattern pretty easily,

　　although the only way to get it is to practice all of the time.

　　I use the up and down,

　　or peaks³ and valleys,

　　intonation, more than I used to.

　　I've been paying attention to pitch⁴, too.

　　It's like walking down a staircase.

　　I've been talking to a lot of Americans lately,

　　and they tell me that I'm easier to understand.

　　Anyway, I could go on and on,

　　but the important thing is

　　to listen well and sound good.

　　Well, what do you think?

　　Do I?

1 staircase   

n.楼梯，楼梯间

参考例句：

• Footsteps on the staircase interrupted his train of thought.楼梯上传来脚步声，打断了他的思路。
• I crossed the staircase landing,and entered the room she indicated.我经过一个楼梯平台，走进她说的那个房间。

2 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。

3 peaks   

n.山峰( peak的名词复数 )；最高点；尖端；帽舌

参考例句：

• There have been peaks and troughs in the long-term trend of unemployment. 长期以来失业率一直时起时伏。
• We looked up at the rocky peaks towering above us. 我们抬头观望高高耸立的遍布岩石的山峰。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 pitch   

n.球场；声音的高低度；沥青；程度；v.投掷

参考例句：

• The pitch is too small to play football on.球场太小了，无法踢足球。
• People just pitch their rubbish over the wall.人们径直把垃圾扔过墙去。