Text 10 My early school years

All this was during a time which seemed carefree and radiant when I looked back afterwards in such longing, from the middle of my misery. I was still at my first school when I had the bicycle. Then I sat for a scholarship to go to a secondary school. We were given clear squares of pink blotting-paper and pens of unpainted wood with bright nibs which had never dipped in the ink. I saw with a big space around me, tense with fear and importance, trying to breathe properly. My father had to fill in a long questionnaire asking if he would be prepared to pay for my uniform and books, and think it was more than he could manage. Everything for that place had extra shillings on it. There were anxious discussions which I was not supposed to hear. In the summer holidays my mother took me to buy a new cap and tie, and the badge of Memorial Road School for my jacket. The colours were purple and grey, and the badge was just a large ‘M’ in a purple flame. After that we went to the bus station and set out to find the school itself. I remember us getting off the bus and twisting through several streets in a quiet district where everything was strange, going over some black dirt near a small park where there was a sand-pit for playing in, climbing slowly most of the time. Suddenly at the top of the road all I could see was a line of railings made from metal tubes, like scaffolding. There was only sky behind it, and I cried out: “ It’s like the seaside!” I knew it was impossible for a promenade and the sea to be up there, but I started pulling my mother along, making her walk faster, toll we reached the top.

There were anxious discussions, which I was not supposed to hear. ( this utterance represents a combined tune, which consists of 2 intonation groups which are in subordinative relations. This phrase is an example of a postposed subordination, where first comes the principal clause, then comes the subordinate clause, which is semantically incomplete. The most typical tone sequence here is the high falling tone in the first part, and partial stress in the second one, because the main idea is expressed in the first intonation group. )

It’s like the seaside! ( this utterance is emotionally colored and the speaker’s attitude is rather energetic and enthusiastic, that’s why the High emphatic falling tone together with the Irregular Prehead is suitable in this case to show this expressiveness .)

Text 11 I start work

“Hello, I – I’m Mandy”, I began, as I stepped past the nearly stocked shelves. “I start work here today”. Mrs. Matthews’ cool grey eyes looked me slowly up and down, making me feel even more uncomfortable. “So I understand,” she said, as she took the cover off the till. You’d better get an overall on if you intend to do anything useful ”. From things she muttered to herself, and certain customers during the day, I gathered that she’d taken it very badly that Mr. Jennings had decided to take on an assistant for her at all – that she was ‘quite capable’ of running the store herself, especially after fifteen years in the job. And she was even more narked at not being given a choice as to widow like myself,” I overheard her telling one customer – a stringy looking woman of about her own age. “These school leavers have everything handed to them on a plate, these days.” I caught my breath at the unfairness of that, but then reminded myself quickly that Mrs. Matthews didn’t really know me or my circumstances, yet. As soon as we were on our own, I mentioned conversationally how many months I’d been on the dole since leaving school last year. How glad I was that Mr. Jennings had taken me on. But before Mrs. Matthews cold reply, the door opened and another customer – an old man – breezed in. “What a pretty new face behind the cash desk today!” he exclaimed, giving me a wink as I blushed and smiled. “Your new girl can serve me my humbugs any time, Mrs. Matthews!”

You’d better get an overall on if you intend to do anything useful. (this utterance represents a combined tune, which consists of 2 intonation groups which are in subordinative relations. This phrase is an example of a postposed subordination, where first comes the principal clause, then comes the subordinate clause, which is semantically incomplete. The most typical tone sequence here is the high falling tone in the first part, and partial stress in the second one, because the main idea is expressed in the first intonation group.)

These school leavers have everything handed to them on a plate! ( this utterance is emotionally colored. The speaker’s attitude is rather energetic, so that’s why the most suitable expressive means here to show speaker’s emotion is the High Emphatic Falling Tone combined with the Scandent Head.)

Text 12 New school

We had come a little out of our way. An old man directed us back downhill to our right, and soon we stood in front of a grim, high building that reminded me of the city hospital. It was so large, so forbidding, that I could not imagine myself going there. Because it conveyed nothing I was quite brave, standing beside my mother staring across the queer blankness of the tarmac playground at the dead school with its rows of blind windows. There were three more weeks of holidays before I had to face the first day. My mother murmured, “You’ll be all right,” and the words, or perhaps the anxiety that had crept into her voice, gave me a twinge of uneasiness. We found our bus-stop and went home, It was Friday, which meant fish-cakes and home-made chips for tea, with moist new bread. I always looked forward to Friday. When the first Monday was still a week away a little fear came into me. Instead of dying it grew stronger, until by the Sunday it was a dread. The next day I would have to go, there was no escape, no way out, and in my despair I felt I should never trust my parents again. They had betrayed me, trapped me in some terrible sly way! I did not stop to think that I would have had to leave my old to stay there. I only knew I was being wrenched out of a place where I was rooted and happy, though I had never realized it before. Somehow I managed to get up next day, eat some breakfast and then put on the blazer and cap with their hateful badges. But as my mother held open the back gate and I wheeled my bicycle through dumbly, I saw by her face that she understood. “Never mind, you’ll soon be home,” she said hopelessly. “The first day’s always the worst”.

When the first Monday was still a week away, a little fear came into me. (this utterance represents a combined tune consisting of 2 adjacent intonation groups, which are in the subordinative relations, which means that the subordinate part is semantically and grammatically incomplete without the continuation. This is an example of preposed subordination, which presoposes that we should use the Low Rising tone to show that there is a continuation which follows. The speaker’s attitude is neutral, as it’s just a straightforward statement.)

They had betrayed me, trapped me in some terrible sly way! ( this utterance represents a combined tune, consisting of two adjacent intonation groups which are in coordinative relations. The most typical tone sequence here is the tonal reduplication, but in order to make this phrase more emotional as it’s required by the context, we may also apply high emphatic falling tones in both parts as the speaker’s attitude is quite irritating. )

Playground – compound word, consisting of 2 routs, it has a single stress pattern. The primary stress is placed on the first syllable because it denotes a new notion. Such word are usually spelled together or sometimes hyphenated.

Home-made - a composite word, consisting of two routs, it has a single stress pattern. The primary stress is placed on the first syllable. Such words are usually spelled together or hyphenated.