Pronunciation Class-Lesson 11

Melody

1. Warm Up
Your teacher will read a poem by Robert Luis Stevenson entitled “Summer Sun”.
Listen and repeat. Read it with a relaxed tone of voice and pause only where the
punctuation is. While reading, try to understand what the poem says about.

Summer Sun
Great is the sun, and wide he goes
Through empty heaven with repose;
And in the blue and glowing days
More thick than rain he showers his rays.

Though closer still the blinds we pull

To keep the shady parlour cool,
Yet he will find a chink or two
To slip his golden fingers through.

The dusty attic spider-clad

He, through the keyhole, make it glad;
And through the broken edge of tiles
Into the laddered hay-loft smiles.

Meantime his golden face around

He bares to all the garden ground,
And sheds a warm and glittering look
Among the ivy's inmost nook.

Above the hills, along the blue,

Round the bright air with footing true,
To please the child, to paint the rose,
The gardener of the World, he goes.
Pronunciation Class-Lesson 11

2. Discussion 07-14-21
The stress and intonation create speech melody, and they are very closely
linked. The stress and intonation are formed by the following:
 Pitch : rise and fall of voice
 Loudness : volume of voice
 Length : how long you hold a sound or syllable
 Vowel quality : how is the vowel said in connected speech

2. Reading Practice Practice reading the entire story on 07-26-21

In this activity, you will do a reading practice with your teacher. Read it with
proper stressing and intonation.

Cinderella
Once upon a time, there was a simple and beautiful girl named
Cinderella. She lived with her evil stepmother and two stepsisters. The
stepmother did not like her and made her do all the household work. Her
stepsisters just never had to work, they just rolled around the house in their
fancy dresses. They always made fun of Cinderella because of her plane
dressing.
One day, a letter from the king came to their house which said that the king is
having a ball tonight and his son ‘The Prince’ would be choosing a wife; every
girl in the kingdom must be aware. Everyone got excited about reading this,
Cinderella wanted to go to the ball too. Her stepmother told her that she can
go if she completes all her work on time and also helps her stepsisters with
their dresses for the ball. Cinderella worked as fast as she could to get
everything done but there was always something left. At last, she was left at
home disappointed.
She was so sad that she ran to the garden and said, “Wishes never come
true”. “Never dear?” said a voice, as Cinderella looked up a little woman with
a wand and a kind smile stood in front of her. She was her fairy godmother.
She wanted to help Cinderella go to the ball. With the wave of her hand, she
made Cinderella look like a princess. She gave her a beautiful new gown,
glass slippers, and shiny black horses to reach the ball. Before leaving, the
fairy godmother said “the magic will only last until midnight you must reach
back home by then!”
Pronunciation Class-Lesson 11

When Cinderella enter the palace, everybody was shocked by her beauty, she
was the prettiest girl in the ball. Even her stepsisters didn’t recognize her. The
handsome prince also saw her and fell in love with her. She danced with the
prince all night. She enjoyed herself so much that she almost forgot what the
fairy godmother had told her about the magic. However when she saw the time
and remember fairy godmother’s words she quickly left the palace and run away
and all the hurry, one glass slipper which she was wearing was left on the castle
steps.
The prince had fallen in love with her and wanted to find out who she was and
he wanted to marry her. Next day, he ordered his king’s men to go to every
house in the land and find a girl whose foot fits in the glass slipper. When they
reach Cinderella‘s house, the two stepsisters tried their best to squeeze their big
feet into the slipper, but they could not make it. Finally when Cinderella tried
the slipper, her foot fit perfectly into the glass slipper. The prince recognized her
from the ball night. He married Cinderella in a grand ceremony and they lived
happily ever after.

3. Homework
Practice more using the same story above and record your voice while reading the
passage. Remember to read it with proper stressing and intonation. Present your
recorded reading to your teacher the next day.