Sound Drills

1. Practice the following words and phrases. Be sure to make the sounds [t, d, n, l, s, z] dental before [0] and [8]

a)

eighth, cut-throat, width, breadth, bloodthirsty, hundredth, thousandth, spendthrift, month, ninth, seventh, thirteenth, fourteenth, fifteenth, sixteenth, nineteenth, anthem, enthusiasm, health, wealth, stealth, althouth;

b)

[t]	don’t threaten, might think, isn’t thirsty, a bit thick, last Thursday, put things away, get thick, great theories, perfect therapy; not these/those, abait this, get there, let them, felt that, stopped then, dust the furniture, wiped the dust, polished the furniture;
[d]	would think, mid thirties, had thorns, read thoroughly, paid through the nose, could thaw, would thunder; spend the day, mend the socks, behind the house, beside the lake, outside the garage, made the bed, told the truth, laid the table, stayed there, did the washing-up;
[n]	in theatres, plan thoroughly, can throw, ten-thirty, thin thread, a born thief, ten thousand, seven theatres, the main thoroughfare; than that, even though, on the left/right, in the middle, on the corner, in the south, in the north, in the east, in the west, in the open air, in the dead of night, on the one hand, on the other hand, in the 90s;
[l]	until thick, will think, the whole thing, dull theories, beautiful theatres, cheerful thanks, wonderful thoughts, traditional things, incredible thefts; all the time, all the same, tell the truth, spell the name, call the doctor, kill them, fell there, to spoil the child, to pile the bricks;
! [s]	nice thread, a serious threat, an obvious thought, Pete’s thumb, it’s thundering, it’s thawing, six-thirty, six thousand, this theatre; worse than, slice them, makes them, press the button, pass the salt, cross the street, across the rules, to miss the classes, to discuss the topic, what’s the matter;
! [z]	is thin, was thick, these things, those threats, his thumb, granny’s thimbles, winds through, it was thundering, it was thawing, it was Thursday, who is thirsty; as though, is there, was the same, towards them, says that, suppose that, use the lift, close the window, to lose the keys, to accuse their parents, to amuse the guests

2. Practise the clusters of alveolar consonants preceding [0, 8] in connected speech.

a) set expressions, proverbs and sayings

a) sixth sense

b) a fly in the ointment

c) to beat about the bush

d) to read the tea-leaves

e) to be more dead than alive

f) to be in the seventh heaven

g) to dot the i’s and cross the t’s

h) on the tip of the tongue

i) with both feet on the ground

j) between the devil and the deep (blue) sea

1. First things first.

2. First think, then speak.

3. As the call, so the echo.

4. The end crowns the work.

5. Second thoughts are best.

6. Easier said than done.

7. When in Rome, do as the Romans do.

8. He who pays the piper calls the tune.

9. A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.

10. Men must do as they may, not as they would.

11. An hour in the morning is worth two in the evening.

12. Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise.

b) sentences

1. Don’t threaten them.

2. You’re getting a bit thick round the middle.

3. Not all the flowers there had thorns.

4. Edward thrust his way towards them.

5. We sat talking about this, that and the other.

6. Anybody would think he’s in his mid thirties.

7. Beat the whites of three eggs until they get thick.

8. We bought that three-stored house in the late thirties.

9. Read thoroughly all the instructions in the following excercises.

10. He yelped at the top of his throat and the thieves threw all the things.

11. You shouldn’t throw your clothes there: you’ll never find them.

c) conversational contexts

1.

– Is there anything worth watching on the other channel?

– I don’t think you’ll get thrilled at that film.

2.

– What was the weather like?

– Well, it was rainy when we arrived, but then it improved. And the last ten days were perfectly marvellous.

3.

– Do you think the manager could see me at nine-thirty next Thursday?

– He won’t be in till ten-thirty (unless there’s a miracle).

4.

– Excuse me, but I’m trying to find the town hall. Do I take the second on the left?

– No, you want the first on the right. You’ll get there in less than a minute.

5.

– Excuse me, is there a post-office near here?

– Left at the traffic lights, left again at the top, past the cinema, and it’s the first on your left. You can’t miss it.

6.

– Which thread do I need?

– I think this thread is thicker than that. On the other hand, the thin one’s nicer.

7.

– Would you demonstrate the process of washing?

– Look. There are some clothes. You put them in the machine. You shut the door. And you press the button. It’s as simple as that.

8.

– I’ve got to get through the A level exams first. I’ll worry about University if and when I ever get there.

– That’s the trouble with you. You always try to do everything at the last minute.

9.

– I hear Malcolm is likely to win all the prizes in the exams this year.

– Yes, he deserves that. He’s been slaving at the books every evening for months on end this year.

10.

– Have you noticed the old oak trees in the lane? The leaves have turned yellow already. They look so beautiful, don’t they?

– When the leaves change colour, everyone says how beautiful they look. My hair was yellow once and now it’t going grey, but no one says that it looks beautiful any more.

d) dialogues, texts

1.

A	Arthur and Martha are such enthusiasts. They are so enthusiastic.
B	What are they so enthusiastic about?
A	Oh, about everything. Among other things, they’re both very enthusiastic about the theatre.
B	The theatre. Mm.
A	I loathe the theatre. And I loathe enthusiasts.
B	I loathe Arthur and Martha.

2.

– Take the turning to the left at the bottom of the hill – there’s a pub called The Green Man on the right.

– I’ve got that. Go on.

– The road winds through a small village, over a bridge, across a river and then under a railway…

– Slow down a bit. I’m trying to write this down. I’ll never remember all that.

– I’ve nearly finished. After a couple of minutes you’ll reach Harpole. Manor Road is the 2^nd turning on the left, and our house is at the end on the right.

– I suppose I’ll find it. But if I’m not there by midnight send out a search party!

3.