Henry’s 4.5 million secret

The villagers in Middleton, Yorkshire often worried about poor old Henry Wardle. Henry, 86, lived alone except for his ancient cat, Tiddles, in a tiny, one-bedroomed cottage, and always asked for credit when buying cat food in the local shop. Then last month Henry died leaving 4.5 million pounds in his will. The truth was that Henry was a multimillionaire, and he owned houses all over the country from which he made a fortune in rent. All this came as a complete shock to his neighbours. They believed that Henry was a poor window cleaner, and indeed he often entertained them with tales from his window-cleaning days.

However, his brother, Mr Sam Wardle said that this was all nonsense. Henry had never been a window cleaner but had started work at the age of fourteen as a bricklayer. Then he bought his first house, and after that he frequently bought and sold houses. Sam said that his brother’s only interest was making money, but he hated spending it. He didn’t spend a penny of his money unless he had to. He never had a holiday, but for many years he had a girlfriend, but he decided not to marry her because a wife was too expensive.

Henry left all his money to Tiddles and a local cat charity. His friend and family received nothing.

Intonation on questions

General question (Yes/No question)

To pronounce a general question your voice should go up at the end (rising intonation).

1. Is your sister a student?

2. Was he at the club last night?

3. Are there any sweets in your pocket?

4. Did you go to the cinema last night?

5. Are you interested in modern technologies?

6. Have you been waiting for me?

7. Will it rain tomorrow?

8. Are you drawing?

9. Have you got a pet?

10. Is Lisbon the capital of Spain?

Special question (Wh-question)

To pronounce a special question your voice should go down at the end (falling intonation). Remember to start high at the question word.

1. Where do you come from?

2. Why are you smiling?

3. What is the capital of Spain?

4. Where were you born?

5. What’s on the news today?

6. What sports can you play?

7. How many cousins have you got?

8. Whose bag is it?

9. Who are you writing to?

10. What kind of city is Belfast?

Alternative question (or)

To pronounce an alternative question your voice should go up before and down after it.

1. Have you got a brother or a sister?

2. Do you live in a house or a flat?

3. Did you travel to Africa or Asia last summer?

4. Do you like autumn or spring?

5. Can you play the piano or the guitar?

6. Do you go in for basketball or tennis?

7. Are you crying or laughing?

8. Are you going to watch TV or listen to music?

9. Is he or she your neighbour?

10. Would you like coke or sprite?

Proverbs

1. A bad workman blames his tool.

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

3. All that glitters is not gold.

4. Birds of a feather flock together.

5. Let bygones be bygones.

6. Look before you leap.

7. Make hay while the sun shines.

8. More haste less speed.

9. Out of sight out of mind.

10. Prevention is better that cure.

11. Still waters run deep.

12. It’s the last straw that breaks the camel’s back.

13. There’s no smoke without fire.

14. It’s no use crying over spilt milk.

15. What’s done cannot be undone.

16. When in Rome do as the Romans do.

17. Empty vessels make the most noise.

18. It’s a small world.