任务一 语音语调
有感情地朗读短文并完成文后的练习。
Here is some information about homes in the United States and the people who live
in them.
In the early 1990s, there were more than 91 million homes or households(家庭) in
the USA.
Now about 65% of the people in the USA own their homes. The rest rent(租) their
homes. The rented homes are usually apartments(公寓).
74% of the people in the USA make their homes in or around cities. 26% live in the
country.
What about dogs? Dogs live in about 48% of all homes in the USA and about 38%
of all homes have cats.
Families in the USA are becoming smaller. On the average(平均), 2.64 people
lived in a home in the early 1990s. In 1960, the average was 3.5.
Do teenagers have their own bedrooms at their homes now? Half of them in the USA
have their own bedrooms.
An American moves, on the average, twelve times in his or her life. In Japan a
person moves about five times, and in England a person moves about eight times. Isn't
that interesting?
1. Which of the following words has a different number of syllables(音节)?
A. households B. million C. information D. England
2. Which of the following underlined parts is different in pronunciation(发音) from the
others?
A. person B. smaller C. teenagers D. average
3. Which of the following is NOT true?
A. What about dogs?
B. Do teenagers have their own bedrooms at their homes now?
C. Now about 65% of the people in the USA own their homes.
D. In Japan a person moves about five times, and in England a person moves
about eight times.

1. C
2. A
3. D

1. 音节数辨析：A.households为2个音节；B.million为2个音节；C.information为4个音节；D.England为2个音节，C的音节数与其他选项不同。
2. 发音辨析：A.person中划线部分发音为/ɜː/；B.smaller、C.teenagers、D.average中划线部分发音为/ə/，A的发音与其他选项不同。
3. 语调规则辨析：特殊疑问句和陈述句用降调，一般疑问句用升调；并列分句中，前一个分句末尾应用升调，后一个用降调。D选项中前一个分句使用降调，不符合语调规则，表述错误。