17.1 Do these compound adjectives have main stress in their first part or their second part? Underline the syllable with main stress.
EXAMPLES: sky-high colour-coded
1 homesick 5 armour-plated 9 empty-handed
2 far-fetched 6 cinemagoing 10. fireproof
3 spine-chilling 7 gift-wrapped 11 self-financing
4 mind-blowing 8 well-meaning 12 machine-readable
Now listen and check your answers. Then say the compounds aloud. Which one is an exception to the rules given in B and C opposite?
17.2 Read the profile of Sarah Fox. Focus on the compound adjectives in bold (some are given in B and C opposite) and circle the syllable you think will have main stress. Remember some have stress shift.
High-flying surgeon introduces ground-breaking changes…
Sarah Fox is easy-going and is rarely bad-tempered. She’s very public-spirited and does a lot of time-consuming work for charity. She’s quite good-looking. She has close-cropped hair and wears glasses because she’s short-sighted. She’s a high-flying surgeon, world-famous in her field, and is extremely hard-working. She’s recently introduced some ground-breaking changes into her hospital. She’s always well-dressed at work. At home, though, she prefers to wear loose-fitting shirts, often in eye-catching colours. Surprisingly, she’s a rather introverted person, and sometimes gets a bit tongue-tied in public. And she’s rather camera-shy, too. Because of a long-term problem with her health, her diet has to be fat-free. At the moment she’s taking a well-earned holiday in Majorca.
Now listen and check your answers. Finally, read the description aloud.
17.3 Do you know the meaning of the abbreviations in column A? If not, check in a dictionary or the Key. Then listen to the abbreviations and repeat them. Notice that the main stress is always on the last letter. Finally, choose an appropriate abbreviation from each pair to complete the sentence in column B.
|
A |
B |
1 |
CEO/DVD |
She’s the company’s ……CEO…….. . |
2 |
AOB/PC |
My laptop was advertised in a magazine called …………….. World. |
3 |
OHP/NHS |
She works as a nurse for the …………. |
4 |
ATM/RP |
There aren’t many people here who speak …………. |
5 |
AGM/RSI |
The …………. ‘s cancelled. |
6 |
TLC/VAT |
She just needs a lot of rest and a bit of ………….. |
7 |
UFO/WHO |
We’ve followed all the ……… guidelines. |
8 |
EU/RSVP |
They’re meeting at the …………. summit in Brussels. |
9 |
CV/ETA |
If there are no delays, what’s your ………….? |
10 |
CD/IT |
The software’s on a …………. -ROM. |
11 |
CND/DIY |
He spends most weekends doing …………. |
12 |
GMT/HGV |
The eclipse iS at 9 o’clock …………. |
Now listen and check your answers. Finally, say the sentences aloud. The Key gives details of stress shift.