Henry’s 4.5 million secret

The v i lla g ers in Middleton, Yorkshire often wo rried ab ou t poor old Henry War dle. Henry, 86, lived alone ex c ept for his ancient cat, Tiddles, in a tiny, one-bedr oo med c otta g e, and always a sked for credit wh en buying cat f oo d in the local sh op. Then l a st m o nth Henry died l ea ving 4.5 million p ou nds in his will. The tru th was that Henry was a multimillionaire, and he ow ned houses all over the c ou ntry from whi ch he made a f o rtune in rent. All this came as a compl e te sh ock to his neighbours. They believed that Henry was a p oor window cl ea ner, and indeed he often entert ai ned th em with tales from his wind ow -cleaning d ay s.

However, his br o ther, Mr Sam Wardle said that this was all nonsense. Henry had never been a window cleaner but had st a rted wor k at the age of fourteen as a bri ck l ay er. Then he bought his f i rst house, and after that he fre qu ently bought and sold h ou ses. S a m said that his brother’s only interest was maki ng m o ney, but he h a ted spending it. He didn’t sp e nd a penn y of his money unless he had to. He never had a holiday, but for many years he had a g i rlfriend, but he de ci ded not to marry her bec au se a wife was t oo e x p e nsive.

Henry left all his money to Tiddles and a l oc al cat ch arity. 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 (rising 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?