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💸 Как сделать бизнес проще, а карман толще?

Тот, кто работает в сфере услуг, знает — без ведения записи клиентов никуда. Мало того, что нужно видеть свое раписание, но и напоминать клиентам о визитах тоже. Проблема в том, что средняя цена по рынку за такой сервис — 800 руб/мес или почти 15 000 руб за год. И это минимальный функционал. Нашли самый бюджетный и оптимальный вариант: сервис VisitTime.
⚡️ Для новых пользователей первый месяц бесплатно. А далее 290 руб/мес, это в 3 раза дешевле аналогов. За эту цену доступен весь функционал: напоминание о визитах, чаевые, предоплаты, общение с клиентами, переносы записей и так далее.
✅ Уйма гибких настроек, которые помогут вам зарабатывать больше и забыть про чувство «что-то мне нужно было сделать».
Сомневаетесь? нажмите на текст, запустите чат-бота и убедитесь во всем сами!

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1. Take a deep diaphragmatic breath on the count of 5. On the next count of 5 hold it, and on the next count of 5 release the air. Proceed in the same way on the counts of 6 and then 7. Try to breathe in and out softly.

2. Take a deep diaphragmatic breath and count aloud from 1 to 5. Try to use all air you have in your lungs. Make sure that your vocal cords are relaxed. Check on it by putting your hand on your throat – the neck muscles should not be tensed. Proceed in the same way now counting to 6 and then to 7.

3. Take a deep diaphragmatic breath and say the following “One by one they went away”. If you have some air left let it out freely. Make sure that your vocal cords are relaxed. Proceed in the same way adding one unit to the sentence “One by one and two by two they went away”, and so on up to “five by five…”

4. Do the same as in 3 but starting with the lowest voice you can make and picking its range on each number. The last number should be said on the highest peach of your voice. Try not to go beyond your natural voice.

5. Do the same as in 4 but starting on the lowest pitch and going to the highest.

6. Take a deep diaphragmatic breath and read the following poem. Start by taking a breath after each line. Increase the number of lines read at one breath until you read the whole poem at one breath. Try to control the output of the air and make sure that your vocal cords are relaxed.

B How str ange you are, Miss Str ange! I suppose all the Str anges are str ange.

This unit is about prominence and the decisions a speaker makes in distributing prominence to give an utterance its intended meaning. In any conversation between speakers of English some words are more noticeable than others. By assigning a prominent syllable to a certain word (at a particular point in the developing conversation) the speaker foregrounds or “highlights” that word. Decisions to highlight the selected words are influenced by the conversational context.

A prominent syllable is always an accented syllable of a word, but the converse doesn’t apply. So any accented syllable (the syllable caring the word accent) could be prominent if the speaker chooses to highlight the word containing it. The syllable “hired” and “mo” of “motorbike” will always have word accent in the above examples, but whether either or both of them also have prominence will depend on the context.

1.2. Now listen to this short extract from the conversation. In the transcript below draw a box round the words, which you think are noticeable.

A highlighted word is more noticeable of a syllable because it contains a prominent syllable. The most important features of a syllable, which is heard as prominent, are raised level of pitch (fundamental frequency) and an increased volume (loudness, intensity).

1.3. Listen for more examples (find at least three) where a word, which occurs more than once is sometimes highlighted and sometimes not. Write down these examples.

2.1. A speaker highlights the words which are most significant at that point in the conversation.

Alan could have asked Louise to move in several different ways. For example, he could have said any of these

So, at this pint he highlights “ turn ” and “ towards ”. Later he repeats the two words “ slightly towards ” but this time he highlights “ slightly ” because this is the one she hasn’t responded to: No – only slight ly towards me. A word may at one point of the conversation be very significant and at another point be part of the background of what the speaker says. In order to make hearer notice the word when it is significant the speaker highlights it.

2.2. Try to explain why a speaker highlights the words in the examples you have written down. Use the above explanation as a model.

3.1. Listen again to these extracts and repeat each one. Try to imitate the speaker (Alan) and to make the diagram of your speech similar to that of his (the model diagram).

1) Turn slightly to wards me. 2) Your head slightly towards me. 3) Only slight ly towards me.

Note: when we wish to show which syllable is prominent we print them in CAPITAL LETTERS.

4.1. Listen to the following utterances; you’ll hear each one twice. Decide which of the questions (a) or (b) provides a suitable context for what you hear. The highlighting is not transcribed here, so you must recognize which word is made prominent.

4.2. First listen to this short conversation. Then listen again and repeat B’s part.

Now go on. Take B’s part and respond to A’s questions. Or work with a partner and take it in turns to take the parts of A and B. Highlight the words you want to make more noticeable in each of the responses.

4.3. Listen to this example. The same or similar words are used to reply to three different questions.

Now go on. Take B’s part and use the same words to give suitable answers to three questions.

4.4. For this activity work with a partner if possible. B uses the same words to respond to the two different things that A says.

2. Listen to the dialogue once more and find the phrases which were mentioned more than once. Explain the speakers’ choice in highlighting the words. Practise reading these phrases paying most of your attention to highlighting.

S: Thanks. I’ll need it. I hope the trains are running on time. If the trains are delayed, I’ll get a taxi. If I’m late with the interview I’ll be furious with myself!

S: They’ll send me a letter in the next few days. If they offer me the job, I’ll accept it, and if I accept it, we’ll have to move house. You know that, don’t you?

J: I can’t remember. When I get to the office I’ll look in my diary. I don’t think I’m doing much today.

J: I won’t. You’d better go now. If you don’t hurry, you’ll miss the train.

3. Listen to the dialogue and try to define the stressed syllables and the pitch movement within the heads and nuclear tones.

Student A. You’re a customer in a small restaurant and are ready to order. The menu is quite limited, but there’re different kinds / flavors of each thing. Student B is a waiter / waitress and will ask you for your order.

Student B. You’re a waiter / waitress in a small restaurant. The customer’s menu is limited and Student A needs more information about the kinds / flavors of the things in each course before he/ she can order.

Tasks: 1. Prepare a conversation between a customer and a waiter. Don’t forget to highlight the words which are most important in the conversational context. Make use of “Practice activities”.

º All her life, Mrs Foster had had such a strong fear of missing a train, a plane, a boat or even the start of a play that her fear was almost an illness. In other respects, she was not a particularly nervous woman, but just the thought of being late on occasions like these used to throw her into a terrible state. As a result, a small muscle in the corner of her left eye would begin to tremble. It was not very much, but the annoying thing was that the problem refused to disappear until an hour or so after the train or plane - or whatever it was - had been safely caught.

It is really strange how in certain people a simple fear about a thing like catching a train can grow into serious anxiety. At least half an hour before it was time to leave the house for the station, Mrs Foster used to step out of the lift all ready to go, and then, as she was unable to sit down, she used to move about from room to room until her husband, who must have known about her state of mind, finally joined her and suggested in a cool dry voice that perhaps they had better go now, had they not?

Mr Foster may possibly have had a right to be annoyed by this silliness of his wife's, but he could have had no excuse for increasing her anxiety by keeping her waiting unnecessarily. It is not, of course, certain that this is what he did, but whenever they were going somewhere, his timing was so exact - just a minute or two late, you understand - and his manner so calm that it was hard to believe that he was not purposely causing pain to the unhappy lady. He must have known that she would never dare to call out and tell him to hurry. He had trained her too well for that. He must also have known that if he was prepared to wait just a little longer than was wise, he could make her nearly crazy. On one or two special occasions in the later years of their married life, it seemed almost as though he had wanted to miss the train, simply to increase the poor woman's suffering.

If the husband was guilty, what made his behaviour doubly unreasonable was the fact that, with the exception of this one small weakness, Mrs Foster was, and always had been a good and loving wife. For over thirty years, she had served him loyally and well. There was no doubt about this. Even she knew it, and although she had for years refused to let herself believe that Mr Foster would ever consciously hurt her, there had been times recently when she had begun to wonder.

1. Divide the text into intonation groups, determine their structure in each case.