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Unit 4. Rice, Rise.

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The Consonant Sounds /s/ and /z/

Unit 4; Part A

4.1.jpgWhen you say the alphabet, the letters С and S are pronounced /si:/ and/es/.
Notice they both have the consonant sound /s/.

But S is also oftenpronounced as the consonant sound /s/.
Listen to the sounds /s/and /z/.
Look at the mouth diagram to see how to make these consonant sounds.
Notice that in the sound /s/, there is no voice from the throat. It sounds like the noise of a snake.
In the sound /z/, there is voice from the throat. It sounds like the noise of a bee.

Unit 4; Part B

Now listen to the sound /s/ on its own.
Listen to the targetsound /s/ in the words below and compare it with the words on each side.

zoo      Sue    zoo
rise      rice    rise
shave   save   shave
thing    sing    thing


Listen and repeat these examples of the target sound.


          sad    city    science    scream
         glasses      concert       lo
st
        bus        place        cla
ss
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Unit 4; Part C

Listen to the sound /z/ on its own.

Listen to the target sound /z/ in the words below and compare it with the words on each side.

Sue           zoo     Sue
place       plays    place
breathe  breeze   breathe
beige       bays     beige
Listen and repeat these examples of the target sound. 

            zoo   zero
            lazy      easy       sci
ssors      exact
            size    wise      time
s

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Unit 4; Part D

Spelling

  frequently sometimes
 notes
/s/
S (sad), SS (class)
С (place
     

 SC (scienсе) X can spell /ks/ (mix).
S is not always pronounced /s/ (sugar, rise, plays).
/z/
 Z (zero), S (nose)ZZ (buzz)
SS (scissors)
 
 X spells /gz/ (exact).
-SE at the end of a word is usually pronounced /z/ (rise).

Unit 4; Part E

Pronunciation may be connected to grammar:       
use /ju:s/ = noun       use /ju:z/ = verb           close /kl∂us/ = adjective    close /kl∂uz/ = verb           house /haus/ = noun         house /hauz/ = verb

 



Exercises


flag.jpgFind a way from Start to Finish. You may not pass a square if the word contains the sound /z/. You can move horizontally оr vertically only. Key4.7.jpg
4.6.jpg

flag.jpgComplete this conversation using words from the box. Then listen and check.
eyes; ice; niece; knees



Sid:  Alice's  niece  is nice.
Joe:  Are nice, Sid. Plural. Her _______kneesare nice.
Sid:  I'm not talking about her _______knees, I'm talking about her _______niece!
Joe:  Oh, I see, _______niece with a C.
Sid:  That's right. She has nice _______eyes.
Joe:  How can _______ice be nice? It's too cold.
Sid:  Not _______ice, you fool! E-Y-E-S!

Follow up: Play the recording again, pausing it after each of Sid'slines. You say Joe's lines before listening to him saying them.


flag.jpgListen to the sentences. Look at the words in italics. Underline the words in italics which contain the sound /s/ and cross out the ones which contain the sound /z/. Then listen again and repeat. Key1    I'm not going to advise you. You never take my advice.
2    Your tooth is loose. You'll lose it if you're not careful.
3    The shop's very close to home, and it doesn't close till late.
4    I can't excuse people who drop litter. There's no excuse for it.

Example:  
You can have my tent. It's no use to me. I never use it.
1    I'm not going to advise you. You never take my advice.
2    Your tooth is loose. You'll lose it if you're not careful.
3    The shop's very close to home, and it doesn't close till late.
4    I can't excuse people who drop litter. There's no excuse for it.




galka.jpgListen and circle the word you hear.  Key1. prize  2. he's a  3. suit   4. saved   5. think   6. clothed

1    Price or prize?    I got a good price / prize for that painting.
2    He sat or he's at?    I don't know where he sat / he's at.
3    Suit or shoot?    They didn't suit / shoot him.
4    Saved or shaved?   I've saved / shaved a lot in the past few days.
5    Sink or think?   We didn't sink / think.
6    Closed or clothed?    They were closed / clothed for the cold weather.
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