【雅思听力高分经验】只为与众不同 论不同英语口音的细微区别
一、不要对各国口音有抵触心理
很多考生会很容易的就对除英美意外的口音有抵触心理，觉得根本听不懂，这里小站老师需要澄清的是，雅思听力考试中出现的非英语为母语国家人的口音一定不会严重到影响理解的地步。它会体现该种口音一定的发音特点，比如：印度式英语t和d, k和g，p和b音不分。想要适应这些国家的口音，我们可以平常多看一些相关的美剧、电影，比如和这样有印度、日本角色的美剧，平时也可以多听一些剑桥雅思当中出现的相关音频，就能让我们消除对这几种国际口音的抵触感了。
二、尽量掌握英、澳、美音的发音特点
但从口音角度分析来看，英式口音相较于美式口音，会更加内敛一点，四平八稳，起伏较小;而美式口音的发音方式会更加的轻松随意，音调起伏比较多。从发音上看，英音 和美音在字母r是否卷舌以及单词中的元音口型大小都是有明显的区别的：英音中，大部分带有r的单词都不会发出卷舌音，但是在美音中，除了Mrs这个词以外，所有带r的字母组合都要卷舌，比如sister, car,bar等,尾音都要发出明显的卷舌音，类似中文的儿化音。澳大利亚作为英联邦成员，它的语音有着鲜明的英音的印迹，但是在澳洲音中/ei/和/e/ 这两个音节会跟英音有明显的不同：/ei/这个音会变为/ai/，例如place会读为/plais/，mate会读为/mait/;而/e/这个音会变 为/i/，比如remember会读为/ri'mimb/。
英国口音
英国口音的特点，就是阴阳顿挫，几乎每个音节都发的清清楚楚，长韵母音和短韵母音有十分明显的区别。而美式英语里面则有点含糊不清，大部分的长韵母音都被截短。比如说Class中的a音，属于长韵母音，英国人一般都发得比较完整。而美国人往往读成短音，听上去和bad里面的a音差不多。又如"Aunt"，美国人几乎无一例外发成“ant”，让人搞不清楚他们到底是说自己的阿姨，还是家门口的蚂蚁。
英国口音往往对位于弱音节上的清辅音发得十分清晰，美国人则经常把清辅音读成浊辅音。比如"Battery"，美国人读来就如同“Baddery"。
事实上我国中小学英语课上使用的英语发音，都是基于英国标准的。中央电视台的英语频道，以及外交部发言人对外国记者的谈话，也基本上都是英国式的英语。国外媒体当中，BBC是公认的英国式英语的典范。影视明星当中，休格兰特(主演四个婚礼和一个葬礼)是牛津毕业，操一口标准的上层社会的英音。
美国口音
事实上美国各地的口音差别并不大。除了上述对长韵母的截短之外，美国人往往把-ing读成-n。
东部
美东的发音，由于地理上靠近英国，因此很多方面更类似英国口音。我有一位教授毕业于普林斯顿(位于新泽西)，前几星期上课，我都以为她是英国人，后来经过多方证实，才知道她是地道美国人。
语言学上有rhotic和non-rhotic accent的说法。Rhotic accent(儿化音)，具体来讲，就是"r"不论做辅音(比如“red")，还是做元音(比如说"Four")，r都发音。与之相反的是Non rhotic accent (非儿化音)，这种发音风格是只发辅音r，不发元音r。英国人和部分美东地区以及小部分南方地区，都是属于非儿化音。美国大部分地区则为儿化音。
因为美国东部开发较早，人口流动性比较大，口音混杂的很厉害。目前为止，我还没有找到能够突出反映美东口音的影视作品。很多剧集虽然把地点设在美东，比如Friends(六人行)和Sex and the city(欲望都市)，但是这些剧集不能完全反映美东的口音。
名人当中，歌手Clay Aiken是北卡罗莱纳人，他的发音特别奇怪。
美国口音-南部
美国南方经济落后，民众普遍受教育不高，因此长期被美国其它地区的人看不起。南方大部分为农业区，农民被蔑称为redneck，意思是他们整天在太阳底下晒着，脖子发红。Redneck随后成为美国南方白人的代名词。
美国南方口音的特点就是拖长音，什么元音都拖的老长，而且词与词当中没有停顿，通通连读。再加上南方人爱用鼻音，他们的对话听起来就像两个感冒的人在聊天。事实上南方口音是很容易遭到嘲笑的。
名人当中：布什总统在德州度过大半生，讲话略带南方口音。著名心理节目主持人Dr.Phil McGraw是南方人，讲话口音很重。
影视节目：凡是背景设为美国南方的电影，几乎都是清一色的非常容易辨别的南方口音。比较著名的有《阿甘正传》和动画片《山大王》(King of the Hill)
姚明去的休斯敦，属于美国南方口音的特例-墨西哥湾沿海地区，据说这个的地方的人说话是南方口音+美东，不能证实。
美国口音-西部
西部由于接纳大量移民，因此口音混杂交融。
比较突出的是God里面的o音被拖长为Gaad，把leg发成layg。
澳洲口音：
澳洲最早是英国的殖民地，被用来发配犯人，后来又有大量淘金者涌入。
澳洲口音常常省略辅音h，直接发后面的元音。比如"how"经常发成“ow"。澳洲人称朋友为mate，而且喜欢夸张的发成Myte。于是有一个著名的笑话，说澳洲游客总喜欢缠着导游说：“Where are we going to die?"(我们到哪里去死?原文是Where are we going today? 澳洲人把today念成to die)
名人：很多在好莱坞发展的澳洲明星，比如Nicole Kidman，Hugh Jackman和Russell Crowe，说话多少带澳洲音。Nicole似乎最不明显。
影视作品：《海底总动员》(finding nemo)里面的鹭鸶，鲨鱼，牙医，都是典型的澳洲音。
雅思考试口语话题素材之家乡
1、Where do you come from?
2、What tourist attractions are there in your hometown? Would a foreign visitor enjoy them?
3、Did you learn much about the history of your hometown in school?
4、What do you think needs to change in your hometown?
5、What place(s) in your hometown do you go to in your spare time?
6、Why did you choose to live here/there?
7、What do you like about your hometown?
8、What do you think needs to be done to make your hometown a better place to live in?
9、For you, what benefits are there to living in a big city?
10、What facilities does your hometown have?
11、What sorts of buildings are there in your hometown?
12、What's the most attractive part of your hometown?
13、What forms of transport do visitors use to come to your hometown?
14、How could your hometown attract more visitors?
15、Has the weather in your hometown changed much in recent years?
Important:
At the moment (2012) in China, there are about 30 different topics being used in Part 1.
These topics and questions are in the examiner's question book(topic pool), the examiner is not allowed to make his or her own questions in Part 1 test.
雅思考试口语范文之旅行
You should say:
– when it happened
– where you were traveling to
– who you were traveling with
and explain why it took longer than you expected.
Part 3
Travelling in the City
What kind(s) transport would you recommend for people who want to travel around in your hometown?
What do you think are the advantages and disadvantages of cycling in the city?
How do you think transportation in cities will change in the future?
Long-Distance Travel
Do people in your country generally prefer to go on long trips or short trips? (Why?)
What effects does long-distance travel have on people?
How would you feel if you had the chance to travel in space?
范文
Last year I went to Yunnan with my family and it was really a trip that took longer than I expected.
It took longer than I expected due to several reasons. The first one was because of massive delays. For one thing, the airplane delays for more than 8 hours for no reason which was the most ridiculous one and annoyed me a lot. I remembered I read an entire book and played video games but still can’t kill the time. For another, when I arrived at the destination, the hotel was still not ready for us to check in and we wasted another 2 hours. The second reason was travelling in Yunnan was totally different from what I had expected. I thought Yunnan was a quiet city with marvelous natural sceneries but when I arrived there I was shocked by the huge number of tourists. No matter where I went I had to take a deep breath. I don’t feel natural and I can’t focus here. Anyway, it was really an awful trip. If I could choose again I would rather stay at home.
雅思大作文：newspapers are still the main source of news
雅思大作文题目：More and more people are reading news online, but newspapers are still the main source of news for most people. To what extent do you agree or disagree?
作文范文：
The newspaper is an important source of people’s daily news consumption, even though other media may get the upper hand nowadays such as the multimedia. It is predicted that the printing days are over due to strong competition from television, radio and the Internet. In terms of popularity, newspaper is statistically down but is not emotionally out.
Statistically, it can be said that the print news fans are dwindling, which means newspaper readership is getting squeezed by other ways of learning about news. According to research reports on the news industry, local television is the number one source of news for the majority of people, with digital news coming in second, followed by the radio, and then by the newspaper. One possible explanation why the newspaper is being left far behind is that many people do not see the point in buying a print newspaper if they believe they can get all the news they need elsewhere for free.
Nevertheless, for emotional reasons print newspapers will continue to exist for a good while. To begin with, the feeling of a warm newspaper right off the press is one of traditional readers’ favorite moments to begin a regular day. Unlike other ways of delivering news, a print newspaper can be physically held in a reader’s hands, and this is a huge pro for print editions. In addition, newspapers can provide opportunities for longer, more in-depth feature articles that tend to be read in full. Instead of becoming a thing of the past, print newspapers are still widely read and preferred by many audiences.
In conclusion, the golden days of print news are gone forever, but nothing is like the feeling of physically holding a newspaper in hands. After all, the different ways of learning about news are not mutually exclusive. Each news media outlet is effective in its own way.
