The way you say it CAMBRIDGE ENGLISH VOCABULARY IN USE ADVANCED

CAMBRIDGE ENGLISH VOCABULARY IN USE ADVANCED

UNIT 84

The way you say it

A	Verbs denoting volume: from quiet to loud Mumble and mutter are both usually negative: Stop mumbling! I can’t hear what you’re saying. He was muttering something under his breath – probably complaining, as usual. Murmur can be more positive: They murmured their approval when he told them the plan. The phrase without a murmur means without any protest, complaint or comment: They accepted it all without a murmur. I was surprised; normally they argue about everything. Raise your voice can be used in positive or negative contexts: You’ll have to raise your voice a bit. She’s a little hard of hearing. [speak louder] Don’t you raise your voice at me! [Do not speak in that loud, angry tone.] Shout, yell, scream, roar and shriek are all followed by at: Don’t shout at me! Yell often conveys urgency, anger, frustration; it is also used when there is much surrounding noise: He yelled at the children to stop messing around with his computer. ‘Stay where you are!’ he yelled above the noise of the traffic.  Shriek means loud and very high-pitched. It can be used in positive and negative contexts: ‘Oh, wow! That’s fantastic!’ she shrieked. Roar suggests very loud volume, but deeper-pitched, like a lion. It is used in positive and negative contexts: The crowd roared as he kicked the ball into the back of the net. ‘How dare you come in here!’ he roared angrily.
B	Verbs describing speech and styles of conversation Tom and Lily are always nagging (at) each other. [criticising faults or duties not done] Stop bickering over who sits by the window, you two! [arguing in an irritated way usually about something petty; synonym = squabble] They spent all evening slagging off their colleagues. [criticising in an insulting way; very informal] Jessie is always whining and whingeing. [complaining in an annoying way; informal, negative] He’s been chatting away on the phone all morning. [suggests light, non-serious talk; note how away is used to emphasise continuous/extended talk] We always gossip about work when we go out together. [talk about people, rumours, etc.] It took him a long time to realise they were winding him up. [/ˈwaɪndɪŋ/ teasing, fooling him; informal; noun = wind-up, often used in phrase, a complete wind-up] I realised she was buttering me up. [saying nice things because she wanted something from me; negative] Rick tends to exaggerate his problems, so don’t take him too literally. [make something seem greater than it really is; noun = exaggeration] Meg is inclined to generalise on the basis of her very limited experience. [make general statements about something; noun = generalisation]
C	Speech and articulation problems example meaning She speaks with a lisp. She lisps: she says ‘thing’ instead of ‘sing’. difficulty in making an ‘s’ sound and making a ‘th’ sound instead He hates speaking in front of people because he’s got a really bad stammer. speak with abnormal pauses and repetitions ‘I want to t-t-t-tell you something,’ she stuttered nervously. repeat sounds at the beginning of words He was slurring his words because he had drunk far too much alcohol. his words had a slow, lazy sound, difficult to understand I want to tell her I love her, but I get tongue-tied cannot say what I want to say because of nerves, i.e. emotional rather than physical problem affecting speech

EXERCISES

84.1	Without looking at the opposite page, can you remember the following? 1 a verb meaning ‘to argue in an irritated manner’ ____________________. 2 a phrase meaning ‘without complaining’____________________. 3 a verb meaning that someone often makes a ‘th’ sound instead of a ‘s’ or ‘z’ sound____________________. 4 three verbs meaning ‘speak very loudly’ that are followed by at____________________. 5 how the verb roar is different from the verb shriek____________________. 6 a verb meaning talking about people, usually when they are not present, often about their private affairs____________________. 7 a verb meaning to tease someone or fool them to make them look silly____________________. 8 a noun meaning making something sound more important or worse than it really is____________________.
84.2	Fill the gaps with one word. 1 ‘I want to c-c-c-c-come with you,’ she _____________ nervously. 2 Lara got _____________, perhaps because of the famous people present, and didn’t say a word all evening. 3 I wish you’d speak up and stop _____________. I can’t hear a word you’re saying. 4 I had to _____________ at him to be heard, the noise of the plane was so loud. 5 ‘I love you,’ he _____________ softly. 6 I hate people who _____________ about their workmates. I never talk about other people. 7 The drugs had made her speech very incoherent. She was _____________ all her words. 8 She speaks with a _____________ – she says whithper, instead of whisper. 9 I know Ben is a little strange but you can’t _____________ about all Canadians just because of him.
84.3	Choose the correct word to complete these sentences. 1 They’re always wining / whining and whingeing about everything. Take no notice of them. 2 I don’t believe you. I think you’re winding me up / down. 3 Do you think Peggy was trying to bicker / butter me up for some reason? I wonder why she was saying all those nice things about me? 4 You’re always nagging / slagging me! Just leave me alone and let me watch TV!
84.4	Complete the crossword.

ANSWER KEY

84.1 1 to bicker 2 without a murmur 3 to lisp / to speak with a lisp / to have a lisp 4 shout, yell, scream (also roar, shriek) 5 roar is a deeper sound, like a lion; shriek is a very high-pitched sound 6 to gossip / to slag (someone) off 7 to wind (someone) up 8 exaggeration 84.2 1 stuttered / stammered 2 tongue-tied 3 mumbling / muttering 4 yell / shout 5 murmured 6 gossip 7 slurring 8 lisp 9 generalise 84.3 1 whining 2 up 3 butter 4 nagging 84.4