Exercise 1-30: Set Phrase Story—The Little Match Girl CD 1 Track 43
The following story contains only set phrases, as opposed to the descriptive story in Exercise 1-27. Stress the first word of each phrase. The little matchgirl was out in a snowstorm. Her feet were like ice cubes and her fingertips had frostbite. She hadn't sold any matches since daybreak, and she had a stomachache from the hungerpangs, but her stepmother would beat her with a broomstick if she came home with an empty coinpurse. Looking into the bright livingrooms, she saw Christmas trees and warm fireplaces. Out on the snowbank, she lit match and saw the image of a grand dinnertable of food before her. As the matchstick burned, the illusion slowly faded. She lit anotherone and saw a room full of happy familymembers. On the last match, her grandmother came down and carried her home. In the morning, the passersby saw the little matchgirl. She had frozen during the nighttime, but she had a smile on her face.
Contrasting a Description and a Set Phrase
We now have two main intonation patterns—first word stress and second word stress. In the following exercise, we will contrast the two.
