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Difficulty: HardEmphatic Stress

In the statement below, the word written in CAPITAL LETTERS carries emphatic stress.

The chief archivist REGULARLY audited the confidential records in the basement.

Which of the following questions is correctly answered by the statement above?

  1. Did the chief archivist RARELY audit the confidential records in the basement?Answer
  2. B
    Did the senior librarian regularly audit the confidential records in the basement?
  3. C
    Did the chief archivist regularly destroy the confidential records in the basement?
  4. D
    Did the chief archivist regularly audit the public manuscripts in the basement?

Answer

The question 'Did the chief archivist RARELY audit the confidential records in the basement?' is the correct question because emphatic stress on 'REGULARLY' highlights the frequency of the action, contradicting the notion that it occurred rarely while keeping all other information in the sentence identical.
Emphatic stress places contrastive emphasis on the capitalized word. Because 'REGULARLY' is capitalized, the sentence is designed to correct a wrong assumption about the frequency of the action. The option asking 'Did the chief archivist RARELY audit the confidential records in the basement?' introduces 'RARELY' to directly contradict 'REGULARLY', while keeping every other detail in the sentence identical. Therefore, the statement directly answers this question.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the word bearing emphatic stress in the given statement.
The word capitalized is 'REGULARLY', which functions as an adverb of frequency modifying the verb 'audited'.
Emphatic stress serves to place contrastive focus exclusively on the capitalized word.
2
Determine what information a contrastive question must target.
The appropriate question must contradict or inquire specifically about the frequency of auditing ('REGULARLY'), while preserving all other elements (chief archivist, audited, confidential records, in the basement).
In Oral English emphatic stress rules, the stressed item is the only piece of information disputed or emphasized in context.
3
Evaluate the options to find the exact matching question.
The question asking if the archivist 'RARELY' audited the records provides the exact contrast needed for 'REGULARLY'.
'RARELY' directly disputes 'REGULARLY', making the statement a natural and precise response.

Key Concept

Emphatic Stress (Contrastive Focus)
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Topics

Emphatic Stress

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