Examkin

Question

Difficulty: HardEmphatic Stress

In Oral English, emphatic stress highlights a specific word to emphasize contrast or correct a misconception. Read the statement below, where the word with emphatic stress is written in CAPITAL LETTERS:

The board reluctantly approved the REVISED budget proposal during the morning session.

Which of the following questions is the statement an appropriate response to?

  1. Did the board reluctantly approve the original budget proposal during the morning session?Answer
  2. B
    Did the executive committee reluctantly approve the revised budget proposal during the morning session?
  3. C
    Did the board reluctantly reject the revised budget proposal during the morning session?
  4. D
    Did the board reluctantly approve the revised budget proposal during the evening session?

Answer

Did the board reluctantly approve the original budget proposal during the morning session?
The correct response is the question asking whether the board approved the 'original' budget proposal. Because 'REVISED' carries emphatic stress, the sentence refutes or corrects an assumption that a different version (such as the original version) was approved, while maintaining all other elements of the sentence unchanged.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the word bearing emphatic stress in the given statement.
The word 'REVISED' is written in capital letters, indicating it carries the emphatic stress.
Emphatic stress signals specific contrast on the emphasized word.
2
Determine the focus and function of the stressed word.
'REVISED' is an adjective modifying 'budget proposal', contrasting the specific version of the document with alternative versions.
Placing stress on an adjective implies correcting a misconception regarding that specific quality or attribute.
3
Evaluate the options to find the question that contradicts ONLY the stressed word.
The question asking about the 'original budget proposal' contradicts ONLY 'REVISED' while leaving the subject, action, and time frame identical to the statement.
A sentence with emphatic stress serves as a direct contrastive response to a question or statement that asserts the opposite for the stressed element only.

Key Concept

Emphatic stress is used to highlight contrast or correct information regarding a specific word in a sentence, leaving all unstressed elements unchallenged.
Estimated Time:1m 15s
Rate this question

Topics

Emphatic Stress

More questions from this topic