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Difficulty: MediumEmphatic Stress

In the sentence below, the word printed in CAPITAL letters carries the primary emphatic stress:

The marine biologist DISCOVERED a new coral species near the reef.

Which of the following questions is the appropriate contrastive prompt for this statement?

  1. A
    Did the marine geologist discover a new coral species near the reef?
  2. Did the marine biologist conceal a new coral species near the reef?Answer
  3. C
    Did the marine biologist discover a new sponge species near the reef?
  4. D
    Did the marine biologist discover a new coral species far from the reef?

Answer

The question asking whether the marine biologist concealed a new coral species near the reef is the correct contrastive prompt.
The word 'DISCOVERED' is emphasized to highlight the specific action taken. The question asking if the biologist 'concealed' the species directly contradicts this action while leaving all other details of the original statement intact.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the word in the statement that carries primary emphatic stress.
The word printed in full capitals is 'DISCOVERED', which is the main verb of the sentence.
Emphatic stress highlights a specific element in a sentence to contrast it with alternative information.
2
Determine the required contrastive focus for the question.
The correct contrastive question must challenge or contradict the action 'DISCOVERED', while preserving every uncapitalized word in the statement ('The marine biologist', 'a new coral species', 'near the reef').
In Oral English emphatic stress rules, the correct prompt differs ONLY in the information corresponding to the capitalized word.
3
Evaluate the given options to select the matching question.
The prompt questioning whether the biologist 'concealed' the species directly contradicts 'DISCOVERED' while retaining all other components of the sentence.
'Conceal' contrasts with 'discover', making it the accurate prompt that elicits the emphasized response.

Key Concept

Emphatic Stress in Oral English
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Topics

Emphatic Stress

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