4. What is that supposed to mean?

Look at the following sentences:    1. Jack will cycle to the restaurant tonight. 2. Jack will cycle to the restaurant tonight. 3. Jack will cycle to the restaurant tonight. 4. Jack will cycle to the restaurant tonight. 5. Jack will cycle to the restaurant tonight.  6. Jack will cycle to the restaurant tonight.                      They are identical, aren't they? Or are they? Adapted from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0G_yZfXJUQ
Now listen- what makes them different?	Image by Anonymous in Openclipart under Share
If you were thinking that emphasis (stress) on the words in bold made them sound different, you were on the right track! We are dealing with sentence stress patterns.

Can you say them? You should listen and repeat as often as necessary until you get it right. Remember C1 is all about "efficacy". Intonation and "music" are fundamental in English. Exaggerate! It won't hurt, and eventually, you will sound better!

Let's see some aspects of intonation. This video was prepared for the IELTS (International English Language Testing System) in Australia.

Video by GoodatESL on Youtube

According to the Cambridge Online Dictionary, the three main patterns of intonation in English are: falling intonation, rising intonation and fall-rise intonation.

Falling intonation describes how the voice falls on the final stressed syllable of a phrase or a group of words. A falling intonation is very common in wh-questions.

Where's the nearest p↘ost-office?

What time does the film f↘inish?

We also use falling intonation when we say something definite, or when we want to be very clear about something:

I think we are completely l↘ost.

OK, here's the magaz↘ine you wanted.

Rising intonation describes how the voice rises at the end of a sentence. Rising intonation is common in yes-no questions:

I hear the Health Centre is expanding. So, is that the new d↗octor?

Are you th↗irsty?

Fall-rise intonation describes how the voice falls and then rises. We use fall-rise intonation at the end of statements when we want to say that we are not sure, or when we may have more to add:

I do↘n't support any football team at the m↘om↗ent. (but I may change my mind in future).

It rained every day in the firs↘t w↗eek. (but things improved after that).

We use fall-rise intonation with questions, especially when we request information or invite somebody to do or to have something. The intonation pattern makes the questions sound more polite:

Is this your cam↘er↗a?

Would you like another co↘ff↗ee?

Source: Intonation - English Grammar Today - Cambridge Dictionaries Online. (n.d.). Retrieved March 25, 2016, from http://dictionary.cambridge.org/grammar/british-grammar/intonation

Now, click on the following links. Read through the information carefully. 

http://pronuncian.com/Intonation/

http://www.learn-english-today.com/pronunciation-stress/intonation.html

Finally, listen to Emma, she will give you more information on how to improve your intonation:

Video by Learn English with Emma (ENGVID) on Youtube