一位小学五年级的妈妈问我中小学学的英语是美式英语还是英式英语，她说辅导小孩英语时，在词霸上查单词有英式与美式两种读音，她不知道用哪种读音为好，真是纠结。还有些妈妈们纠结于孩子的发音是否标准，有的甚至怀疑学校老师教的发音是否标准。其实，这此纠结都不是英语语音问题的关键所在。英式英语也好，美式英语也罢，都是英美人和其它说英语的国家能接受的英语。至于发音是否标准的问题，其实发音没有标准一说，就拿我们的汉语来说吧，你的汉语发音是否标准呢？其标准又是什么呢？是以普通话等级为标准，还是以央视播音员的发音为标准呢？相信我们绝大多数中国人，包括教师的普通话都难达到央视播音员的发音标准，英语也好，汉语也罢，我们只要不把此音发成彼音就好。发音没有标准一说，我们宁愿用“到位”这个词来描述我们的发音。
二、单词的节奏人类语言的声音为乐音，具有一定的节奏与旋律，学习一门外语就如用另一种节奏与旋律唱歌。如果把握不住所学外语的节奏与旋律就如同跳舞时没有踩到伴奏曲子的节奏一样，让人感觉不自然。没有掌握所学外语的的节奏与旋律就会影响语言的听说能力。英语单词是有节奏的，构成英语单词节奏的最重要的要素是重读音节。单个的单词（非短语或句子中使用的单词）都有重读音节，有的单词还有两个重读音节，单音节单词为重读音节，无需用重读符号标注。单词有单音节的，有双音节的，还有多个音节的单词，根据单词的音节数，重读音节与非重读音节，重读音节用蹦（Ｏ）表示，非重读音节用叉（╳）表示，我们可以把单词分出以下节奏类型。
1、单音节单词单个的单音节单词都是重读音节，所以其节奏为蹦（Ｏ）型。
①蹦（Ｏ）型：
class [klɑ:s] name [neim] what [wɒt] how [hau] fine [fain] thanks [θæŋks] friend [frend] nice [nais] meet [mi:t] time [taim] now [nau] bye [bai] see [si:] write [rait]
2、双音节单词双音节单词的重读音节可以落在第一个音节上，也可以落在第二个音节上，当重读音节落在第一个音节之上，其节奏类型为蹦叉（Ｏ╳）型；当当重读音节落在第二个音节之上，其节奏类型为叉蹦（╳Ｏ）型，也有可能两个音节都重读。
①蹦叉Ｏ╳型：
morning ['mɔ:niŋ] sorry ['sɔ:ri] teacher ['ti:tʃə] open ['əupən] English ['iŋɡliʃ] welcome ['welkəm] summer ['sʌmə] autumn ['ɔ:təm] China ['tʃaɪnə] kitchen ['kitʃin] farmer ['fɑ:mə] story ['stɔ:ri]
②叉蹦（╳Ｏ）型：
hello [hə'ləʊ] again [ə'ɡen] about [ə'baut] behind [bi'haind] between [bi'twi:n] because [bi'kɔz] [bi`gin] giraffe [dʒi'rɑ:f] bamboo [bæm'bu:] alone [ə'ləun] connect [kə'nekt] afraid [ə'freid] enjoy [in'dʒɔi]
③蹦蹦（ＯＯ）型：
Chinese ['tʃai'ni:z] ok ['əu'kei] outside ['aut'said]
3、 三音节单词三个音节的单词其重读音节有的落在第一个音节，有的落在第一个音节上，也有的落在第三个音节上，还有的单词有两个重读音节，因此，其节奏类型有下面四种。
①蹦叉叉（Ｏ╳╳）型：
Saturday ['sætədei] favourite ['feivərit] capital ['kæpitəl] library ['laibrəri] history ['histəri] difficult ['difikəlt] elephant ['elifənt] animal ['æniməl] different ['difərənt] dangerous ['deindʒərəs]
②叉蹦叉（╳Ｏ╳）型：
tomorrow [tə'mɔrəu] Computer [kəm'pjuːtə] delicious [di'liʃəs] important [im'pɔ:tənt] remember [ri'membə] banana [bə'nɑ:nə] Australia [ɔ'streiljə] expensive [ik'spensiv] eraser [i'reizə] piano [pɪ'ænəʊ]
③叉叉蹦（╳╳Ｏ）型：
violin [vaɪə'lɪn] European [jʊərə'piːən] absentee [æbsənˈtiː]engineer[endʒɪˈnɪə(r)] millionaire[mɪljəˈneə(r)]
④蹦叉蹦（Ｏ╳Ｏ）型：
afternoon ['ɑ:ftə:'nu:n] magazine ['mæɡə'zi:n] Japanese ['dʒæpə'ni:z] understand ['ʌndə'stænd]
4、四个音节单词①蹦叉叉叉（Ｏ╳╳╳）弄：
supermarket ['suːpəmɑːkɪt] comfortable ['kʌmf(ə)təb(ə)l] dictionary ['dikʃənəri] temperature ['tempəritʃə]
②蹦叉蹦叉（Ｏ╳Ｏ╳）型：
television ['teli'viʒən]
③叉蹦叉叉(╳Ｏ╳╳)型：
geography [dʒi'ɔɡrəfi] traditional [trə'diʃənəl] especially [i'speʃəli] society [sə'saiəti] America [ə'merikə] immediately [i'mi:diətli] environment [ɪn'vaɪrənmənt] Communicate [kə'mju:nɪkeɪt]
④叉叉蹦叉（╳╳Ｏ╳)型：
invitation[ɪnvɪˈteɪʃn] differential [dɪfəˈrenʃl] influential [ɪnfluˈenʃl]editorial [edɪˈtɔːriəl]economic[ˌiːkəˈnɒmɪk]
5、五音节及五音节单词①叉蹦叉叉叉（╳Ｏ╳╳╳）型：
laboratory [lə'bɔrətəri] vocabulary [vəu'kæbjuləri]
②叉蹦叉蹦叉（╳Ｏ╳Ｏ╳）型：
pronunciation [prəu'nʌnsi'eiʃən]
③蹦叉蹦叉叉（Ｏ╳Ｏ╳╳）型：
university ['ju:ni'və:səti]
④叉叉蹦叉叉(╳╳Ｏ╳╳)
electricity[ɪˌlekˈtrɪsəti]
三、句子的旋律音素组合成音节，音节构成单词，单词构成语流，语流才是真正起到交流作用的语音单位。单词中的辅音音素我们要读得轻而快，单词中的元音音素我们在读得重而慢，重读音节与非重读音节的交替构成了轻重缓急的句子语流旋律，语流才是真正起到交流作用的语音单位。从一个重读音节过度到下一个重读音节构成了一个起伏周期，这种周期性的起伏就构成了语流小节。每个单词都有其重读音节,有的单词甚至还有多个重读音节,但是在实际语流中,大部分虚词和语法功能词的重读音节都会失去,也有时为了强调而没有失去。下面是是美国之音慢速英语词汇典故节目，句子中需要重读的重读音节部分用黑体字标注出来了，您可以感受一下英语句子的旋律。
People often say that money talks.（5拍）
They mean that a person with a lot of money can say how he or she wants things done.（9拍）
But it is not easy to earn enough money to gain this kind of power.（8拍）
Ask anyone in a business.（3拍）
They will tell you that it is a jungle out there.（4拍）
The expression probably began because the jungle is filled with wild animals and unknown dangers that threaten people.（11拍）
Sometimes people in business feel competing businesses are as dangerous as wild animals.（9拍）
And they feel that unknown dangers in the business world threaten the survival of their business.（8拍）
People in business have to be careful if they are to survive the jungle out there.（7拍）
They must not be led into making bogus investments.（5拍）
Bogus means something that is not real.（5拍）
Nobody is sure how the word got started.（3拍）
But it began to appear in American newspapers in the eighteen hundreds.（6拍）
A newspaper in Boston, Massachusetts said the word came from a criminal whose name was Borghese.（9拍）
The newspaper said Borghese wrote checks to people although he did not have enough money in the bank.（11拍）
After he wrote the checks, he would flee from town.（4拍）
So, people who were paid with his checks received nothing.（4拍）
The newspaper said Americans shortened and changed the criminal's name Borghese, to bogus.（9拍）
People trying to earn money also must be aware of being ripped off.（7拍）
A person who is ripped off has had something stolen, or at least has been treated very unfairly.（6拍）
A writer for the magazine "American Speech" said he first saw the expression used in nineteen seventy-one.（12拍）
It was on a sign that a student carried during a protest demonstration at a university.（6拍）
The message on the sign was that the student felt ripped off, or cheated.（6拍）
Perhaps the best way to prevent getting ripped off in business is to not try to get rich quickly.（10拍）
To be successful, a person in business works hard and tries to get down to brass tacks.（9拍）
This expression means to get to the bottom or most important part of something.（7拍）
For example, a salesman may talk and talk about his product without saying the price.（7拍）
You get down to brass tacks when you say, "it sounds good, but how much does it cost?"（8拍）
Word expert Charles Funk thinks the expression comes from sailors on ships.（9拍）
They clean the bottom of a boat.（3拍）
When they have removed all the dirt, they are down to the brass tacks, the copper pieces that hold the boat together.（10拍）
So, if we get down to brass tacks, we can prevent ripoffs and bogus ways of earning money in that jungle out there.（13拍）
And, some good luck will help, too.（5拍）