英語口語語調作為發音特徵之一，在雅思口語評分標準中是很重要的部分。一個好的語調，能幫助大家更好地拿到雅思口語高分。所謂語調(intonation)，即說話的腔調，就是一句話裡聲調(pitch)高低抑揚輕重的配製和變化。世界上沒有一種語言是用單一的聲調說出的，以英語為例，英語有五種基本語調：升調(↗)、降調(↙)、升降調(∧)、降升調(∨)以及平調(→)。一句話除了詞彙意義(lexical meaning)還有語調意義(intonation meaning)。所謂詞彙意義就是話中所用詞的意義，而語調意義就是說話人用語調所表示的態度或口氣。一句話的詞彙意義加上語調意義才算是完全的意義。同樣的句子，語調不同，意思就會不同，有時甚至會相差千里。請看下例：
1) A：Jean, can you bring me the newspaper?
B：Sorry?(↗)
Jean用升調說“Sorry”，其意思是“I didn't hear you. Could you say that again, please?”
我們再看下句：
2) A：Jean, can you bring me the newspaper?
B：Sorry.(↙)
在對話2中，Jean用降調說“Sorry”，顯然其意思是拒絕幫助或無能為力。
英語中的語調規則主要可以歸納為以下幾種情況：(1)陳述句、特殊疑問句、命令祈使句和感嘆句用降調;(2)一般疑問句和婉轉祈使句用升調;(3)選擇疑問句、列舉事物、以狀語(從句)開頭和賓語從句的主句用升降調;(4)反意疑問句用降升調;(5)主語前狀語(從句)後和並列連詞前後成分用降降調。
在實際生活中，你常常會自覺地運用好各種語調來表達你的情感，比如說你想讓淘氣的孩子跟著你出去，就會用“降凋”的肯定的語氣說到“Come with me!”;如果你還沒有確定對方是否和你出去吃飯，就可以用“升調”問到“Come with me?”，表示“和我出去怎麼樣啊”這種“試探性”的語氣;細細體會起來，“什麼場合用什麼語調”還真是很自然的事情。今後在看美國原版影片的時候，多多注意一下影片中人物的語音語調，模仿幾次之後，你就可以靈活運用了。
一個音節的絕對調高是不重要的，而一個音節與另外一個的相對高度才是非常重要的。英語有四級能區別意義的調高：1)特高調(extra high)，即比正常的聲調高兩級，常在感情特別激動或驚訝時使用。2)高調(high)，即比正常的聲調高一級，一般用於語句中關鍵性的重讀詞。3)中調(mid)，即說話人聲音的正常高度。4)低調(low)，即比正常的聲調低一級，一般是降調的最低點。
應該按照說話人的態度來分語調模式，而不能按照句子的語法結構來分。沒有所謂“疑問句的語調”或“陳述句的語調”。因為疑問句和陳述句都可以用各種語調模式來說。因此，對於我們中國的英語學習者來說，通過了解某種調型所表示的某種態度或口氣也就頗為重要。事實上，無論是在現實生活中還是在考試中，我們的學生常會因為對這些知識缺乏瞭解而無法確定說話人的態度、感情、口吻和意圖等。然而這又是一個比較複雜的問題。
一句話中絕對調高及音調的相對高度所包含的意義。眾所周知，人們在興奮、驚訝或感情激動時說話的語調較高，而在相反的情況下，語調則低。因此，在同一個場合中，如果一個人的語調明顯高於另一個，或明顯低於另一個，以此就可以推斷出該說話人的意思及態度。
這裡我們要著重談談一句話中語調的相對高度的不同所包含的意義。一句話中的語調波峰一般都是句重音所在。通過一句話中的語調波峰所在，我們就可以瞭解說話人的`意思。如人們讀“I live in the city.”這句話時，由於強調的物件不同，語調也就隨之發生了變化。現不妨比較如下：
I(↗)live in the city.(隱含著在場的其他人不住在城裡的意思)
I live(↗)in the city.(表示我只是“住在”城裡，其隱含的意思是“我不在城裡工作”或其他意思)
I live in(↗)the city.(表示“我住在城裡邊”，其隱含的意思是“我不住在城外”)
因此，對下面的對話所提問的問題進行選擇時，就不難回答了。
3) M: Linda looked very tired these days.
W: She looked OK to me(↗).
Q: What does the woman think of Linda? (D)
[A]She saw Linda and me.
[B]Linda said she was fine.
[C]She looked up the word for me.
[D]She considered Linda was all right.
這句話裡的句重音碰巧落在句子的最後一個單詞“me”上。因為女士用升調重讀“me”，這表示了女士有意與男士的看法形成對比，意思是：在你的眼裡，她顯得疲憊，可在我看來，她沒什麼問題。這表示了她那種無所謂的態度。
By the time the Montgomery Improvement Association chose the 26-year-old Martin Luther King Jr. as its leader, the hours-old bus boycott by the black citizens of Montgomery, Alabama, was already an overwhelming success. King would later write that his unanticipated call to leadership "happened so quickly that I did not have time to think in through." "It is probable that if I had, I would have declined the nomination."
Although press reports at the time focused on his inspiring oratory, King was actually a reluctant leader of a movement initiated by others.(The boycott began on Dec. 5 1955.) His subsequent writings and private correspondence reveal man whose inner doubts sharply contrast with his public persona. In the early days of his involvement, King was troubled by telephone threats, discord within the black community and Montgomery's "get tough" policy, to which king attributed his jailing on a minor traffic violation. One night, as he considered ways to "move out of the picture without appearing a coward," he began to pray aloud and, at that moment, "experienced the presence of the God as I had never experienced Him before."
He would later admit that when the boycott began, he was not yet firmly committed to Gandhian principles. Although he had been exposed to those teachings in college, he had remained skeptical. "I thought the only way we could solve our problem of segregation was an armed revolt," he recalled. "I felt that the Christian ethic of love was confined to inpidual relationships."
Only after his home was bombed in late January did king reconsider his views on violence. (At the time, he was seeking a gun permit and was protected by armed bodyguards.) Competing with each other to influence King were two ardent pacifists: Bayard Rustin, a black activist with the War Resisters League, and the Rev. Glenn E. Smiley, a white staff member of the Fellowship of Reconciliation. Rustin was shocked to discover a gun in King's house, while Smiley informed fellow pacifists that King's home was "an arsenal."
1. What did King think of his nomination as leader of the Montgomery Boycott?
A) He hadn't expected it.
B) He had to think about it carefully.
C) He would refuse to accept it.
D) He was prepared to accept it.
2. Why was King unwilling to lead the movement at first?
A) Because he doubted if the boycott would be successful.
B) Because he was troubled with a traffic accident at that time.
C) Because he thought he was too young to be a leader.
D) Because he himself didn't start the boycott.
3. Which of the following is Not mentioned as something that happened at the beginning of the black people's movement?
A) King was put into prison.
B) Black people disagreed with each other.
C) King's armed revolt proposal was turned down.
D) Black people found it hard to accept the policy pursued in Montgomery.
4. Which of the following was the immediate cause that made King change his view on violence?
A) The education he received in college.
B) The attack of his home.
C) The influence of two active non-violence advocates.
D) The verdict of the Supreme Court.
5. In Paragraph 4, the last sentence "King's home was 'an arsenal'" means
A) King's home was a place where people got together.
B) King's home was a place where people tested bombs.
C) King's home was a place where weapons were stored.
D) King's home was a place where bombs exploded.
一要大聲模仿。這一點很重要，模仿時要大大方方，清清楚楚，一板一眼，口形要到位，不能扭扭捏捏，小聲小氣地在嗓眼裡嘟嚷。
二要隨時都準備糾正自己說不好的單詞、短語等。有了這種意識，在模仿時就不會覺得單調、的枯燥，才能主動、的有意識、的有目的地去模仿，這種模仿才是真正的模仿，才能達到模仿的目的，也就是要用心揣摩、的體會。建議大家最好還是參加一下雅思口語輔導，掌握更多的雅思口語技巧很重要。
三要堅持長期模仿。一般來說，純正、的優美的語音、語調不是短期模仿所能達到的，需要一段時間，時間的長短取於自學者的專心程度。
四要模仿語音。模仿時要一板一眼，口形要正確，用慢速模仿，以便把音發到位，待把音發準了以後，再加快速度，用正常語速反覆多說幾遍，直到達到不用想就能用正常語速把句子輕鬆地說出來(脫口而出)，對於自己讀不準或較生疏的單詞要反覆多聽幾遍，然後再反覆模仿，一個單詞一個單詞地練，在那些常用詞上下功夫，儘量模仿得像一些。
五要模仿片語的讀法。有了第一步的基礎，這一步就容易多了。重點要放在熟練程度和流利程度上，要多練一下連讀、的同化等語音技巧。
六要段落及篇章模仿，重點在於提高流利程度。開啟錄音機或收音機跟著模仿，“他”說你模仿，同步進行。目的要提高口腔肌肉的反應速度，使肌肉和大腦更加協調起來。
模仿練習時要注意一個問題，一般性格內向的人，講話時易小聲小氣，這對學習英語語音語調很不利，要注意克服。另一方面是源於自卑心理，總以為自己英語水平太差，不敢開口，尤其是當與口語水平比自己高的人對話時，更易出現這種情況。克服這種心理障礙，是學好雅思口語的前提。
以上內容是有關如何練習才能提高雅思口語成績的詳細解答，如果你還不會說可以先從模仿別人開始練習，慢慢的你的雅思口語成績就會提高的，一定要持之以恆，最後祝願大家在雅思口語考試中取得高分。
