[ascorbic]

The best explanation I've heard of tones is the different pronunciations of "really" in "Really?" "Really!" "Really hungry" "Really good" etc

[pmontra]

Yes about the intonation of the word. The difference is that that "really" would mean "mom", "stupid", "really", "nothing" according to the tone. Some embarrassing mistakes.

[bklaasen]

Well, the previous poster's examples of "really" could be defined like this, based on interpretation of their intonation:

"Really?": Convince me; "Really!": I'm indignant on your behalf; "Really hungry": exceptionally [hungry]; "Really good": average.