Comparative and Superlative Adjectives
A.
| ü Study these examples: A.: A Hydraulic booster makes it easier to steer the bus. B.: A trolleybus is not featured by the greatest speed of the public transport. ü Note: Some two-syllable adjectives can take either -er/ - estormore/most, e.g.: clever, stupid, pleasant, gentle, narrow, friendly, polite, common, happy, quiet, simple, expensive, clean, safe, true, free, wise. |
B. Compare these things:
1. wood and steel ( hard / strong)
2. a bus and a train ( comfortable)
3. a tram and a train (slow)
4. a child and an adult ( clever)
5. diesel ( oil) and electricity (common)
6. metro and surface transport ( cheap / popular)
C. Complete these sentences about the world today using the structure:
| comparative + AND + comparative |
Example: Computers are becoming more and more important in our lives (important).
1. The world’s population is getting __________________ (big).
2. The problem of feeding all the people in the world is getting ___________ (bad).
3. Many of the world’s seas, rivers and lakes are becoming ________ (polluted).
4. Life is becoming ____________________________ (automated)
D. Complete the sentences using the and superlatives of the adjectives in brackets.
Example: What’s the most precious metal in the world?
1. I bought___________________ (reliable) washing machine I could find.
2. He is one of _____________________ (stupid) people I know.
3. __________________ (old) university in the world is in Morocco.
4. What is _______ (quick) way of getting from here to the station?
5.Everest is ____________ (high) mountain in the world.
E. Give both forms of the adjectives.
1. She is happy.
than I am – She is happier/ more happy than I am.
person I have ever met – She is the happiest / most happy person I have ever met.
2. This problem is simple.
than that one _____________________________________________
in the book ______________________________________________
3. This engine is quiet.
than mine _______________________________________________
ever built _______________________________________________
4. The evening was very pleasant.
than yesterday ___________________________________________
I ever had _______________________________________________
Speaking Practice
Trolleybuses in Everyday Speech
Practice A.
· Do I have to change trolleybuses?
· There are crowds of people at the trolleybus stop.
· There is a conductor on the trolleybus.
· We’ll have to wait a trolleybus.
· Let’s queue up for a trolleybus.
· Do you mind our going by a trolleybus?
· The trolleybus is almost empty!
· Oh, how crowded the trolleybus is!
· Shall we get on (the trolleybus)?
· Where are you getting off (the trolleybus)?
Practice B.Student A translates the sentences into Ukrainian.
Student B renders them again into English
Practice C.
a. Work with a partner.
You think the trolleybuses are a nuisance. Give your reasons.
b. Why don’t they run any new trolleybus lines in the city? (in your home town?)
UNIT SEVEN. TRAINS
Pre-reading Activity
ü Is travelling by train cheap/expensive? quick/slow? comfortable/ uncomfortable?
ü Is it cheaper if you book in advance?
ü Are there any discounts for students?
Make sure you know these words:
sleek – гладенький, блискучий
jumbo jet – гігантський аеробус, реактивний літак
wagon – вагон-платформа
freight vehicle – вантажний транспорт
1. Read the Text***
Eurostar
It is partly thanks to a railway that the UK’s links with continental Europe are growing ever closer. Eurostar is the international train service that operates from London and Ashford in England through the Channel Tunnel to Paris and Lille in France and Brussels in Belgium.
From these cities, passengers can connect to the railways throughout Europe. Services also run to Disneyland Paris and, in the winter skiing season, to the French Alps.
Eurostar is operated jointly by Eurostar (U.K.) Limited, French Railways(SNCF) and Belgium Railways (SNCB/NMBS). It now carries more people from London to Paris and Brussels than any airline, and research suggests that five times as many people in London and south-east England have visited Paris than before the service started. In return it brings millions of visitors to the U.K.
Each sleek, aerodynamic train carries up to 766 passengers, almost equivalent to two Boeing 747 jumbo jets. At 392 metres long, the trains are over one and a half times as long as the U.K. ’s tallest building Canary Wharf. Eurostar reaches speeds of up to 300 kph, making journey from London to Paris in just under three hours and to Brussels in two hours 40 minutes. A new rail link now under construction in south-east England will reduce these journey times by a further 40 minutes.
Those who want to take their car through the Channel Tunnel can catch Le Shuttle at Folkestone on the English coast or at Calais in France. Cars, coaches and freight vehicles are carried by 800-metre long rail freight vehicles – the largest purpose designed rail wagons in the world. The journey time from platform to platform is just 35 minutes.
Reading Comprehension
1. What countries are serviced by Eurostar?
2. How is an aerodynamic train characterized from the technical point of view?
3. What is the expected reduction of journey time?
Vocabulary Focus