IV. Read the text “The coldest and the highest place in the world” and complete each heading with a phrase

The coldest The highest

____________.Yakutsk is well-known to fans of the board game Risk as that funny country between Siberia and Kamchatka. It's also known as the coldest city in the world. The world's coldest temperature outside of Antarctica was recorded not far from Yakutsk in the basin of the Yana River. During the winter, average lows drop below freezing in September and don't climb back out until May. In January the average high is minus 34 degrees F; the record low for the month is a bone-blasting minus 81.4 degrees.

__________.We all know that Mount Everest, at 29,035 feet above sea level, is the highest spot on our planet. Sir Edmound Hillary taught us that, right? Well, yes… that is unless we think about the word "highest" in a different way. The winner of the highest point of Earth is Mount Chimborazo in Ecuador. Mount Chimborazo, in the Andes, is a 20,000-plus-foot peak sitting on top of a bulge on the Earth. Mount Everest is a 29,000-plus-foot peak sitting lower down on that same bulge. Because Chimborazo is a bump on a bigger part of the bulge, it is 1.5 miles higher than Everest!

Speaking

1. Complete the questions with superlative adjectives.

Ask and answer the questions with a partner.

1. What’s the _____ capital city in the world? (noisy)

a Tokyo b Madrid c Rome

2. What’s the _____ capital city in the world? (big)

a Buenos Aires b Mexico city c Tokyo

3. What’s the _____ capital city in the world? (dry)

a Nairobi b Lagos c Cairo

4. What’s the _____ capital city in the world? (expensive)

a London b Tokyo c Washington

5. What’s the _____ capital city in the world? (safe)

a Copenhagen b Canberra c Oslo

6. What’s the _____ capital city in the world? (crowded)

A Beijing b Bangkok c New Delhi

2. Two people are discussing commuting. Complete their conversation with comparative or superlative adjectives using the words in brackets.

A: Commuting to work by bicycle is ____________________ (easy) than by car because the traffic is always so bad. It’s also ____________________ (healthy).

B: That’s true in the summer but in the winter the weather is ____________________ (bad). I think the underground is the ____________________ (good) way of commuting. It’s the ____________________ (quick) way to travel because there aren’t any traffic jams.

A: But it costs so much. It’s ____________________ (expensive) than the car or bus.

B: No, because…

3. Roleplay the dialogue and answer the questions below.

(I = Interviewer; P = Paulo)

I: Do you like your city?

P: Oh yes, I feel lucky to be living in a city that’s so big and exciting. I love looking out of my apartment window over the high-rise buildings.

I: What’s the city centre like?

P: Some people say it’s too noisy and crowded, but I love that. There’s always something to see and do. We also have the most famous beach in the world – Copacabana Beach. Then, on the other side of the city, there are beautiful mountains. The highest one is called Corcovado, and it has the famous statue of Christ. If you look down at the city from there, the view is spectacular.

I: What’s the weather like?

P: It’s great most of the time. The only time I don’t like Rio much is in the summer: it’s too hot and humid.

2

(I = Interviewer; G = Gisela)

I: Do you like your city?

G: Yes, it’s wonderful. I think my city has everything.

I: What’s the architecture like?

G: It’s a mixture of old and new with plenty of shops for everybody. The castle is the most famous monument, and at night it looks amazing.

I: What’s the nightlife like?

G: It’s a young city because of the university, so there are plenty of cheap restaurants and interesting cafйs and bars. It’s got a great nightlife.

I: And what are the people like?

G: Well, some people are a bit reserved, but in general they’re really friendly.

3

(I = Interviewer; A = Armelle)

I: Where do you live?

A: Well, I live in a small village with my parents. My grandparents live here too, and my aunts and uncles. In fact, I think I’m related to about fifty per cent of the people in my village.

I: What’s your village like?

A: It’s very pretty. The countryside is beautiful, and the air is lovely and clean. But it’s too quiet. I find it so dull and boring here – there aren’t any discos or cinemas.

I: What are the people like?

A: Oh, they’re lovely, but there aren’t many young people. I want to go and live in the city. Soon.

4

(I = Interviewer; L = Luigi)

I: What do you think of your city?

L: It is a very special place. There is nowhere else in the world like my city – it’s so romantic.

I: What’s the city centre like?

L: The buildings are beautiful, and we have San Marco, one of the most famous churches in the world. San Marco Square is wonderful, and during carnival in February Venice is the best place in the world to be.

I: Do you like living here?

L: No, I really hate living here. It’s horrible. There are too many tourists everywhere.

I: Oh dear. What are the shops like?

L: Well, because of the tourists the shops are too expensive and the canals are dirty and polluted. My city is not big enough for all these people. Why don’t they leave us in peace?

1. Which person wants to leave? _______

2. Which person thinks his/her city has wonderful views? _______

3. Which person has a large family? ______

4. Which person enjoys the nightlife? _______

5. Which person doesn’t live among many young people? _______

6. Which person thinks his/her city is too crowded? _______

Writing

Complete each sentence with the superlative form of a word.

famous hot cold small tall expensive popular

1. The Peel P50 is only 134 cm long. It’s the ______________ car in the world!

2. Venus has a surface temperature of 480°C. It’s the ______________ planet in the solar system.

3. Everybody knows Bill Gates. He’s probably the ______________ businessman in the world.

4. In Europe, February is usually the ______________ month of the year.

5. Japan isn’t cheap. In 2003, it was the ______________ country to live in.

6. With more than 200 million album sales, Julio Iglesias is probably the ______________ Latin singer in the world.

7. De-Fen Yao from China stands at 235 cm. She’s the ______________ woman in the world.

Questions for computer based test

1. Choose the right variant superlative form of the adjective “hot”

a) the hotst

b) the hotter

c) the hotier

d) the hottest

2. Choose the right superlative form of the adjective “far”

a) the futher

b) the furthest

c) the futherest

d) the further

3. Choose the right comparative degree of the adjective “difficult”

a) difficulter

b) difficultest

c) more difficult

d) difficult

4. Choose the right comparative degree of the adjective “good”

a) best

b) gooder

c) goodest

d) better