3.2.3. Превосходная степень

Поскольку прилагательные в превосходной степени не образуют специальных конструкций, приведем лишь некоторые характерные примеры их употребления:

It is the greatest technical achievement of our time.	Это величайшее техническое достижение нашего времени.
It is one of the most effective methods for solving this equation.	Это один из наиболее эффективных методов решения данного уравнения.
This is the best paper on the problem I have ever read.	Это лучшая работа по этой проблеме, которую я когда-либо читал.

 Teacher: As you know, heat causes expansion and cold contraction. Elliot, can you give me an example?

Elliot: Yes, Sir. In summer when it’s hot the days are longer than in winter when it’s cold.

 In looking at a drop of water under a microscope, we find there are twice as many H’s as O’s.

 Better late than never.

 Of two evils choose the least.

Exercise 3.1. Form Comparative and Superlative of the following adjectives.

Long, quick, thin, strange, silly, necessary, happy, active, noble, strong, funny, sharp, white, lucky, hot, thick, famous, tender, bad, green, yellow, comfortable, nice, soft, high, dirty, deep, slim, pretty, able, good, easy, light, hard, wet, busy.

Exercise 3.2. In the following sentences use one of + a superlative. Example: It’s a very old building. It is one of the oldest buildings in L’viv.

1. He is a very rich man. He is ___ in Britain. 2. She is a very good football-player. She is ___ in the team. 3. It was a very exciting event. It was ___ in my life. 4. He’s a very dangerous criminal. He is ___ of the country. 5. This is a heavy metal. This is ___ found in nature. 6. This is a long railway. This is ___ in Europe. 7. This is a good exercise. This is ___ for training memory. 8. Today is a hot day. Today is ___ in this summer. 9. This is a large hall. This is ___ in our institute. 10. He is a bad announcer. He is ___ on our TV.

Exercise 3.3. Rewrite the sentences as shown in the example. Jack isn’t as old as he looks. – Jack is younger than he looks.

1. It’s not so cold today as yesterday. 2. The station was not so far as I thought. 3. The hotel is not so expensive as I expected. 4. There were not so many people at this meeting as at the last one. 5. The test was not so difficult as we expected. 6. These results are not so reliable as those. 7. This chemical element is not so common as the other two. 8. Brown’s argument is not so convincing as Smith’s. 9. This approach is not so realistic as that. 10. This film is not so thin as that. 11. The openings in this sample are not so large as in those.

Exercise 3.4. Put the words in brackets into the Comparative or Superlative degree.

1. This railway is (long) in the world. 2. Silver is (heavy) than copper. 3. The twenty-second of December is (short) day in the year. 4. The (big) problem facing the technology is cost-effectiveness. 5. Elbrus is (high) peak in the Caucasus. 6. One of the (good) parts of my job is having an opportunity to meet with interesting people. 7. The maintenance costs become (high) each year. 8. The flexible solar panel is a little (thick) than photographic film. 9. This technology will become a lot (easy) to handle. 10. The (good) solar cells are now working at efficiencies about 20%.

Exercise 3.5. Put the words in brackets into the proper degree of comparison.

1. The (high) you climb, the (far) you fall. 2. This nickel film is (resistant) to corrosion than many other surfaces. 3. Lots of people find watching films one of the (good) ways of spending their leisure time. 4. The excellent machinability is a (far) benefit of this material. 5. Researchers have measured the intrinsic strength of graphene, and they’ve confirmed it to be the (strong) material ever tested. 6. Whatever you do, make sure that you are using your English as (often) as you can. 7. The (long) the call, the (much) you have to pay. 8. Comet McNaught is about 40 times (bright) than Venus. 9. “No. 5, 1948” by Jackson Pollock is currently the (expensive) painting ever sold (US $140 million). 10. Global warming may be twice as (severe) as previous estimates indicate. 11. Switching off lights, turning the television off at the mains could have a much (big) impact on reducing carbon dioxide emissions from power stations than previously thought. 12. An analysis shows that some biofuels may be (bad) environmentally than fossil fuels.

Exercise 3.6. Translate into English.

1. Эта работа не такая сложная, как вы думаете. 2. Эти частицы не настолько удалены от ядра, как другие. 3. В книге дается более подробное объяснение этого явления. 4. Полученные результаты стали самым убедительным подтверж-дением его теории. 5. Наши знания о некоторых космических объектах стали более обширными. 6. Чем тяжелее ядра, тем больше их потенциальная энергия. 7. Теория относительности является одним из самых фундаментальных откры-тий 20-го века. 8. Кислород – один из самых распространенных элементов на Земле. 9. В статье предлагается обзор последних достижений в области иссле-дования квазикристаллов. 10. Благодаря новому оборудованию работа прово-дится гораздо интенсивнее. 11. Вода в этом сосуде чище, чем в водопроводном кране. 12. После добавления этого вещества жидкость стала менее прозрачная. 13. Насколько я знаю, американские студенты часто работают на летних каникулах. 14. Солнце в 330 тысяч раз тяжелее Земли.