Section 1 — Context Listening
1.1 You are going to hear four friends discussing where to go on holiday. They have already decided to go to Greece, either to Athens or the island of Corfu. What do you think the advantages of going to each place are?
1.2 Listen to the discussion. How many of the advantages you identified do they mention?
🎧 Recording 11
Recording 11 — Transcript
Alex: Right, so we've all agreed on Greece. Now, Athens or Corfu?
Beth: If we don't decide soon, it'll be too late to get anywhere to stay.
Carl: Yes, and it'll get more and more expensive the longer we leave it. Come on, let's decide. What does everyone think? Corfu or Athens?
Alex: I like the idea of Corfu. I mean, they all look pretty good, and they're right next to the best beach on the island.
Dani: But it says in my guidebook that there are reasonable hotel rooms for as little as 40 euros a night in Athens.
Beth: Athens would be great for sightseeing, though. My friend Emma went there last year and she said it was the most amazing holiday she'd ever had.
Carl: The Acropolis, the Parthenon… I'd love to see those.
Alex: But Corfu would be more peaceful. It would be so much better than being in a city. All that history and culture — but also the beaches and the sea.
Dani: Yeah, but Athens has beaches too, doesn't it?
Beth: Well, not quite as unspoilt as some of the other Greek islands. But it's still supposed to be a really beautiful place, so we'll want to see as much as we can.
Carl: And I'd come home feeling more relaxed and healthier after a week in Corfu than a week in Athens, I think.
Alex: Okay, let's vote. Corfu?
Beth, Carl, Dani: Corfu!
Alex: Corfu it is, then.
1.3 Listen again and complete these extracts by writing three words in each sentence.
1 If we don't decide soon, it'll be too anywhere to stay.
2 They're right next to on the island.
3 It says in my guidebook that there are reasonable hotel rooms for 40 euros a night.as little as
4 She said it was holiday she'd ever had.the most amazing
5 And it would be than being in a city.so much better
6 It's still supposed to be a really beautiful place, so we'll want to see we can.as much as
1.4 How are the comparative and superlative statements formed? Match each extract to its pattern.
1 — "too late to get anywhere to stay"
pattern:
2 — "the best beach on the island"
pattern: superlative + noun
3 — "as little as 40 euros"
pattern: as + little/few + as
4 — "the most amazing holiday she'd ever had"
pattern: superlative + relative clause
5 — "so much better than being in a city"
pattern: so much + comparative + than
6 — "as much as we can"
pattern: as much as + clause
Section 2 — Grammar
2.1Comparative and superlative forms
Start Point
Accommodation would be cheaper in Athens. It's probably the cheapest hotel in Athens.
I want to come home more relaxed and healthier / more healthy.
It will be more expensive to get to Corfu than Athens.
Add -er/-est to one-syllable adjectives. Use more/most before -ed/-ing adjectives, before fun, real, right, wrong, and before adjectives ending -ful/-less. Most two-syllable adjectives take either form. Always use more/most with afraid, alert, alike, famous, frequent, modern, recent, etc. Use less/least as the opposite of more/most.
I want to come home more relaxed.
I want to come home healthier / more healthy.
It will be more expensive to get to Corfu.
2.2Comparisons with as
Use as … as for equality: just as easy as. Use not as/so … as for inequality. Use as much/many as to say a quantity is larger than expected: as little as 40 euros. Use as + adjective + a + noun: as cheap a flight as possible. Use as for role/function and like for similarity.
My friend Mark used to work there as an English teacher.
I stayed in a hotel like that one last year.
There are reasonable hotel rooms for as little as 40 euros a night.
2.3Comparisons with so, too, enough and double comparatives
so + adjective + that: It gets so hot that a lot of people leave the city. too + adjective + to-infinitive: Too late to get anywhere to stay. adjective + enough + to-infinitive: Easy enough to get into the centre. Double comparatives: The longer we leave it, the more expensive it will be.
If we don't decide soon, it'll be too late to get anywhere to stay.
The longer we leave it, the more expensive it's going to be.
It's easy enough to get into the centre from there.
Section 3 — Grammar Exercises
3.1 Complete the sentences with an appropriate comparative or superlative form of the adjective in brackets. Give alternative forms where possible.
1
Redbacks are among the spiders in this part of the country. Unfortunately, they're also the (common, venomous)most venomous
2
The road seemed to be getting and as we drove into the forest. (narrow, deep)narrower and narrower / deeper and deeper
3
I know coffee isn't good for me, and certainly than tea, but I'm at my early in the morning after a couple of cups of coffee, and I would find it difficult to give it up. (harmful, alert)more harmful · most alert
4
It was the I had ever come to a fully grown elephant, and I was terrified. But even then I realised that I was in the presence of one of the creatures on earth. (close, magnificent)closest / nearest · most magnificent
5
The head of Presto Stores argued that without supermarkets to provide cheap and fresh food, we would all be and . (poor, unhealthy)poorer · unhealthier / more unhealthy
6
When Emily saw Liam at the party, she thought he was the man she had ever seen and went over to speak to him. But she soon realised that he was more with looking good than talking to her. (handsome, concerned)most handsome / handsomest · concerned
7
I couldn't have been when Professor Park agreed to meet me to discuss my research. He's one of the scientists in his field. But I was than angry when he phoned to say that he couldn't meet me after all. (thrilled, respected, sad)more thrilled · most respected · sadder / more sad
3.2 Complete this radio news report. Choose the correct or more likely option in each pair. Sometimes both are possible.
With just a few days before the general election, as (1) as 100,000 people have demonstrated in the capital of Manistan as attacks on opposition candidates have continued. When voters were asked about their intentions in a recent opinion poll, as (2) as 10% said they would be voting.
President Clarke has claimed that thanks to recent medical advances, malaria could be eradicated worldwide within as (3) as ten years. In a speech to the World Health Organisation, she said that a cheap vaccine against malaria is just around the corner, (4) a cure for hepatitis B. She called on developed countries to invest (5) as possible so that they can have the maximum impact on those most affected in poorer countries.
The former Formula One world champion Carl Nielsen left hospital today just six weeks after his horrific crash. Speaking to reporters outside his home, he said that damage to his back was not as (6) as first thought, and he hoped to return to as (7) as possible. But there is (8) positive outcome for the spectator who was hit by debris from Nielsen's car. He is said to be still in a critical condition.
A 64-year-old man who works (9) a school crossing warden has become the country's biggest ever lottery winner. Mark Johns from London said that the win had come at the perfect time for him. He said: 'I'm not (10) young as I was, and I can now look forward to a comfortable retirement.'
President Clarke has claimed that thanks to recent medical advances, malaria could be eradicated worldwide within as (3) as ten years. In a speech to the World Health Organisation, she said that a cheap vaccine against malaria is just around the corner, (4) a cure for hepatitis B. She called on developed countries to invest (5) as possible so that they can have the maximum impact on those most affected in poorer countries.
The former Formula One world champion Carl Nielsen left hospital today just six weeks after his horrific crash. Speaking to reporters outside his home, he said that damage to his back was not as (6) as first thought, and he hoped to return to as (7) as possible. But there is (8) positive outcome for the spectator who was hit by debris from Nielsen's car. He is said to be still in a critical condition.
A 64-year-old man who works (9) a school crossing warden has become the country's biggest ever lottery winner. Mark Johns from London said that the win had come at the perfect time for him. He said: 'I'm not (10) young as I was, and I can now look forward to a comfortable retirement.'
3.3 Ignoring the highlighted parts for now, complete the sentences with an adjective from the box. Use each adjective only once.
brightcompactdisappointedexhaustedgoodloudpowerfultall
1
The job offer was so that I couldn't turn it down.2
Adam is so that he has to bend down to get through doorways.tall3
I was so that I couldn't go any further.exhausted4
The comet is so that it can be seen with the naked eye.bright5
The traffic outside the theatre was so that the actors couldn't make themselves heard.loud6
The camera is so that it can fit easily into your shirt pocket.compact7
The results were so that our teacher made us take the test again.disappointing8
The earthquake was so that it shook buildings across the whole country.powerful3.4 The shaded parts of two of the sentences in 3.3 can be rewritten using too + adjective + to-infinitive and two others using adjective + enough + to-infinitive. Find these sentences and rewrite the highlighted part.
1 (example)
The job offer was so good that I couldn't turn it down →
2 — sentence 4 (comet)
The comet is so bright that it can be seen → bright enough to be seen with the naked eye
3 — sentence 6 (camera)
The camera is so compact that it can fit → compact enough to fit easily into your shirt pocket
4 — sentence 2 (Adam)
Adam is so tall that he has to bend → too tall to get through doorways without bending down