You will learn how to:

 To talk about the news

 To describe about a movie
GUIDE NUMBER 7 NEW
CULTURES
READING

Read the interview to Mary Brian, a person who has lived in Australia and United States, next answer
the questions:
Reporter: Mary, please tell us what you think about Australia and The United States.
Mary: Well, they are really nice countries and I love both of them. They are quite different, though.
Reporter: Tell us about those differences.
Mary: For starters, the US is larger than Australia and there are more people there than in Australia.
Reporter: What about the food?
Mary: I love Australian food, especially Cabanossi; it is a type of sausage. Food in Australia is more
traditional and spicier than in the States.
Reporter: I’ve heard that Americans drive faster than Australians.
Mary: Yeah, that’s right. Roads in the US are usually safer and bigger than in Australia so people can
drive faster.
Reporter: Is it true that people in Australia are taller and thinner than in the US?
Mary: I don’t know. Probably you are right, but I am not sure.
Reporter: Finally, let’s talk about men.
Mary: Men are most of the times more handsome in Australia. However, my husband is American
and he is pretty attractive.
Reporter: Thank you Mary for your time.

1. -Does Mary think Australia and The United States are very similar?

Maria thinks they are very different countries

2. –What’s the different between Australian and American food?

Food in Australia is more traditional and spicy than in the United States.
 READING

GRAMMAR

Rules for using comparatives and superlatives adjectives:

Almost all the adjectives add the letters “ER” or “EST” for comparatives o superlatives.

When the adjective end in the letter “E” only add “R” or “ST” and normally the Superlatives use
the word “THE” before the adjective.

ADJECTIVE COMPARAIVE SUPERLATIVE

strange stranger The strangest

fast faster The fastest

hard harder The hardest

Now double the consonant if the adjective has only one syllable finishing in a consonant and one
vowel.
Example:
ADJECTIVE COMPARATIVE SUPERLAIVE
hot Hotter than The hottest
fat Fatter than The fastest
sad Sadder than The saddest

For the adjectives which finish in “W”, “X” add “ER” and “EST” to the comparatives and superlatives
respectively.
ADJECTIVE COMPARATIVE SUPERLATIVE
low Lower than The lowest
new Newer than The newest
slow Slower than The slowest

For the adjectives which finish in “Y” add “ER and “EST” for the comparatives and superlatives
respectively and the “Y” has to change to “i”.
ADJETIVE COMPARATIVE SUPERLATIVE
busy Busier than The busiest
early Earlier than The earliest
noisy Noisier than The noisiest

For all the adjectives that have more than two syllables add “MORE” and “THE MOST” to the
comparatives and superlatives respectively.
ADJECTIVE COMPARATIVE SUPERLATIVE
difficult More difficult than The most difficult
polluted More polluted than The most polluted
important More important than The most important

There are some adjectives that are irregular for comparatives and superlatives.
ADJECTIVE COMPARATIVE SUPERLATIVE
good Better than The best
bad Worse than The worst
far Further than The furthest

Now according to the rules read the text again and write the sentences in comparatives:
1. The US is larger than Australia
2. This red car is prettier than blue car

3. I am busier on Mondays than Fridays

4. Neiva is hotter than Barranquilla
5. Alvaro is smarter than everyone
 ACTIVITY NUMBER 7 NEW CULTURES

Comparatives
1. Complete the chart with the comparative forms.

RemembeR
Adjective Comparative form
cold Colder than
big Bigger than
difficult More difficult than
bad
Worse than • Short adjectives + -er: cold – colder
dry
Drier than • Short adjectives ending in one
early
good Earlier than consonant double the last letter +
high Better than -er: big – bigger
hot Higher than
long Hotter than • Long adjectives (more than two
popula Longger than syllables): more + adjective:
r rain more expensive
Populier than
sunny
wet
Rainer than • Be careful of irregular adjectives
Sunnier than e.g. good, bad
Wettier than
2. Complete the sentences with the comparative form of the
adjectives in brackets.
a. Britain is hotter than (hot) now than at any time before.
b. It’s usually foggier than (foggy) in autumn than in summer.
c. Places that are sunny are more popular than (popular) than places where it rains a lot.
d. I think the weather is worse than (bad) than ten years ago.
e. India is sunnier than (sunny) than Britain, but it is also (wet)!
f. The sea is getting higher (high).
g. Summer is shorter than (short) now than 25 years ago.

3. Circle the correct word.

1 It’s hoter / hotter in July than in September.
2 The weather is badder / worse in London than in my city.
3 I think it’s more beautiful / beautifuler when it rains.
4 Is it drier / more dry now in the summer?
5 I think summer is getting shorter / more short.
6 It’s always raining so it’s weter / wetter than before.
4 Circle the odd word out.
cold difficult short

1 hot big bad

2 dry long new
3 popular sunny famous
4 easy early expensive
5 good cold late
6 big wet old

Superlative adjectives
1. Complete the chart with the superlative forms.

Adjective Superlative form Remember

bad The worst Short adjectives + est: tall – tallest

beautiful The most beautiful Short adjectives ending in one consonant

big the biggest double last letter + est: hot – hottest

dangerous The most dangerous Long adjectives (more than 2 syllables) = most

The most difficult + adjective: most amazing

difficult
fast The faster Be careful of irregular adjectives e.g. good.
friendly The most friendly
good The best
intelligent The most intelligent
loud The loudest
popular The most popular
slow The slowest
small the smallest
strange The strangest
ugly The ugliest

2. Write sentences about the animals using the prompts.

tortoise / slow
The tortoise is the slowest.
1 blue whale / big blue whale is the biggest in the world
2 cheetah / fast cheetah is the faster in the world
3 mosquito / dangerous mosquito is the most dangerous because cause disease

4 cat / friendly cat is the most friendly animal

5 hippo / ugly hippo Is the ugliest animal of Africa

6 dolphin / intelligent dolphin is the most intelligent in the ocean

parrot is the loudest of the birds

7 parrot / loud

3. Complete the dialogue with the superlative form of the adjectives in

brackets

katya Wow! This is a really difficult quiz. emily Yes,

but I really want to win.
katya Okay, let’s look at the next question. What’s the
a. biggest (big) animal in the world? emily
The elephant.
katya No, it isn’t. I think it’s the blue whale.
emily Yes, you’re right. And the (2) faster (fast) animal is the cheetah. katya
Question 3. Is the Indian cobra the
(3) The most dangerous (Dangerous) animal in the world?
emily No, it isn’t. Mosquitoes are, because their bite can give you malaria. katya
What about this question? What is the
(4) Tallest (tall) animal?
emily Oh! That’s easy, the giraffe. katya
Of course.
emily Okay, here’s the last question. What is the
(5) loudest (loud) animal?
katya Wow! That’s the (6) the most difficult (difficult) question. I don’t know the answer
to it.