Mike: Here is an interesting geography quiz.

Wendy: Oh, I love geography. Ask me

questions.
Mike: Sure, first question. Which country is
larger, China or Canada? 9
Wendy: I know, Canada is larger than China.
Mike: Ok, Next. What’s the longest river in the
Americas?
Wendy: Hmm, I think is the Mississippi.
Mike: Here’s a hard one. Which country is
more crowded, Monaco or Singapore?
Wendy: I’m not sure. I think Monaco is more
crowded.
Mike: Ok, one more. Which South American
capital city is the highest: La Paz,
Quito, or Bogota?
Wendy: Oh, that’s easy. Bogota is the highest.

1
One right.
2 Three right.
3 Two right, two wrong.
4
None above
•

a. beach b. desert c. forest d. hill e. island f. lake

g. mountain h. ocean i. river j. valley k. volcano l. waterfall

I E K

10

B
C A

I
D
J

F G H

the Statue of Liberty gold India

the Eiffel Tower butter Russia
the Panama Canal feathers China

Niagara Falls the U. S. Australia

Angel Falls China Argentina
Victoria Falls Canada Brazil
Scott: I’m going to Australia next year. Aren’t
you from Australia, Beth?
Beth: Actually. I’m from New Zealand.
Scott: Oh, I didn’t know that. So what’s it like
there?
Beth: Oh, it’s beautiful. There are lots of farms,
and it’s very mountainous.
Scott: Really? How high are the mountains?
11
Beth: Well, the highest one is the Mount Cook.
It’s about 3.800 meters high.
Scott: Wow! So how far is New Zealand from
Australia?
Beth: Well, I live in Auckland, and Auckland is about
2.000 kilometers from Sydney.
Scott: May be I should visit you next year, too.

1 ____________________________________
2 ____________________________________

3 ____________________________________

4 ____________________________________
 1. HOW HIGH IS A NICARAGUA FALL ______?
Niagara Falls is 52 meters (170 feet) high.
2. _HOW LONGER KILOMETERS IS CALIFORNIA_?
California is about 403.970 square kilometers (155.973)
3. HOW LONGER KILOMETERS IS THE NILE?
The Nile is 6.670 kilometers (4.145 miles) long
4. _____HOW FAR IS OSAKA TO TOKYO_____?
Osaka is about 400 kilometers (250 miles) from Tokyo.
5. HOW HOT IS IN MEXICO CITY IN THE SPRING? 12
Mexico City gets up to about 28º Celsius (82º Fahrenheit) in the spring.

1. Which country is _THE SMALLEST_, Monaco or Vatican City? (small)

2. Which waterfall is _HIGHER_, Niagara Falls or Victoria Falls? (high)
3. Which city is _ CROWDED_, Hong Kong or Cairo? (crowded)
4. Which lake is _ LARGER THAN_, the Caspian Sea or Lake Superior? (large)
5. Which is _THE HIGHER__: Mount Aconcagua, Mount Everest, or Mount Fuji? (high)
6. Which city is THE MORE EXPENSIVE_: London, Tokyo, or Moscow? (expensive)
7. What is THE LONGEST river in the world, the Mekong, the Nile, or the Amazon? (long)
8. What is _THE DEEPEST__ ocean in the world, the Pacific, the Atlantic, or the Artic? (deep)
 13

1. How big is the largest city?

___ the larges city is about 531,900 kilometers_______
2. What’s the wettest month?
_______ the wettest month is cotopaxi ______________
3. What’s the driest month?
________the driest moth is lloa___________
4. How hot does it get in the summer?
_in the summer Guayaquil get 33,6
centigrade
5. How cold does it get in the winter?
________IN THE WINTER QUITO GET 3,4 CENTIGRADE________
6. How high is the highest mountain?
_________THE HIGHEST MOUNTAIN IS CHIMBORAZO
7. What’s the most beautiful town to visit?
______THE MOST BEAUTIFULTOWN IS GUAYAQUIL_____________
These are the rules to
make RULE 1
The comparative and superlative of adjectives of one syllable are formed by adding - er and
-est to the end of the adjective:
cold >> colder (than) >> the coldest
RULE 2
Adjectives ending with one vowel followed by one consonant double the final consonant
before adding -er or -est:
hot >> hotter (than) >> the hottest 14
RULE 3
Two-syllable adjectives which end in -y change the y to i and then add -er or -est:
noisy >> noisier (than) >> the noisiest
RULE 4
For adjectives of two syllables or more (except for those ending in -y) the comparative and
superlative are formed with more and most:
beautiful >> more beautiful (than)>> the most beautiful
RULE 5
Remember some of the irregular comparatives and superlatives:
good better than the best
bad worse than the worst
late later than latter the latest the last
little less than the least
much more than the most
many more than the most
old older than elder than the oldest the eldest
far farther than the farthest
far further than the furthest
EXPRESSING SIMILARITY
You can use as ... as ... to show similarity:
In this southern island it is as hot as the tropics most of the year.
You can put nearly, almost or just in front of as ... as ...:
London is nearly as expensive as Tokyo.
In summer, Tokyo is just as hot as the desert.
EXPRESSING DIFFERENCE
When comparing, you can show difference in several ways:
A) not as/so ... as
Life in the countryside is not as fast as it is in Tokyo.
You can also add nearly to not as/so ... as:
Kyoto isn't nearly as busy as Tokyo.
B) as ... as ... with twice, three times, half, a third, etc.
Japan's car exports are twice as high as Britain's.
Rice-growing is only half as important as it used to be.
C) -er than ... or more/less ... than ...
The mountains are generally fresher than the cities.
Most people think spring is more beautiful than summer.
England is less mountainous than Japan.
You can put much, far, a lot, lots, a little or a bit in front of the comparative form of
the adjective:
The south of the country is a lot warmer than the north.
Traditional products are much less important than they used to be.
 VOCABULARY

Geography Nouns Adjectives with Opposites

cliff island awake asleep long short
tributary lake beautiful ugly new old
river reef polite rude
pond big small
brook, bitter sweet rich poor
lagoon, lagune
creek,
sea dead alive right left
stream
deep shallow rough smooth
bay plateau
dirty clean safe dangerous
wood mountain
same different
expensive cheap
grove ocean simple complex 15
creek far near
swamp single married
channel fast slow strong weak
peninsula
canyon tall short
fat Thin
(water) fall peak, summit full empty thick thin
mountain range foot glad sad true false
coast rapids good bad useful useless
shoreline happy sorry warm cool
desert
river hard soft wet dry
dunes
river source (origin) healthy sick wide narrow
reservoir
young old
inlet river mouth heavy light
forest high low
strait
footpath, lane hot cold
stack
hills
gorge, ravine
springs
glacier
valley
gulf
volcano

• Useful expressions for comparisons

Which country is larger, Canada or China?
Canada is larger than China
Which city has the largest population:
Tokyo, Mexico or Sao Paulo?
Tokyo has the largest population.
What is the most beautiful mountain in the world?
I think Mount Fuji is the most beautiful.

How far is New Zealand from Australia? It’s about 2.000 kilometers. (1.200 miles)
How big is Singapore? It’s 710 square kilometers. (274 square miles)
How high is Mount Cook? It’s 3.740 meters high. (12.250 feet)
How deep is the Grand Canyon? It’s about 1.900 deep. (6.250 feet)
How long is the Mississippi River? It’s 5.970 kilometers long. (3.710 miles)
How hot is Auckland in the summer? It gets up to about 23º Celsius. (74º Fahrenheit)
How cold is it in the winter? It goes down to 10º Celsius. (50º Fahrenheit)