Unit 08

Choose the three best adjectives to match each of the following descriptions.

timid – anxious – clever – fascinating – pessimistic – pleasant – rude – amusing – brave – cheerful – confident – sensitive – self-assured

1. Tommy is a charming young man with plenty of different interests. He is fond of arts and music. He is also very thoughtful about other people's needs and he is kind and nice to them.
Tommy is ________, ________, ________.
                 
2. Jane always sees things in a negative way. She doesn't speak a lot because she is very shy and she starts panicking about nothing.
Jane is ________, ________, ________.
           
3. Martin doesn't often behave well, but he is smart and can often tell very funny stories. He is entertaining.
Martin can be ________, but he is also ________, ________.
    
             

Read the text and choose the correct option.

Chris has a blog on the net where he presents his readers with his experience as a 'holiday-maker', but to get the attention of the right people he started the blog with some pictures of himself and a short profile. Certainly, Chris is a expert holiday-maker, in that he knows how to make the most of his holidays in terms of relaxation but also knowledge. In his profile he talks about himself as an adventurous traveller. He also describes himself as a 'moderately attractive' and 'pleasant' man. He claims to be friendly, easy-going and optimistic.
He posted pictures of himself climbing a steep mountain and sailing on a rough sea. He says he likes travelling on his own because if he is with somebody else he tends to be bossy and sometimes ends up being boring.
There is also a picture of his brother, who is two years younger than him, and of the most beloved member of the family: Buster, a labrador.
The profile can appear as very generous to him and also the close-up picture he chose to go with it make him seem a very handsome and smart young man. But the picture is also ten years old and now Chris is a bit older and less attractive.

1. Chris writes blogs about ________.
2. As a 'holiday-maker' he is ________.  
3. On his blog there are ________.
4. He describes himself as ________.
5. He prefers travelling on his own ________.
6. The picture of himself that he posted on his profile page is ________.

Make comparisons with the elements given.

1. Paul is talkative. His sister doesn't speak much.
Paul is ________.
2. The book I am reading is interesting, but the one I read last month was very interesting.
The book I am reading ________.
3. This train is quite fast but the TGV travels at very high speed.
The TGV ________.
4. Teenagers are generally insecure. Children aren't.
Children ________.
5. Both Maria and Theresa are self-confident.
Maria is ________.
6. The food in the canteen is good, but I prefer having lunch at home.
In my opinion, lunch at home ________.

Fill the blanks with the missing word (one word only).

1. Please don't play your music as loud ________ when you are on your own. I can't concentrate.
2. Dorothy is a clever girl but she got lower marks in the exam ________ her friend Marcus even if he is definitely ________ studious.
3. Tony was timid and lacked confidence, but now he is ________ shy and ________ self-confident.
4. Patrick was a chubby blond little boy. Now he is 16 and his hair has turned darker; he is ________ blond but also slimmer ________ in the past.

Listen to Helen's schoolmate, Georgina, and write sentences with the adjectives given below using comparatives of majority. The first has been done for you.

sociable – studious – shy – generous – boring – bossy – insecure

Georgina is more sociable than Helen.

1.________
2.________
3. ________
4. ________
5. ________
6. ________

Change the adjective in brackets into the appropriate form of the superlative.

1. Don't go bungee-jumping! You suffer from vertigo and bungee-jumping is the (crazy) ________ thing you can do.
2. The (bad) ________ experience I had in the US was getting lost and being unable to understand where I was.
3. The (convenient) ________ way to get to my place is the Metro. Don't come here by car. It takes too long. The Metro is also the (cheap) ________ means.
4. The (good) ________ way to travel around Europe is the InterRail ticket, but the (fast) ________ way is flying.
5. The (amusing) ________ holiday of my life was in Greece with my friends. It was certainly the (cool) ________.

For each of the statements below, write a new sentence with a superlative adjective as in the example.

My score is 24, Mark got 26 and Ann 30. We all have good scores but Ann has the best score.

1. I can drive fast but my friend Tom goes very fast. In fact, he is ________ driver in the class.
2. My IQ is average, but my sister has a higher IQ and my younger brother even higher.
My younger brother has ________ IQ.
3. The leather belt costs €45, the trousers €56 and the boots €120. The boots are ________ item in the shop.
4. Martin loves wearing trendy clothes. He is certainly very cool. Indeed, he is ________ of my friends.
5. That place is always full. All the seats are taken and many young people sit on the benches outside. It is very crowded, it is ________ bar in the area.
6. Crossing town takes a long time. The ________ way you can take is through the city centre. You are going to be late.

Choose the best option.

Paul is ________ and relaxed. He knows he is ________ and girls like him. His social network profile shows him as a ________ person who enjoys life. Despite this, he is not ________, but he is quite considerate towards his friends. Also, he is the ________ of three brothers so he must give a good example to his ________ siblings. On his Facebook profile he also posts some of his ________ pictures. He likes taking pictures because he thinks that pictures can describe emotions ________ than words. Probably also because he is ________ interested in words than in images. He likes colour, light, perspective. Nobody is as good ________ him at choosing the right moment to take a picture.

Complete the paragraph using the words from the list below:

bright – fashion – silliest – funny – than – shorter – more – crazy – darker – coolest

Last week in my city there was the so-called Fashion Week. ________ designers come from different countries to present their new collections. In the street you see people dressed in the ________ way. Some of them wear ________ clothes, like jackets in very ________ colours or ________ hats. I am particularly interested in fashion and my girlfriend Susie is even ________ interested ________ me. She likes to follow trends: she knows if trousers have to be ________ or longer than last year, or if trendy colours are ________ than usual. The ________ thing to do is to discuss fashion with her as she always has the last word!