Degrees of

Adjectives
Comprehen
sion of
text
MODERN
PARADOXE
S
Teacher:
urea
Christina

Modern Paradoxes
The paradox of our
time in history is
that we have taller
buildings but
shorter tempers,

wider freeways, but

narrower
viewpoints. And
this is just the
beginning...

 The paradox of our

time is that we spend
more, but have less,
we buy more, but
enjoy less.
We have bigger
houses and smaller
families,
more comforts, but
less time.
We have more
information, but less
knowledge,
more questions, but
fewer answers.

 We build more
computers to
hold more
information, but
we communicate
with each other
less and less.
We have more
possessions, but
fewer values.
We are now long
on quantity, but
short on quality

 We drink too much,

smoke too much,
laugh too little,
drive too fast,
get too angry,
read too little,
watch TV too much.
We know much about the Moon and Mars,
but avoid crossing the street to meet a new
neighbor.
We are masters of outer space but not of
inner space.
We say yes to a bigger car in the showroom,
but no to a homeless street kid who tries to
sell us a bag of cookies.

 These are the times

of fast foods and
slow digestion,
tall men and short
character,
large profits and
shallow
relationships. These
are the days of
luxurious houses,
but broken homes.
These are the times
of more leisure, but
less fun,
overweight bodies,
but selfish souls.

It is a time when technology brings this

message to you, and a time you can
choose either to make a difference
and pass it on, or to just hit delete.
(Adapted from The Paradox of Our Time, by Dr Bob Moorehead, in
Words Aptly Spoken, 1995

Word Study
Find the Opposites. Scan the text to find the
words that are antonyms of the words below:
1-fast
2-work
3- sell
4 ignorance
5 taller
6 - less
7- bigger
8- altruistic, selfless

9- tall
10 - outer
11-questions
12-calm
13-wider
14-fewer
15-deep
16-bodies

Find the words that are missing in these

expressions:

* digestion slow
* tall men
large * profits
outer * space
a new * neigborhood
* homes
broken
less * knowledge
Wilder *
freeways
* kid
street * souls
selfish
more
*
information
* houses
luxurious *
buildings
taller
overweight * bodies

*
inner
space
a bag of * cookies

Comprehension
Mark the correct answer:
1) If you have narrow viewpoint,
A)you are a tolerant person
B)you do no t accept opinions that
are different from yours.

 2- Some people drive to fast

A) on wide freeways,
B)on narrow streets.
3- If you avoid meeting a new
neighbor,
A)you ignore someone who lives very
near you
B)you choose to across the street and
walk away